Without a doubt, this was going to be a hard match for the Knights; but from the start, you couldn’t tell who the premiership side was, because both teams started playing very well indeed. The Raiders were the first to launch an attack, and a high ball sent into the Knights area was collected by Tadd, the Knights keeper. The Knights fought hard and from a Raiders throw in, Powell intercepted and released Holloway, his skipped past a defender before shooting, his effort beat the out-stretched Raider’s keeper, but it also beat the post, going just wide. In the Knights defence Choularton, Courtnage and Komboni were kept busy but they kept their heads, beating away attack after attack. A few Raiders attacks managed to break through the Knights defence but Tadd made a few quick saves to keep the score at 0-0. When the Raiders attacked Choularton was like a man possessed, chasing the ball and stopping the Raiders from shooting, closing down their attacks. The Raiders were awarded a free-kick near the Knights goal, and a powerful shot rained in, on the Knights goal; Tadd saved but was unable to hold onto the ball but Komboni was there to clear this danger away. Choularton collected the ball and set off down the wing but he was stopped at the expense of a throw-in for the Knights. Komboni took, Choularton set off up-field releasing Doel; he took the ball wide and passed to Holloway but his shot was beating away by the Raiders keeper. Courtnage ventured forward, releasing Doel but because of the pace of the ball was unable to make contact, giving the Raiders keeper the chance to collect the ball. The Raiders keeper made an error from the drop-kick and this was intercepted by Holloway, and his effort brought off a good save by the Raider’s keeper. The Raiders then forced their way forward, and a lone striker found himself in the Knights penalty area; Tadd rushed out to meet him but the striker skipped passed him; in an attempt to collect the ball Tadd clipped the striker and he went to ground - a penalty was awarded, harshly in my opinion, as the attacker was moving away from goal. As the penalty was taken the Raiders striker smashed the ball wide, a let off for the Knights. With the half drawing to a close the Raiders mounted another attack, but the Knights rallied around to hold they back; this left the Raiders with the only option of shooting from distance, which they did. A high looping ball headed towards the Knights goal, Tadd stretched up and managed to get a hand to the ball but was unable to stop it finding the back of the net, 1-0 Raiders, just as the half time whistle blew.
As the 2nd half started, the Raiders forced the ball forward quickly and within only a few moments managed to score again, 2-0 Raiders. Powell, Hooper and Greenaway attacked the Raiders goal but were beating back, as the Raiders wanted to keep their lead. The Knights were applying the pressure on the Raiders, but they held on, stopping the Knights attacking time and time again. From once such Knights attack the Raiders clear the ball up-field, leaving the Knights a little exposed. With the Raiders attackers running forward they overwhelmed the Knights defence and slotted home another goal, 3-0 Raiders. The Knights launched an attack of their own with Doel and Holloway combining but Doel’s effort was saved by the Raiders keeper. A long drop-kick by the Raiders keeper cleared the majority of the Knights defence and 2 strikers bore down on the Knights goal, as Choularton came to challenge, a well timed pass let in another Raiders striker, who was able to fire home the Raiders 4th goal of the match. As the Knights once again began to build an attack the Raiders intercepted the ball and quickly launched a counter-attack; this resulted in Tadd being out-numbered and unable to stop the Raiders scoring their 5th goal. Komboni collected the ball from the re-start and headed goal-ward, jumping past a few challenges before shooting, but the Raiders keeper was alert and saved his shot well. The Knights kept trying to force the play in the Raiders half of the pitch, but each time they were beaten to the ball; a throw-in taken by Komboni released Greenaway but his effort was saved, and another effort by Holloway was saved too. As the seconds were ticking away the Raiders hit a long range effort towards goal, there appeared to be confusion in the Knights areas and before the Knights knew what was happening, the ball ending up in the back of the net, 6-0 Raiders. The final whistle blew and the match ended with the Raiders coming out on top; the score does not tell the whole story of this match; at half time you could not tell who the premiership team was, because both teams played excellent football. The Knights played above themselves for the majority of the match, but in the end, the Raiders came out as winners; I believe that the Raiders felt that they had played against a good team, and on another day, the result may have been different. The manager then had to choose where the man of the match award should go, he could not decide, so he left the decision to the players; each player voted and Komboni was the player’s choice.
