Whilst we were quick out of the blocks in the previous two games Albans were even quicker and put pressure on us and the ball in all areas of the pitch. Under pressure we were unable to settle into any early rythm and we hung on for the first 20 minutes just by sheer will power and organisation.
In possession Albans had good movement on and off the ball and a new forced centre mid pairing of Ryan and Kim was often overrun. Sam as a lone holding player was made to suffer by thier good inter-changes and lateral play although on several occassions his anticipation allowed him to make crutial interventions. Behind him Nathan was caught in possession two or three times and eventually after 20 or so minutes Chippy conceded a penalty to give them the breakthrough their play deserved.
Our reaction was excellent and from the restart a sweeping passing move saw Kyle head home from close range after their 'keeper failed to hold Olli's snap shot. At 1-1 we looked to be regaining a foothold but as we broke again as a team Kim took a bit too long to recycle the ball, the move broke down leaving us outnumbered on the counter and they easily slotted home to make it 2-1.
Steve and Kyle had little change from their rigid back four who were well drilled on when to go tight and when to drop off and were unable to make the ball stick. At the same time Kim was being drawn further forward to offer a lay-off option further exposing us in the central area. At half time we re-shuffled introducing a second holding midfielder to draw them out and to create space behind to be exploited by Sam and Olli who were pushed up top, with Kim behind as the most advanced of a Midfield trio. This gave us a great deal more possession and we looked to carry a greater goal threat.
It was against the run of play when the ball ricocheted around the edge of our box and fell to them to hit a sweet long range drive past a stranded Gary. We went further behind t 4-1 when neither the ref nor the linesman were able to see a blatent offside. At no stage did our heads drop nor did we stop believing. We were rewarded when a lovely end to end move saw the ball find the back of the net of Sam's head.
At 4-2 we were reasserting ourselves and Albans were running out of steam and ideas and we had the scent of a full comeback only for Kyle to cock a deaf un to Chippy's call and they capitalised on the confusion that followed. This was a pity and probably undeserved after Kyle had teamed up with Glen to put in an excellent 45 playing in front of Chippy. We still saved our best for last. A driving run by Ryan led to a simple lay off from Ricky to Sam who beat his man with a round the corner turn, burned to the touchline and delivered a perfect driven cross for Olli to slot home - lovely.
In between all this Gary put in an excellent MOM performance, he could do nothing about the goals, made some great saves, especially with his feet and showed more signs that he is starting to command his whole box. Nathan is quickly adapting to our style of play and Glen had a solid and more disciplined second 45. Olli was unlucky not to score when he broke free and drove gainst the post, Chippy came close from a couple of set pieces and everybody performed well, particularly in the second period, against quality opposition
We had the feeling that if this game had come in a couple of weeks when we are up with the pace and have found our competitive edge the result might have been different but this was a good side who played good football in a good hard way and it was top class preparation for the coming season.
