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Fun in the sun as Viper Reds too hot for Consett Fire…
2111 kilometres. That’s 1312 miles. That’s a long way. A really long way. In fact it’s the distance between Monkton Stadium and the Bernabeu in Madrid; the Spanish home of Xabi Alonso, Cristiano Ronaldo and Casillas. This weekend ‘El Clasico’ will see those footballing legends from Real Madrid play a bunch of other not bad footballers in the shape of their arch rivals Barcelona, with Puyol, Xavi and a certain Lionel Messi.
Will their pitch be drier? Definitely. Will their crowd be bigger? Without a doubt. Will there be more goals scored? Possibly. But will the match be any more exciting than this clash between Monkton Viper Reds vs top of the table Consett Fire? No way!
And for once, blue skies and warm sunshine at Monkton as the Vipers turned up the heat and produced an absolute classic. The Mighty Reds kept up their recent good form with not only a magnificent result but also the best performance so far this season. Or rather the ‘Whites’ as, playing in the away strip, the Vipers started the match determined to take the game to Consett Fire right from the off.
With Alex in tremendous form in goal, Lewis Ireland and Jordan were both exceptional in defence and Rob, Jack, Adams Elstob and Wardle, Lewis Keenan, Harry and Jack covered the rest of the field with fantastic tackling , passing, and movement off the ball. What a team!
An early run down the right wing from the excellent Adam Wardle and a pass inside to Harry whose shot was well saved by the keeper but good early pressure from the Vipers.
And at the back, a no-nonsense block from Jordan set the tone for some fearsome defending. What does Lewis Ireland have for breakfast? His tackling was awesome today: strong, well-timed and brave.
Captain Marvel was beginning to take control in midfield both going forward with some good play and also breaking up the Consett attacks. And when Consett did break through the midfield Jordan and Lewis Ireland combined well to cover each other.
A strong tackle from Lewis and a quick pass up the line allowed Harry to flick the ball onto the excellent Adam Wardle whose run into the box needed some great defence from Consett to get the ball away at the expense of a corner.
The Consett keeper was by far the busier in the early stages as shots from Robert and Adam Wardle were well saved. But when the ball broke to Jack in the box, a neat flick with the outside of the right foot steered the ball to the keeper’s right and into the net. GOAL!!!!! Cool finish, Jack, 1-0.
Consett then showed that they weren’t going to give up by producing a fine attack down their left wing which allowed them to shoot and leave the keeper no chance, 1-1.
Good link-up play between Robert and Harry, who spins and shoots but the keeper manages to push the ball away for a corner. And somehow the score remained level as from the resulting corner, the ball was lifted over the bar by the Viper’s attack. So close!
More great work in defence, this time from Jordan whose clever pass to Adam Wardle created the move that saw Jack with the ball at his feet in the danger area. A great move and another cracking finish from our goal machine that we like to call Jack, 2-1.
Consett looked to get back in the match and the Vipers’ defence was called into action when an unbelievable goal-mouth scramble somehow failed to end in a goal. Phew! If the coaches were nervous before the match then that didn’t help. Jimmy, patrolling the sideline amongst the Consett mams and dads, was lovin’ it.
And with a Consett player down injured, clever coaching from Gary who used the opportunity to come onto the pitch and give the Lads some advice, as well as tying the odd bootlace. You don’t see that on Match of the Day. Watch and learn Sir Alex, watch and learn!
A good throw in from Harry down the right and Adam set off with an excellent run into the box but a good shot on goal was well saved by the Consett keeper.
Next, a good pass in from Robert wide on the left found Harry at the edge of the box. With his back to goal, good control and a great shot on the turn beat the keeper and the ball was in the onion bag. Great work Harry, to make the half-time score 3-1.
Lewis Keenan and Adam Elstob came into the match and immediately set about continuing the good work. Some tough tackling in midfield from Adam and some clever forward play from Lewis, holding the ball up well and linking the play with midfield. Excellent to watch, Lads.
Some great end to end football with both sides looking to attack. Some tasty defence from the Vipers left Consett in no doubt that it would take something special to get back into the match. Three eye-watering attempts at tackles by the Vipers couldn’t halt an excellent Consett run and great shot, but somehow Alex made a remarkable save, diving low down to his right to turn the well-struck shot around the post. Brilliant goalkeeping, Alex!
And another crucial tackle from Adam Elstob saved another likely goal as the match ended 3-1 to the Vipers.
Somehow 10/10 doesn’t seem to describe the hard-working, tough tackling, committed performance from each and every player today. Credit too to Consett who played well but were today up against the formidable footballing machine that is Monkton Viper Reds. A great result for the Reds and also for our mates, the Vipers.
Awesome. Class. Quality. Or as they say in Barcelona, magnifico, brillante, excelente!!!
Final Score: 3-1
Jimmy’s Man of the Match: Captain Marvel (aka Robert)
John’s Man of the Match: Harry Edwardson
Gary’s Man of the Match: Lewis Ireland
