In a close match the boys overcame the loss of goalkeeper Dan Ellis and battled to a difficult victory that ended with a flattering scoreline. Our opponents hit the woodwork no less than 4 times but we kept battling away and scored some good goals ourselves.

We started with Sam in goal , protected by three at the back and a five man midfield , and reverted to Dan and Liam up front . However, it became clear early on that we were being overrun and we had several scares in the first ten minutes. The opposing left winger in particular was causing all sorts of problems for us, although we made it easier for him by not tackling or getting back from midfield. Going forward there was some good approach play by Josh and Joe A down the left and Liam was doing his best to link the play but generally we were struggling to retain possession and if it were not for the excellent defending of Joe A, Scott and Matt B we would have conceded a few goals. Between the three of them they made quite a few last ditch tackles to prevent shots on goal and help Sam get accustomed to his new position.

We reacted from the bench by making two early changes, introducing James W on the right and Andy into his customary holding role and things slowly started to improve . We took the lead when some quick inter-passing through the middle released Liam , and although the flag went up Liam played to the whistle and kept running . He had a long way to go but kept his cool and finished really well .

Halftime came and somehow we were a goal up. We spoke at halftime about more passing and better harder tackling , and in the second half we started better . Despite playing uphill in the second half we were a little stronger and following a goalkeeping error Liams shot from a tight angle somehow squeezed over the line for a two goal cushion. We continued to defend well and brought Arran on to add some more resolve . Soon we were three up when Peter scored his first goal for the club , finishing well after the ball had run loose in their area .

At three nil we seemed to switch off , and conceded a couple of goals to the speedy left winger , and at three two I thought that we might wobble so we brought Matt N into a back four . We seemed to come back after that and there were some excellent moves between Peter , James P and Joe T on the left and between Arran , James W and Sean on the right . Joe T in particular did really well down the left flank and got some good crosses in and on the right Sean seemed to have a lease of life and started making some thrusting runs from midfield . One of these resulted in a goal and another in an own goal although Sean would have scored anyway , and sandwiched in between was a brilliant left footed finish from James W .

The final scoreline of six goals to two, although a little flattering ,was down to the determination with which we defended and the quality of our finishing . We have played better than this during this season and lost , against Henbury for example , so perhaps this was our payback . Results on Sunday meant that we are still chasing second place following Bristol Olympics defeat , and three more wins should guarantee third place at least – its all to play for !!

Player Performances

Sam Vankuylenberg – first game in goal and did really well . Kicked well from ground and from hand and some excellent handling . Very brave performance

Joe Alemzadeh – his speed and determination in chasing back prevented several shots on goal . Got forward well and continues to work well with Josh .

Matt Baker – again excellent chasing back and several trademark goal saving tackles . Had one of his toughest opponents but dealt with him well

Scott Crane- did well in the centre and contributed to the halftime clean sheet with some good interceptions and clearances . Tried to pass the ball out of defence , which was encouraging .

Arran Moran – played really well when he came on . Tackled sharply , anticipated really well and ran determinedly .

Andy Webb – usual solid performance . Won most of his tackles and distributed simply. Chased back to help the back four often .

Matt Newbery – another great performance in the centre of midfield . Tackled well , distributed excellently and got up and down the pitch more than most . Slotted into back four when asked to do so .

James Page – mistakenly played out of position and struggled . Looked far more comfortable when returned to his usual left side , and passed well

Peter O’Brien – did well , passed coolly and looked comfortable on the ball . Took his goal really well, and threatened whenever he got the ball .

Sean Fahey – struggled at the beginning , but when he returned showed glimpses of getting back to his best . Scored one that he made for himself , and contributed to the own goal , with two determined runs into the box.

Josh Seymour – one of his best games this season , ran determinedly and got some great balls in . A constant threat and worked well with Joe A . Unlucky to be substituted .

Joe Thwaites – one of his best performances so far . Worked well with Peter and got some great runs and crosses in . Confidence seems to be returning .

Dan Abbott – contributed to several of the goals and a constant physical threat . Deserved a goal for the effort he put in .

Liam Vincent – excellent performance – scored two to keep his scoring run going . Did really well with his first as he had a long way to go before scoring . Linked play up well throughout .

James Winward – unlucky not to start . Took his goal really well with his ‘ wrong ‘ foot and his close control and skill caused problems all morning . Linked well with Sean on the right but did equally well when moved more central .