With six players out through injury or holiday we were down to 12 members made up to an unlucky 13 for Grange by the wild card signing of Josh (who will help us out when we are tight on numbers). Some teams have 25 or 30 players (like Heath or Grange) but we prefer quality to quantity and we had quality in abundance today.
We battered Grange from the off but Sam, el Capitano for the day, was struggling with a foot injury and failed to net from a hat trick of good openings. Other chances went begging and we hit half time 0 - 0 when we should have been 5 or 6 up. With Grange not having a sniff at our end and us peppering their goal at the other we were pretty relaxed that the shape of the team was right and that the breakthrough would come.
Half time saw Chris and Sam exit with injury and a team reshuffle which left only Gary and Dan in their original starting positions. Lesser players would not be able to cope with this scale of mid-game change but we're a different class and the changes were made to look seamless. Lee withdrawn to wing and then him and Stevie deciding to switch, Kyle moved to centreback, Ryan to rightback, Glen and Neil paired up front and Darryl paired in the middle with Josh. This was what our entire pre-season was focussed on - rotational changes during games - and we made it look easy.
10 minutes after the break Lee found space for a lovely whipped cross which Josh met on the full volley on the edge of the 18 yard box - the ball tore past the 'keeper and tore open the net. Fantastic technique and a wonderful goal to crown a fine individual performance which enhanced the team's overall performance. 10 minutes later Josh turned provider when he slipped a ball through to Neil who proved too strong for the closing defender and clincally slotted home - well done Neil. Nathan added a bit of grit to the left hand side and it was his switched cross which found Stevie coasting in at the back of the 6 yard box to bundle home for 3 - 0.
By now we were in full swing and you could smell their fear as Glen was chasing down a throughball and forced the defender to prod past his own 'keeper. At 4 - 0 with just 10 minutes left we became a bit cavalier and were caught too far forward and were hit on the counter. It was an irritating way to lose a clean sheet and we have to have that ruthlessness at both ends of the pitch so we completely demoralise sides - no more soft goals. Our response was equally swift, as the kettle was boiling Dan latched on to an overhit cross and clipped the ball through to Josh who slipped past a defender. With a box full of our players screaming for the cross Josh hit a fierce tight angled drive past a helpless 'keeper - goodnight vienna, we loved it.
So many plusses today. We set about our business properly and kept playing good football thoughout the 90 minutes, no passengers and no coasting. Ryan is a lethal weapon when we attack from the back and the link up with Stevie was excellent with Stevie showing an increasing work rate off the ball adding to the dynamic of our play. Darryl's contribution is rising as his fitness improves. Every player showed great versatility, commitment and skill today and this really was a strong team performance in the best sense.
MOM is a tough call today with a full 13 outstanding players but Kyle just edged it for his focus and strength at key points in the game
