Nobody likes us, everybody hates us........but we can play some glorious football.
Despite all the pre-match good intentions we let ourselves down in the first 15 minutes and teetered on the edge of falling apart or pulling together but we eventually got it right.
In the 2nd minute a fired up Dazza came out on top of a big challenge, broke clear and released Kim but the pass was just too strong and the 'keeper rushed out to claim. Unfortunately Dazza was too pumped up and despite the vows to lay off a card happy referee he kicked off a chain of arguing which infected Chippy who came within a whisker of a booking and Sam who collected a yellow which took the edge off the rest of his game - a real pity as this was a game set up for him to niggle away and impose himself up front.
In the 12th minute Kim was just too slow laying off the ball, as our attack broke down we fouled as we recovered and the resulting freekick was deflected in off the wall, it was the arguing after this that led to Sam's Yellow. This turned the game as it forced us to focus on doing the right things and playing football.
It was Dazza, who went on to turn in 75 minutes of really good driving midfield play, who released Jack in the 16th minute. As Jack broke into the box he was tackled and brought down but recovered with an off the floor tackle and Kim followed up to net the loose ball from close range. Those two had a hand in four of our five goals. In the 20th minute a surging run from Chippy saw him play two running one-twos with Kim and Sam before unleashing a low drive which beat the 'keeper but not the post - wonderful football. A minute later Sam and Josh combined well to play in Jack but he set his feet wrong and the chance ran across him. A couple of minutes later Josh was caught in possession in a central area but a recovering run and tackle from Glen denied them a strike on goal. On the half hour mark Kyle went on a powerful box to box run finally releasing Sam for a good shooting opportunity.
In the 33rd Jack played a loose blind ball and although we recovered possession, Billie, Ollie and Chippy had a game of ring a roses eventually falling down and losing the ball. In the 40th Dazza played a neat ball to Sam who released Jack one on one with the 'keeper, Jack's first attempt was down the 'keeper's throat but he had the instinct to carry on the run and netted at the second attempt for 2-1. As half time approached Olli, Sam, Jack and Josh combined with great movement, The opening was carved for Josh but he lost his footing as he went to strike - pity the move deserved to test the 'keeper.
Josh had a fairly quiet game but he did set the tempo a minute after the re-start with a long range 40 yard drive which almost caught the 'keeper napping. On the 49th Glen drove down the left and played a sweet ball for Kim to run on to, he wrapped his foot around the cross and the number 7 bus arrived on time with a thumping header for 3-1. In the 60th minute Josh was patrolling the central area, a quick exchange with Dazza led to a lovely diagonal from Dazza to Kim whose early cross on the run was netted in stride by Sam for 4-1 - simple football, deadly effective. Billy, was then withdrawn so Bowles could get his shirt dirty and Glen switched left to right. In the 66th Kyle was unfortunate to be carded for a clumsy side on tackle but the sight of yellow gave Sam the shivers and he surrendered to Neil for the last 20 (smart move).
Around the 75th we were awarded (allah akbah) a direct free kick on the edge of the box and Ollie stepped up and duly delivered with a lovely clean hit for 5-1. With 5 to go Jack's pressing high up won him possession but he shot over on the turn and that was the last action of note in a game we bossed for all but the first 15 minutes.
Unfortunately we're now suffering from our own poor rep and today's two yellows won't have helped but we've been here before and we know exactly how to win when we're playing against 13!
Today felt like a turning point in our season for lots of reasons. By their high standards Josh and Sam had "quiet" (but not poor) games and everyone else seemed to sense it and stepped up to the plate so the whole team had a much more balanced, cohesive feel to it. As always there were mistakes but these tended to be in ution, overall our decision making, commitment and team work was very good. Glen shaded Man of the Match on a day when half a dozen players joined him by turning in strong performances.
