The Quiche played SAR on Saturday, and came away with a convincing 4-1 victory.
A good deal of the excitement took place in the first 15 minutes of the game. Early on, MP produced a defence-splitting through ball which Tom was able to run onto and coolly slot home. Soon after, Jono failed to spot an opposition player between him and the ball as he went to clear in the penalty area. The resulting spot kick was converted, despite Neil's unusual tactics of dancing Gangnam style on the goal line as the kick was being taken.
In virtually the next Quiche attack, a blatant handball in the area saw the Quiche in turn awarded a penalty, which MP had no problems in blasting home.
Continued pressure eventually saw Matty Banks with a clear shot from the edge of the box, which he curled majestically over the keeper's despairing leap. The fourth goal came when Chris deliberately got in the way of a goal-bound shot from MP so that he could score himself.
Quiche were denied a fifth goal by an extremely dubious offside call from the SAR linesman, and the half closed with the score at 4-1.
The second half turned out to be a scrappy affair, with only one side interested in playing football. The SAR tactics were based mainly on a continuing series of clattering tackles, coupled with constant complaining to the referee. On several occasions a SAR player would collapse dramatically to the ground and lie there groaning for as long as the referee would allow. Thereafter he would get to his feet and carry on playing.
A feature of this half was on ongoing physical skirmish between Matty Banks and the opposition captain, with a combined height of 5 feet 4 inches between them.
Despite this negativity the Quiche maintained steady pressure, creating a number of chances which could easily have led to two or three more goals. Most notable amongst these was an athletic effort from Jono when he somehow managed a header from no more than 2 yards out which saw the ball bounce and go over the bar.
During all the mayhem the Quiche defence remained largely untroubled, with Neil called upon to make only the occasional straightforward save. Ryan produced an outstanding performance and was fittingly adjudged Man of the Match. He was near exhaustion at the end of the game, and rumour has it that this was the first time in two seasons that he has completed 90 minutes uninjured. Ben's new haircut has added a yard to his pace, and he can now keep up with Harry for most of the time.
Over the whole game it was encouraging to see the team's level of communication showing considerable improvement, something which was sadly lacking last week.
Next week's game is against the League leaders, Ellerslie Findlay, wtih 1PM kick off. The Quiche will need to be at the top of their game for this vital fixture, and will be able to welcome back Phil from his annual Mother's Day pilgrimage, provided he can regain his place.
Go the Quiche !!!
