vs Brackley Sports Football Club 13/09/2008 FINAL SCORE 3-2 (North Bucks Premier Division)
After our opening win, we were keen to keep the good run going. Matches against Brackley in the past have been competitive games so we moved Jim into the centre of midfield to give us more physical presence. We started brightly and created some good openings from direct play. Both sides used the narrow pitch to create pressure from throw ins. On a couple of occasions Jim outjumped their keeper only for the ball to be desperately cleared by the Brackley defence.
The game started to get a little scrappy especially in midfield with neither side able to string any passes together. Brackley's opener came courtesy of a long kick upfield from which Landy was outjumped and their striker ran through to finish. After this we were unable to maintain possession and Fred, Louis, Knowlsey and Shaun were starved of any service.
In the absence of our manager John, enjoying a hard-earned holiday, Myself and Brad reminded the lads at half time that we had the quality to win the game but we needed to be more composed on the ball. Moments after half time Landy & Alex played a neat one two in defence and cleared, where Shaun got an excellent flick for Knowlesy whom outpaced the Brackley defence and was foiled in the area by an clumsy tackle. Despite his initial reluctance, Jake stepped up to convert the penalty in the top left
hand corner.
Brackley still maintained their high line and it was only a matter of time before we got in behind again. A clever ball over the top allowed Knowlsey to run through, hold off a defender and beat the keeper only to be tripped by his outstretched hand. As per the laws of the game the goalie had to go and Jake stepped up once more to fire in the same spot.
We should have gone on to win the game comfortably. By this point Jim & Jake were dominating the midfield and spreading the play nicely. We decided to take Louis off for Dan Stanton who added some extra energy down the right hand side. We also changed Ryan for Shaun, who we hoped would link the play between defence and attack. Brackley equalised when our centre half Luke was laying on the floor with a head injury, with some poor defending allowing the brackley striker to turn on the edge of the box
and finish.
This was particularly frustrating as we were beginning to get outplayed by ten men. With ten minutes to go Fred picked the ball up on the edge of the area, turned his man and fired into the corner from an acute angle. A brilliant goal and some credit must go to Brad who had instructed Fred to be more direct and go for goal. The last ten minutes were the most frustrating for me as captain. Holding onto a narrow lead, we continued to commit too many players forward despite Brackley having 4 players up
front. Only some desperate defending and covering prevented an equaliser. Jamie and Jake won some crucial tackles on the edge of our box. In the final minutes we conceded a corner trying to play one-twos in our own area. Despite the above we held on to clinch a good victory.
Many thanks to the lads who all pulled their weight to make sure all the jobs were doing before and after the game. Im sure we can all appreciate what John has to do every game!
Starting Line-Up: Ben P, Billy, Luke, Mike L, Alex, Louis, Jake, Jim, Fred, Knowlsey, Shaun. MOM probably Jake
Subs: Ryan, Dan Stanton, Kenny