With seemingly constant rain in the days leading up to this fixture it was touch and go whether the game could go ahead. The venue was switched to Great Ellingham from Rocklands on the day of the match due to waterlogging at Rocklands. There was a pre-match pitch inspection at Ellingham and it seemed in surprisingly good condition with no standing water, although a little soggy in patches.
However there was a cold wind blowing in strongly from the road end and what felt like sleet lashing down in the minutes before KO. Rocklands knew to expect a tough game from Cringleford, having faced each other on several occasions in the past in the South Norfolk League. Cringleford had a great record coming into the game, having lost only one match so far this season and with a reputation for a passing style. Today would be a good test of how far Rocklands had progressed.
As 2pm came, the rain eased off and the match was due to start. Unfortunately, Cringleford only had 10 players due to some last minute cancellations and Rocklands set out to take full advantage. Cringleford won the toss and chose to kick into the very strong wind. In the first few minutes it quickly became clear that the conditions on the day were going to hamper the playing style of both teams...it was not easy to play a passing game with the pitch and the strong winds. Rocklands took some early control with the midfield snapping into tackles quickly and soon created a first opportunity. Ewan received the ball between the Cringleford defence and midfield, then slotted a pass between the centre backs for Anthony to run onto. Coming in from wide, Anthony finished with a typical 'Thierry Henry' curling shot wide of the diving keeper. 1-0 Rocklands.
The second was not far behind, Anthony had the ball wide on the left and crossed into the box on a Rocklands break. Ewan ran onto it and hit a first time shot which was cleared off the line, but only as far as Eliot who swept in from the right to smash it home. 2-0
Cringleford were finding the wind very difficult to deal with. Long clearances were almost impossible as the ball kept getting blown back towards their goal. Rocklands were making the most of the man advantage and dominated possesion with Joe G a constant motion in midifield. Both he and Louis were switching the ball wide whenever possible to avoid the sticky patches in the middle and Cringleford couldn't really cope. Only a couple of great saves from the Cringleford keeper (who had a great game) and some last ditch tackles from their centre backs kept them in it. The third goal was not long in coming however. Cringleford were defending and Rocklands had the ball wide on the left. It was passed into Anthony's feet on the edge of the area and with his head down, he rifled the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the goal. 3-0
Cringleford eventually received some reinforcements, having drafted in another player and were now back up to their full complement of eleven. Credit to the players who held the score at 3-0 in difficult circumstances. There were some occassional breaks from Cringleford, but the defence was holding firm. In particular, Charlie was a towering presence in the air and looks to be forming a good partnership with Joe Thompson. The full backs were defensively solid and could perhaps have pushed on a little more, but that will come.
Rocklands broke again - the quick passing from midfield and the ball in behind the defence was becoming a theme with Anthony and Ewan making threatening runs throughout the first half. Anthony played the ball into the box for Ewan to run on to, the Cringleford defender made an attempt at a sliding challenge but made no contact with the ball and went through the back of Ewan. The referee gave a penalty to Rocklands. Ewan stepped up and fired the ball high and to the right of the keeper. 4-0
Only a few minutes later, Cringleford had a couple of corners and began to build some pressure on the Rocklands defence. A high ball into the box was perhaps caught slightly by the wind and Joe Thompson leant into the ball with his arm and the referee gave a penalty to Cringleford. Fortunately for Rocklands, the penalty was not well struck and Matty dived low to his left and held onto it. He was a reassuring presence throughout the match and dealt comfortably with almost everything in very difficult conditions for keepers.
With Cringleford now having 11 players, they were threatening much more and holding steady at the back. But Rocklands did manage to get a fifth before half time. The Cringleford keeper skewed a clearance and didn't get as much distance as he wanted. The ball dropped to Anthony who fired it straight back into the empty net! 5-0
>>HALF TIME<<
The second half was a different story. Whatever was said in the Cringleford team-talk made a difference and they came out with some real belief and applied pressure to Rocklands from the KO. Rocklands were really under the cosh and like Cringleford in the first half, were struggling to get the ball clear. The goal area by now was becoming very muddy and the Rocklands defence was slipping and sliding around. A little hesitation from Luke on one occasion and some miscommunication amongst the defence on another resulted in two quick goals for Cringleford. There were some signs of panic in the Rocklands defence. Ewan went off for Reece and Rocklands soon created a chance for him to bag his first goal for the club, but he couldn't quite get it on target. Sam went off for Callum. Whether it was tiredness or complacency, Rocklands were losing too many balls in midfield and it wasn't sticking up top in the same way it had in the first half. Joe G was doing his best and put in so many sliding tackles, he looked like he'd taken a mudbath! Reece picked up an injury and Ewan came back on, with Marc also coming on for Joe Spoerry. The team seemed to reignite, with Ewan provding the link between midfield and attack. His first touch after coming back on was to bisect the Cringleford defence and put Marc through 1 on 1, but he hesitated and the Cringleford defender was able to make a saving tackle. The same defender made another last ditch tackle on Anthony later in the half to save an almost certain goal.
The sixth goal was perhaps the best of the season so far. Joe G won the ball in midfield with a crunching tackle, he slipped it sideways to Louis. Louis looked up and played it into Ewan. Ewan beat one and played the ball into Anthony's feet. With his back to goal, Anthony held off the defender and started to roll him before releasing Eliot who was bombing up the right wing. Eliot took the ball in his stride and smashed it into the top corner. A great team move, accurate passing, good movement and a fantastic finish!
This seemed to steady the ship for Rocklands and the defence got a grip. Matty made a string of steady saves, before his save of the season. A long shot from Cringleford looked to be dipping under the bar before Matty leapt like a salmon to palm it over. Fantastic save! Cringelford had one or two long shots and Rocklands looked threatening on the break. Ewan dropped back into midfield and both he and Joe G exerted their physical presence. The final goal for Rocklands was another quick break, but instead of running this into goal (and risk being caught by the Cringelford defence), Anthony shot from outside the area to make it 7-3.
Late in the game, Luke misjudged a 50:50 out wide on the touchline and caught his opponent who could not continue. Luke got a stern talking to from the referee and was lucky not to receive a card. Hopefully the injury was not too serious - Cringleford fought well throughout the match and with a full team out would certainly be very challenging opponents. We wish them the best for the rest of the season.
Rocklands - the hard work in training is paying off. The passing and movement is improving constantly, but we have to concentrate and apply the same level of effort for the whole game and not just in patches. Joe Gyde was immense today, but against stiffer opposition cannot be expected to do all the leg work in the centre himself. Let's hope the pitch recovers for the next game!
