THE DESIRE IS BACK !

Subs

• Powell for Abbott

• Mcloughlin for P.Barber

• Evans for Mcloughlin

To call it blustery today would be an understatement.  After last weeks Christmas hangover it was back to the Open Cup in round 3.  We had already beaten Maypole Jnrs and Coldlands and it is the furthest we had ever progressed.  We were drawn against Premiership Lakeside away so it was going to be tough.

   Lakeside are shall we say  “some what physical” in their approach to football.  We encountered that last season so we knew what to expect.  We countered this by adding Scott to the midfield to compete in the battle ahead The pitch had a terrible slope and a strong wind going with it to top it off so there was always the chance it could be a game of two halves.

We had the full 14 available with new signing Michael Halloran cup-tied and supporting from the side.  We kicked with the wind 1st half but we never got into our stride.  I thought we may need a two-goal cushion to have a chance but the game never panned out that way.  Lakeside were slightly better than us early on with the tricky left winger causing problems.  Eventually we became more of an attacking force and did make the breakthrough half way through the half.  Alex charged down the keepers clearance and Graham finished well from outside the area.  I’d hoped to push on from here but we conceded just before half time when the same tricky winger walked through two tackles before scoring.

We hadn’t played well and at half time we were lucky to be level at 1-1 with only the back four, Scotty and Ryan to thank for keeping Lakeside at bay.  We felt the shape wasn’t quite right and that we needed to do something about their winger so CJ came on at right back and Dean replaced Henry in midfield.

The 2nd half was much better from us considering nature and gravity were against us.  We passed the ball much better and CJ had definitely made a difference.  Scott and Dean began to get Matt Barber into the game and he was causing havoc going forward.  The game had lots of flash points as the ref let bad fouls and off the ball incidents go but our lads kept their composure well.

We did go 2-1 down when 1 or 2 of our defenders never pushed out and played the forward onside.  Alex had equalised before anybody knew what was happening after a strong run.

At 2-2 the game could go either way.  Graham missed a golden opportunity to win us the game.  Our back four were immense in the 2nd half with Mark, Mikey and Jim getting in the way of everything as they were doing before Christmas. 

After a defensive lapse we were 3-2 down with 5 mins left and I thought that was it.  Matt Barber had other ideas as he waltzed though several challenges before being brought down in the area with 30 seconds remaining.  Penalty

I  was unsure who to turn to as its been about 3 seasons since we had a penalty given to us.  My mind went from James (I wondered if knowing the other teams players at school would add pressure) to Graham ( he’s top scorer but I’d never seen him take a pen under this much pressure to Mark (Mr cool, has been so composed all season so what the heck.)

Mark stepped up and slammed the ball home as if it were a training session..3-3

Extra time saw us pretty much on top without really creating.  Tired legs were obvious and penalties looked the only way through. 

The Shoot-out.  We hadn’t had a shootout since under 8s so it was hard to pick 5 takers.  Henry had been taken off so he couldn’t take one so my mind was flicking through training sessions, little league and generally just how well I knew each lad.  Had I gone for the composed players it would have possibly included Mikey and Deano but Mike had taken a knock in the game and I wanted to hold 1 back in case of sudden death.  We submitted our list to the ref.  It read

Mark had already scored.  I have known Ryan for years and know he strikes a ball as well as anybody ( I also saw him score one in a cup final a few months ago).  James did well in the competition we had for the boots.  Matt Barber, well, he didn’t want to take one but I just had a hunch.  And Graham, well, 24 goals says enough.

I have to say that a premiership keeper would have struggled to save any out of the  4 pens, such was the high quality.  I enjoyed Jims as it was against his mates and Matt Barbers for the sarcastic shuffle after.

Well done to all.  All the commitment that wasn’t there last week was there for all to see.  You battled, competed, fought and WON.  I’ve never seen as many of you lot on such a high, even the parents.  We are in the quarterfinals now with the even bigger boys.  Who cares who we get if we compete like that?  Man of the match was tough.  It went to Scotty for a battling midfield performance.  I asked a few people their opinions the names Scott, James and Mark came up the most.  I agree that all did very well.

Well done boys, enjoy the feeling and lets recreate it against Knowle Eagles next week.

Steve