One no show and two late arrivals meant that all the pre-match preps were thrown out of the window. The instructions were to start at a high tempo to put them under early pressure but do it in a controlled way not forcing openings but working them through possession.
In the early period we had excellent movement when in possession but fell back into trying to force openings and rushing them when they came so a catalogue of early good chances were wasted.These included a 5th min opening by Steve, 2 15th minute slashed shots by Sam, an 18th minute blast wide by Kim, a 20th minute scewed shot by Olli and a 25th minute double 1-2 which got away from Kim as he tried to round the 'keeper.
They offered nothing at the other end and one look at their forwards made that clear. It was more than disappointing that we were unable to meet their token efforts in a disciplined/organised way and bad language and fouls from Bill and Kyle in particular resulted in 2 yellows and both were lucky not to see red - we are much much better than that.
Olli switched wings mid way through the 1st period when it was clear that he had the pace to unhinge their wooden back line. He was given a bit of rough ride and finally decided to let his football do the talking, taking the free kick he earned and providing a trademark delivery which Kim cut across to net home from close range. Within 5 minutes Olli latched onto a poor clearance and powered through two closing defenders to bag one for himself.
Towards the end of the first period they looked like folding as both Olli and Sam found themselves in 1 on 1 territory but failed to convert. At the interval the referee warned us that continued bad language and chiselling would lead to more yellows and reds.He also told us that we have a reputation as a dynamic footballing side but that we are in danger of becoming more than unpopular if we fail to match our skill with discipline - we all know it.
The only change at the interval was to withdraw Bill who was a whisker away from walking and who was probably lucky to see the interval. Lee coming on for Bill meant a re-shape but if anything the change unsettled us as Lee struggled to get to the pace of the game and we found ourselves being closed down and conceding possession. In that period a laces clearance from Nathan found Olli racing through to extend our lead to 3-0. By around the 15th minute this was pushed to 4-0 as Darryl powered home Ollie's corner. That was the signal to withdraw Olli - he'd done enough and was exposed to a threatened card from a referee who was a bit too slow to provide proper protection from some ugly/clumsy challenges.
The introduction of Glen on the right allowed Lee to switch left and bring Steve inside which gave us a better balance during the final quarter of the game, although we did concede a consolation when we allowed them to go through three tackles down our left and have two bites at the resulting cross. Its a pity that Gary couldn't claim a clean sheet - he'd done his job simply and well up to then dealing well with what threats and crosses that they put together.
We responed quickly when Sam and Darryl combined to create a slick goal for Darryl. In the 35th minute Kyle produced a moment of quality to redeem an otherwise low key performance. His driven freekick was controlled and turned by Sam who netted in the style we'd become accustomed to but had forgotten about. Five minutes later Dan snuffed out an attempted clearance and dinked the ball though to Sam who's close control did the defender allowing an easy slot from close range. Before the ref blew up we hit the woodwork three times and Sam had a header for his trick ruled out for offside.
2-1 or 7-1 a win's a win and we can only beat what's put in front of us. We can though do it better. we can be better organised on and off the pitch, we can conduct ourselves better. Referees will leave us to get on with the game if we leave them to get on with refereeing, including deciding when/when not to allow the game to run.
Next Sunday we will be expecting a much higher standard of discipline before, during and after the game as well as a much improved off the ball work rate.
