Fladbury Athletic 5 v 0 TS UNITS FC
Evesham Prem Cup Last 16
The UNITS made the trek down to Evesham to take on Prem outfit Fladbury in the last 16 of the cup. Cuzer was without Coco, Luke & Winny but took a strong 16 man squad to the game as we lined up Mozza, Clarkey, Tonka, Jamo, Gilo, Baker, Leon, Taylor, Azza, Ashton & Pountney Subs were Chinner, Ryan, Jim, Rob & Trigger
The pitch was long but not wide and anything but flat so good football would have been difficult on such a surface, both sides lined up 4-3-3 yet it showed early on the home side were much more used to the pitch than the visitors as we found ourselves on the back foot early on as the ball was quickly launched from back to front asking questions of the UNITS back line Alas we once again started sloppy, 5 minutes in and Gilo was weak in possession having a pass intercepted, Fladbury got the ball quickly forward and their striker held off Jamo before hitting a strong shot from the angle which beat Mozza at his near post and whistled into the net 1-0 down Before we had chance to regroup it was 2, another long ball this time dealt with better initially but Fladbury won the 2nd ball and put it back in the box from the resulting scramble the ball was poked home for Fladbury's 2nd
15 minutes in and we had been a shambles, the 3 weeks without a game was showing as we were 2nd all over the park against a no nonsense home side The referee was having a bit of a shocker and was extremely soft when their midfielder pushed Taylor in the face after an altercation, straight red in anybody's book but he bottled it and only produced a yellow We finally started to get a foot hold in the game after gifting the home side a 2 goal lead, it was clear to see ability wise there was nothing between the sides but Fladbury looked fitter and more hungry than the UNITS which was extremely disappointing after our recent improvement 25 in and Pountney whipped in a wicked free kick which evaded everybody only for the home keeper to palm the ball around the post, the closest we had come to getting a goal back We forced over 10 corners in the first half but we couldn't make the most of them, some solid defending from the home side and some bad luck with loose balls dropping to Fladbury meant we couldn't force ourselves back into the game It was the returning Taylor who had our best chance when he showed quick feet on the edge of the box to make a yard of space before firing inches over with his left foot from 18 yards with the keeper beaten Ashton and Leon had attempts comfortable held by the keeper as we finished the half on top but our early sloppiness meant Fladbury had the all important lead
HT Fladbury 2 v 0 TS UNITS
Needless to say none of the management were happy with what they had witnessed, the home side had been much more up for the game than the visitors and deservedly lead 2-0 Two changes were made Jim replacing Taylor and Ryan replacing Clarkey
Next goal was crucial and the UNITS started on the front foot, having the lions share of possession kicking down the slope but again, disappointingly with the 3 forwards we had on the pitch clear chances were at a premium Alas the crucial next goal came with the home sides first venture into our half, Jim was guilty of giving away a needless free kick 30 yards out, the ball was whipped in where we lost the first header across the box, the midfielder was not tracked and he bundled the ball home under Mozza from close range with the UNITS asking for the offside but not given With a 3 goal cushion the home side were now more than happy to sit deep and play on the break, we kept going but it was one of those days where nothing was going for us, epitomised by Ashton having a goal chalked off on 55minutes, his 20 yarder finding the bottom corner but Leon ruled to be impeding the keepers vision standing in an offside position so the goal didn't stand It was a morning to forget for the UNITS but not helped by a terribly biased referring performance towards the home side, the UNITS had two penalty claims rejected in a 5 minute spell, firstly Azza was put in but as he tried to flick the ball past the centre half in the box it struck the hand but nothing given and then Lewis chased a through ball and was rugby tackled around the waist by the defender, a more blatant penalty you will never see yet somehow the referee played on, woeful officiating. Rob then replaced an out of sorts Azza with 20 left as the units had shuffled to a 442 Jamo pushed up and had a 20 yard shot comfortable held by the keeper and Lewis showed great feet to beat his man and hook his shot inches over the bar with the keeper beaten but it just wasn't coming for the UNITS On 75 minutes the home side got a fourth, from a UNITS attack Fladbury broke yet their striker was up against 4 UNITS defenders, somehow we failed to put a tackle in, stand off him and then allow him to curl a shot over Mozza from 18 yards, again more sloppy play was punished With 5 remaining Fladbury got a 5th with a quick, slick counter attack which left us outnumbered at the back and seal a deserved passage into the QF's of the competition
A real morning to forget for the UNITS who were 2nd best all morning, way too many players performing nothing like what they're capable of and a massive improvement is required next week as we take on arguably the hardest working side in the division Dudley Sports
Man of the match went to Ryan Smith who came on for the 2nd half and showed more desire than most and moved the ball better than most his team mates
Mozza 5 Clarkey 6 Tonka 6 Jamo 6 Gilo 5 Baker 5 Leon 6 Taylor 6 Azza 5 Ashton 5 Lewis 6
Subs Ryan 7* Jim 6 Rob 6
