A month ago, recovering from The County Cup Semi-Final loss, saw us put that disappointment behind us and return to action with a workmanlike 1-0 League Cup Quarter Final win over Queens Park Rangers. This was our return to action following our Bill Bruty Cup Final victory and a blank fixture due to the Easter weekend so for different reasons we expected that in order to claim our secound Cup Final slot that we might need to turn in another hard working performance over a Sharp side hovering around the top of the table.
We started brightly and moved the ball quickly from back to front. Gary's distribution was excellent today and an early overhand throw set up a a sweeping passing move that ended with Ollie in a one on one with their 'keeper who came off best and that set the tone for their rearguard resistance during the rest of game. We went close with several early attempts but the critical breakthrough came at around the 15 minute mark when Joel reacted quickly to take throw-in and Jack let the ball run across his body to hit a sweet volley on the turn which nestled in the top corner beyond the diving 'keeper.
As it turned out this was our only moment of true quality up top in a game which we dominated for long periods - not for the first time has Jack delivered a quality match winning strike under pressure. Our approach play at times was exceptional resulting in the creation of a large number of half chances and clear cut chances. Their 'keeper was excellent in his positioning and in his 'keeping and on occassions we were beaten by a combination of poor first touch and bobbly surface but in truth we lacked our usual composure in front of goal and the longer the game remained balanced at 1-0 the more our anxiety grew, leading to forced final balls and snatched goal attempts.
The game might have been out of reach early on when the ref turned in reaction to a shout from one of our players and missed the ball crossing the line - it should have been 2-0 but thats football. In the second half Lee withdrew with a groin strain, George came on at left back and Ryan switched wide right. This gave us new impetus higher up the pitch but didnt result in a change of fortune in front of goal. Joel withdrew 15 or so minutes into the second half for the same reason and Bill came on in a like for like swap. Kyle came on 15 minutes from the end for Harry with Kim dropping into central midfield and this was the only change which had any real effect. Kyle pressed at pace higher up the pitch and both he and Kim earned one on one opportunities to kill the tie but again their 'keeper came out on top.
Today was all about getting back to basics to earn another Cup Final appearance and we did all the right things today. We kept a clean sheet and restricted them to long range or set piece attempts. We worked hard as a team encouraging each other and more importantly every player had the confidence to continue to demand the ball from first to last whistle. The continued creation of goal scoring opportunities was impressive and we always had the feeling that we could step up a couple of gears and score goals if we had to.
Chippy and Chris were immense today - unbeatable in the air, on the floor and in their anticipation of the play. There wasn't much between them in terms of performance but Chris just edged MOM with the quality of his link play.
Our League Cup final appearance is in the bank and we can forget about it for now. What is now in front of us a straight three match challege to reach The Bert Yabsley (all divisions) Trophy final. Because of our own success so far we are the unique position of having three Yabsley fixtures three weeks running, starting with Elsenham next week, then the Quarters, then the Semis. We know we are still on for a history making, never been done before treble - but what about The Quadruple - we'll be playing league games while the world cup is on - we dont care, we love it. Come on The Association, lets have it.
