| Match Report |
This week we were a little depleted, meaning a bare 7 players travelled to the furthest fixture that we play. The team was made up of most of the team that played the first half of the season, so would the new found confidence make any difference? We set up Mia in goal, Albie and Flynn in defence, Alex (centre), Patrick (right) and Samuel (left) in midfield and Alfie in attack. The team started fantastically, keeping possession of the ball with some good dribbling, passing and movement. Carrying on from last week, Alfie was great and showed real attacking threat. Also, like last week, he linked well with Alex, who was able to push on because of the control being exerted, and the two combined when Alfie crossed the ball from the left channel into the path of Alex, who calmly passed the ball into the goal. There was further reward when Flynn dissected the defence and put Alfie through. A good left foot effort was saved by the Manea ‘keeper, but it came back to him and a great right foot cross found Alex in front of goal and a controlled finish from a difficult height saw the lead extended. Mia had little to do, with Albie and Flynn snuffing out any threat and setting off more attacks, but there were no more goals. Onto the next quarter and this time it was Patrick in goal, although again with little to do. Alex and Alfie were in defence, with a midfield of Albie (centre), Flynn (right) and Mia (left). Almost total dominance ensued, although the quarter ended with only one goal to show for it. Some great work from Flynn, who was showing fabulous composure on the ball, saw Samuel (our striker) free on the left wing behind the defence. An inch prefect cross found Albie, who ran in and smashed the ball into the net from close range. At half time the teams changed ends, but it made little difference to the pattern of the match. Mia returned to goal, this time protected by Alfie and Patrick who snuffed out any threat. Samuel (centre), Flynn (left) and Albie (right) patrolled midfield and got forward to support Alex whenever they could. As we encourage them to do, Patrick picked the ball up in defence and made a driving run into midfield. He passed the ball into Alex’s feet, who turned and was pushed to the floor by a Manea defender. As he won the penalty, Alex dusted himself down and dispatched the spot kick into the bottom right corner of the goal for his hattrick. A trademark Albie dribble down the right wing saw him cut inside and unleash a stinging shot across the goal. The Manea goalkeeper made a good save, but the shot was too hot to handle and Alex was again on hand to (again) show a great poachers instinct. Onto the final quarter and Alex now donned the gloves. Samuel and Mia played in defence, with Flynn (centre), Alfie (right) and Albie (left) in midfield and Patrick as the forward. Again we dominated, playing some lovely football. One move saw Flynn pass the ball to Patrick, who then played Albie in for another emphatic finish. Not long after Flynn passed the ball to Albie, who returned the favour for Patrick to open his account for this game. Manea then sent on their strongest 7 for the last half of the last quarter (they had also played the first and third quarters) and were eventually able to establish a foothold in the match. The defending was strong and when Manea were able to create openings Alex couldn’t be beaten, pulling off a couple of great saves. The game was real testament to how much everyone has improved and, not for the first time this season, they all played fantastically. Alex would be the headline maker in the papers, but Patrick, Alex and Alfie were just as deserving. The player of the match was awarded to Patrick, just ahead of Flynn, because of his aerial dominance (he won 5 headers during the match) and because it is his birthday. :)
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