Extremely blustery conditions and a hard pitch led to a game of few clear-cut chances on what was always going to be a tense top of the table encounter. The absence of our regular pitch side reporter also didn’t help as we tried to keep up with the action.
Rocklands kicked-off for the first half with the wind against them. Steve had set up the team to deal with the potential threat from St Andrews with Joey doing a man-marking job. This was working well and a lot of the action was coming down Rocklands right side with combinations from Luke H, Eliot and Louis doing their best to keep the ball in play. One or two openings were created and both Steff and Robbie went close. A corner from the left was met firmly by Joey but flew just over the bar.
St Andrews were adapting to the conditions and were making good use of “route 1” tactics to put pressure on the Rocklands defence which was being well marshaled in the centre by Luke C and Joe S. Mattie had to deal with a few long-range efforts, which in turn, led to corners. It was from one of these that St Andrews scrambled the opening goal. The ball ricocheted between several players, and with the Rocklands’ defence unable to get a foot in, St Andrews bundled it across the line. “Scrappy” was the verdict from the long-suffering Rocklands fans.
Rocklands were determined to stick to their principles and they were looking to pass the ball through midfield to create an opening. Again the conditions were making life difficult as some these passes were swept into dangerous areas for the Rocklands’ midfield and defenders. Ewan had come on for Steff but it was proving difficult to get the ball through to Robbie who was looking a bit isolated up front at times.
Half time brought a well-earned rest having contained St Andrews to just one goal. Steve decided some tactical changes were needed and abandoned the man-marking system. Joey was switched to left back and Jack joined the fray to support Robbie with Steff also coming back on. This was the sort of Mourinho type thinking that we have come to expect!
In spite of having the wind in their favour, Rocklands did not just resort to long ball tactics. A few more strikes from distance may have been wise, but at least there were through balls down the left hand side that were looking to exploit Steff’s pace. At the other end the defence were coping with the occasional threats. A few scrappy fouls led to free kicks, and from one of these Joe S saw a well-hit effort go just over the bar. As more pressure was applied, Joe G went close with an instinctive left-foot shot from a tight angle – just over. Eliot re-joined and was involved immediately with a good run down the right. From the resulting corner, St Andrews just managed to clear at the near post.
Finally a break-through. Steff chased a lost cause and managed to win a throw in. The ball was lofted into the penalty area, headed on and Louis was in the right spot to leap and send a looping header over the keeper into the net. Game on!
As St Andrews tried to break for a winner, hearts were in mouths as the ball fell to one of their strikers closing in on goal. Luckily Luke H was in the right place to snuff out the danger. Rocklands were getting plenty of possession and forcing the ball into the St Andrews box at every opportunity. As the clock ticked down, the ball went out for another corner. This time it was taken short and Robbie crossed into the 6-yard box. As the St Andrews’ defenders tried to clear it, Louis met the ball to head over the line. Scrappy again, but they all count was the verdict from the touchline.
Only a few minutes to go and Rocklands were determined to hold on. They got the ball into the corners of the pitch and kept the pressure of the defence until the ref blew for full time. A hard-earned win, but this was just what Steve had demanded and sets us up for a thrilling end of season race for the title.
Man of the match was awarded to Louis for sealing the win and showing that putting your head in to attack the ball in dangerous areas is worthwhile. As the crowd disbursed, the overriding view was it was a very good team performance to overcome the conditions.
Finally, we look forward to welcoming back our usual “roaming reporter” as soon as possible!
