Clayton Orient 3 St Michaels 5 St Michaels finished 2011 playing away against a side that recently had been in good form and were expected to provide a stern test for St Michaels who were currently unbeaten in the League and who stood second in the League.
Unlike last week when St Michaels took an early lead, Clayton Orient surged into the attack and after only 2 minutes they opened the scoring with a simple tap in. St Michaels were playing neat football on a very bumpy pitch but it took a bit of luck to get them back into the game, when in the15th minute good work by Ronnie Mewes led to the home side putting through their own net to make it 1-1. Adam Fahy was a constant threat down the left wing and was the victim of numerous bad fouls which the referee either did not see or was just plain useless. I think the latter was more the case. The game became very scrappy mainly due to the state of the pitch and it was not until the 39th minute when St Michaels took a deserved lead with a cross from Ben Baptiste going straight into the net to make it 1-2. Ben seems to be making a nice habit of that type of goal.
H T Clayton Orient 1 St Michaels 2
St Michaels started the 2nd half much quicker than their opponents and after only a minute from the restart a good cross from Jack Meade was brilliantly flicked on by Aaron Hughes for Danny Baptiste to be on the spot again at the far post to convert and give St Michaels a 2 goal cushion. St Michaels continued to dominate without scoring and in the 59th minute their captain Sam Meade pulled a hamstring and was replaced by James Mckerrell, who went to left back with Connor Reardon taking Sam’s place as Captain and Centre Half. In the 64th minute a shot on the left by Adam Fahy made the score 1-4. Three minutes later St Michaels left a gap on their right and the Clayton Orient forward calmly put the ball in to make it 2-4 and give them some hope that they could still get back into the game. Nine minutes later this became a reality when St Michaels failed to deal with a long ball down the middle and Connor Reardon gave away a penalty which was converted to bring the score to 3-4. St Michaels however did not let this unsettle them and in the 80th minute a good ball from Ben Baptiste found Adam Fahy who turned and shot in one movement finding the corner of the goal to restore St Michaels 2 goal lead.
With the unbeaten league run continuing. Special mention this week goes to Aaron Hughes for another skilful performance in midfield and to Adam Fahy who, apart from scoring 2 good goals was a constant threat down the left. However Man of the Match goes to Ben Baptiste who was tireless in his running and whose tackling was as strong as anything seen this season. Brilliant performance Ben.
Finally, I would like to say a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to all players, officials and supporters of St Michaels F C.
