The UNITS took on Worcester Division 1 side KGV this morning in the Worcester FA Sunday Junior Cup 1st round
With Pountney away and Jay now at UNI Cuzer gave first starts to Ross and Matt Powell, also returning skipper Paul Taylor partnered Baker in the middle of the park as we lined up
Mala, Barney, Penna, Kirbs, Darbs, Ross, Baker, Taylor, Jonah, Marcus and Poweller - Subs Ferreira, Eggy, Jim, Chinner & Lacey
KGV are a strong side who prior to today had not lost a competitive game for over 15 months so it was no surprise when they started brightly, moving the ball around well yet chances were few and far between and the UNITS were competing well as the first 15 minutes were basically a midfield battle
KGV took the lead shortly after though after a mix up in the UNITS backline, a long diagonal ball was put on Penna and as he cushioned the ball back to Mala he wrong footed our keeper extraordinaire leaving the KGV forward to side foot into an empty net. It was a sloppy goal to concede and maybe KGV just deserved to be ahead however the reaction from the UNITS was excellent
Only 5 minutes later Barney whipped in a delightful free kick from out wide with the now christened "wand" of a right foot and Kirbs planted a bullet header into the top corner from 15 yards
The UNITS were now on top, Marcus glanced two throws across the face of goal which were crying out for a touch and Matt Powell was twice inches away from getting on through balls as we started to turn the screw
Ross was putting in a right shift on his full debut and after a deft touch from Powell he raced clear of the KGV backline only to shoot wide when clean through
However on 30 minutes the pressure told when KGV failed to clear their lines and Paul Taylor struck a lovely left foot shot from 20 yards into the bottom corner giving the KGV keeper no chance
Both Darbs and Kirbs were carrying knocks yet were defending exceptionally well, carrying on from where they left off against Chaddesley so it was a real surprise when more sloppy UNITS play let KGV come in on level terms when on the stroke of half time Barney was too far up the pitch leaving Darbs in a one on one with the striker, he got away from Darbs too easily and stroked the ball past Mala to level things up seconds before the whistle
Half Time 2-2
Cuzer gave the boys a rocket for the sloppiness of the KGV late equaliser as the overall play in the first half had warranted us a lead, with the wind in their favour the 2nd half was always going to be tough for the UNITS and they were sent back out with this warning in their ears
KGV started bright and Mala was alert on two occasions keeping out shots from distance as the UNITS had to dig in however dig in we did and another major plus point of this season is the increased work rate without the ball which is making us very difficult to play against and solid. KGV were now seeing a lot of the ball yet it was all 30 yards from our goal and the now limping Kirbs and Darbs were still winning everything put on them
Lacey & Chinner replaced Barney & Penna at full backs in a substitution you don't see that often but KGV were stretching the play and the fresh legs in key positions was the thinking behind it
Jim then replaced Matt Powell on the 70 minute mark, Powell can be pleased with the shift he put in and he never gave the KGV backline a moments peace
The rest of the half was pretty even with KGV shading the overall 2nd half with the wind at their back yet neither side could make the all important breakthrough as the scores remained level as the referee blew for the 90 minutes
Cuzer made a tactical switch for extra time putting Jim in the middle with Baker and Taylor and pushing Ross and Jonah out wide as too much of our play was narrow and KGV's central midfielders were getting a grip on the game
We were now playing in a torrential downpour yet this was no issue to the UNITS as we upped it again in extra time and cemented our place in the next round
Firstly Marcus again won an all important flick which Ross did well to latch on too and turn his man before being pulled to the ground, with regular penalty taker Pountney away Taylor stepped up to slot past the keeper to put the UNITS 3-2 up
Seconds later Ross ghosted in behind the KGV back four again and dinked the ball past the on-rushing keeper only to see his shot creep inches wide of the post
However, Rossco wasn't to be outdone when after Marcus again helped the ball on from a Tayl's throw he showed great technique to volley into the bottom corner from 12 yards to give the UNITS a two goal cushion
In the 2nd half of extra time KGV knocked the door on quite a few occasions yet Mala and the excellent back four remained solid to grind out an excellent win for the UNITS against strong opposition who will no doubt go on and win their respective division this season.
A massive pat on the back to all the UNITS, especially people like Paul Taylor making his first full start to put in a massive shift for 120 minutes, Darbs who again was solid, Ross and Powell who both did themselves no harm with their respective performances. Marcus was again a handful and Jonah had his best game yet however man of the match went once again to Kirbs who has improved our strength in depth at centre half so much from last season and his never say die attitude and ability to attack the ball especially given his injury he carried all game was pinnacle in our ability to get the all important win
