Twin Oaks FC U13's V Furngate
|
6th Jul 2008 CLICK TO SPONSOR |
|
Twin Oaks FC U13's
v
Furngate
I took the tent today as it was expected to rain. It took just as long to put up, I guess there’s not a camper amongst us.
On the football front we looked at the league that we had been placed in with some trepedation. Having seen our opposition were 2 teams from South London and they do look bigger than our boys! Maidenbower Colts again Ifield Edwards, Crawley Panthers and TD Shipley.. I was not sure how far we would get today. The only certainty that it would be tough.
Unusually for Twin Oaks we were off to a flyer with a 1-0 win over Hurst Hornets with Josh scoring at the third time of asking with the first two attempts rebounding off of the goalkeeper. So first game and a first win.
The second game was a tougher affair against Balham Blazers and we looked nervous in the first half, but in the second we started to move the ball about quickly and sweetly. It seemed that the game would peter out to a draw when we had a free kick just inside the oppositions half. Elliot fought Liam for the rights to the kick and fortunately Liam won. He struck the ball hard and the ball flew like an arrow with a slight deflection into the top of the Balham net with the last kick of the game. On balance we deserved the win over a team in the A Division of the Tandridge League.
TD Shipley followed and a match we involved local rivalry and school bragging rights for weeks to come. Within 10 seconds Liam had waltzed passed their defense and placed us 1-0 up. I think this removed any possible nerves for the rest of this game and allowed us to pass the ball freely.
Second and third goals came from Ellias. With the job done by the end of the first half Jerome and Liam made way for Ryan and Tom and Ryan added a fourth. Once again we passed our way from start to finish.
The Ifield Edwards game came as a little disappointment after the first three matches in a game where maybe we were pushing to make things happen a little too quickly. Our fluid movement and passing had stopped and maybe we assumed that it was going to be easy. Ifield Edwards matched us and although we took the lead with a goal , though I think Ifield Edwards were worthy of the draw that they achieved.
Next up were Tulse Hill A and a very tight match followed with football now not flowing so freely and a little anxiety appearing in our play particularly in the first half. The second half ended in more shots on goal for us but no goals.
Crawley Panthers were next on the agenda again with some local bragging rights again up for grabs. Once again we faltered and our form was falling away a little. With a couple of defensive mistakes Panthers went 2-0 up. We fought back in the second half and Liam pulled a goal back in the second half but we were unable to claw back an equalizer.
Once again in the final game of the group we were starting to play better passing football and we had gone 1-0 up with the game closing down another unfortunate error resulted in Maidenbower Colts pulling a goal back and us having to qualify on goal difference in a group that possibly after the earlier performances we deserved to win.
Instead we had then to play a more difficult semi final against Three Bridges who took the lead in the first half. We gave them a little too much respect and paid the price. However our second half performance improved significantly to a point where we were without doubt the better team. Late on Ryan replaced Josh in attack, and a ball out from defense into Ryan’s feet with his back to goal allowed an exquisite chip to the far post for Ellias to head home for a deserved equalizer. Extra time followed and again we shot wide numerous times and had penalty denied. With Three Bridges scoring a late winner.
To have lost to Three Bridges is not anything to be ashamed of particularly in the way we played the game. They went on to win the final quite easily 3-1 against Tulse Hill. Once again we can only reflect on ifs and buts. But we must be proud overall of our performances on the whole today. We have shown that throughout this summer we can play, match and beat teams from whatever League that is or maybe isn’t any stronger than that which we have entered. Our team is a match for anyone that is placed in front of us.
What else have I learnt today? Maybe that tent can accommodate 12 people. Hmmm.