We started on the front foot with six early passes ending with a cross from Glen which fizzed across the area but nobody had gambled. In the 5th minute Sam pulled up to protest a hand ball decision not given and for 5 minutes we held our breath as we teetered on the edge and for the first half we never quite decided whether to explode or implode, good one minute poor the next.
In the 10th minute a lovely diagonal from Ryan released Josh and his effort was blocked for a corner. A few minutes later Kim won a rare header in the central area and he almost released Olli. Just as we were settling into a pattern Kim committed a needless foul in the 15th just outside the box and then lost his man in the box at the resulting freekick as the ball shaved the post. Two minutes later Billy dived in conceding another soft dangerous freekick which again we never dealt with properly. In the 19th Kim failed to stay on his feet and Kyle followed suit going to ground out of position in their half and Josh made it a hat trick of freekicks in 2 minutes with an obvious obstruction. Olli's ballooned direct freekick in the 25th minute made for 15 minutes of generally poor play with most of our quality on display at the back as Chippy and Ryan had Slater and Siggins in their pockets and Revill's excellent distribution demanded a drugs test.
The 30th minute saw us move through the gears and find our real form. Josh went on a fabulous run and was brought down as he was pulling the trigger, a penalty from where i was but one of several decisions which didnt go our way. That raised the temperature and an 8 pass move involving Olli, Sam, Josh and Jack, during which the ball barely touched the floor, ended with a wicked volley from Jack which bent away from the far post. In the 40th Josh went on another surging run and as he was directed into the corner he whipped the ball across but we couldnt capitalise on it. As the half was drawing to a close a 7 pass move ended when the ball was laid off to Kim in acres of space with loads of time (which was called) but he didnt set himself and thrashed the ball high and wide.
The opening of the second half saw us lapse into confusion at the back with Mark, on for Glen, taking too long to get into the tempo of the game and the jitters spread to Chippy who did then compose himself to make a lung busting run which ended with an underhit shot - but at least it was on target - it had taken 50 minutes to get any sort of strike on target!! That run, like Josh's earlier sparked period of intensive pressure, in the 52nd a sweeping team move ended with Jack's diving header connecting with Sam's cross but he couldnt generate enough power to trouble the 'keeper. Sam was in the groove so it was disappointing when a trademark slalom run earned him a 1 on 1 but he chose a FIFA Soccer sidefoot when laces was needed. An indirect freekick a couple of minutes later was netted by Olli - the fact the entire team celebrated a goal that was never going stand shows that we dont know our signals - more importantly nobody asked the referee!!. Left hand upright (pointing to the sky) means indirect and this is kept up until the kick is taken. Left hand out a right angle means direct freekick. Unless taking a quick one always ask the referee.
The next 10 minutes saw us dominate possession and included a lovely 8 pass move involving Ryan Sam and Josh with Josh driving just wide. A corner followed a minute later and Jacks header was just too strong. In the 72nd minute Josh went on another powerful run at the heart of Cobra's, as they closed him down Sam picked up the loose and ended his own dribbly chin run with a low drive which the 'keeper kept out but Olli was on hand to net the rebound from close range for 1-0. With that goal in the bag we never looked like letting them back in the game.
In the 36th minute Josh picked up the ball on the right hand side, dropped a shoulder and unleashed a drive, i swear it had a trail of flames it was that hot - a thing of beauty nestling in the top left corner. Fantastic. Andy (last 10) and Steve (last 5) came on to see the game out and it was Andy running the ballacross the area that earned him a penalty foul which KIm converted to break Cobras hearts.
When we were good today we were very very good. Billy/Chippy/Ryan/Kyle with Revill behind were too good for Cobras predictable long ball game. Chippy and Ryan in particular were immaculate. In the second half we rediscovered our team ethic and this could be seen in the way were free with our movement on and off the ball but always managing to keep a decent shape.
Last game of the season on Wednesday. The result means everything. We dont want to spend the Summer brooding on what might have been - its Double or Nothing so bring your "A" game. Winners.
