After not playing a competitive game of football for a few weeks, perhaps it was inevitable that we looked a little rusty in our play. Taking that into account Aim High got of lightly! A very quick start from us saw Aim Highs goal attacked within the first 30 seconds! It looked like we were going to tear them apart, but that was clearly not going to happen as Aim High dug deep to stop us playing our passing game. They were first to every ball, while we stood off letting them take the ball. We didn't put in enough challenges around the pitch (apart from Ryan who was putting himself about well) and were quiet vocally. Taking all this into account it was no suprise when we went a goal behind following a good through ball from the Aim High midfielder, who pulled all their strings. It was a neat finish past Tyler, who apart from conceeding a goal (through no fault of his own) was once again a rock in goal. 1-0 The goal spurred us into life as so often it does, and within a minute we were level following a good interchange of passing leading to Connor crossing for Jack to keep us his record of scoring in every game this season! 1-1. We still wasn't getting stuck in but we were creating chances in front of goal. Jack grabbed his second of the afternoon when a free kick from Brad was parried by the keeper, Jack followed up to tuck the ball away, 1-2. The game went a little flat for a while with both teams misplacing passes and defences working well to stop any attacks. Some indecisions from our defence, (trying to let the ball run out for a goal kick) was a mistake as Aim high robbed the ball and managed to get a good shot off, which was saved well by Tyler, leading to a corner. The incoming corner saw another shot saved by Tyler, but with the ball bouncing around our six yard box there were shots being fired at our goal from all angles. Three times we managed to stop the ball crossing the line with some last ditch defending! The linesman, Hawk Eye (aka Stacey) had to be on his toes to keep a close eye on the ball and the goalline! However, it was clear the ball hadn't crossed the line. Another free kick from Brad was well saved by the Aim High keeper who had a very good game. It wasn't until the 34th minute before we managed to add to the scoreline, with Callum scoring a rare goal with his head, (as predicted by his Dad before leaving home), after a cross from Jack, 1-3. Again just a minute later it was 1-4 with Lewis, this time following up on a shot that was spilled by the keeper. Jack had a good chance to complete his hatrick but was denied by a combination of Keeper/post and his own feet as his stumbled shot was pushed onto the post and out for a corner! H/T
In the 2nd half we looked sharper and a few more tackles were going in on the Aim High players. We worked hard and had most of the play but failed to add to our goals until the 54th Minute. Lewis played a through ball into Callum who nutmegged the advancing keeper with his clever poked shot which managed to reach the back of the net before a defender could chase back and make a clearence, 1-5. Four minutes later was the goal of the game, and was a fine way for Jack to complete his hatrick! A throw from Gerald was flicked into the area only for a defender to head it away. Jack was waiting just outside the area, he hooked it over his shoulder and unleashed a "WORLDY" of a left foot volley that flew into the top corner leaving the keeper with no chance! 1-6. Tom who was now playing in midfield doing his Wasp job (buzzing around the opposition anoying them) went close with a long range effort which went narrowly wide of the post. The final goal of the game came in the last minute when Jack scrambled in a corner from Brad to complete the win 1-7. Another win in our quest to win the league which is always nice. The game was also an opportunity to change our formation which we did three times! 4-4-2, 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 so it was good to practice these formations against a team we knew we could get away with it. (no disrespect to Aim High) Quotes : "Bloody freezing" (all the supporters) "Boring" (Mark "Mourinho" Lemay)
Well done lads, you ground out another win but we have more levels to use when we play the better teams!
