SUN 12 DEC 04
FRY CLUB COLTS 2
SHIRE COLTS ‘B’ 2
Following last weeks draw, the teams’ confidence
was fast improving as we all felt this was another game that we could get a
result from. Not even playing on pitch 8 could dampen our spirits, as the
playing surface was as good as any of our home pitches.
Despite two last minute withdrawls
of players due to illness and Matt Babers absence due
external commitments, we still fielded a very strong line up which proved
itself as we dominated most of the open play and possession in the first half.
Some good half chances were created through excellent midfield play by Mo
Bouaziz and Oli Randall and from Brad Monelle’s cross into the box, Mo controlled the ball with
his left foot and toe poked it into the back of the net with his right foot for
a deserved 1-0 lead. Shire responded by creating a good chance only to see the
ball rebound off the post. Our lead was doubled shortly after with a great
strike by Oli Boon and we went into the half time
interval 2-0 up.
Shire continued to pressure our defence in the
second half and although we stood firm, a lapse in concentration saw us
stretched out of position and leave an unmarked forward to slot the ball to
bring the score back to 2 – 1. We still had good periods of pressure and some
great wing play on the left by Kyle Curtis gave the Shire defence some
difficult moments. Unfortunately we managed to concede an equaliser slightly
against the run of play but had either Brad Monelle, Oli Boon or Michael
Payne been able to convert one of their open chances in the closing minutes it
might have been a different scoreline. In the end
though, we had to settle for a point, something I am sure we would have
accepted before the game.
We sustained some really good pressure on their defence during both halves of the game and overall, once again, every one of our players made a positive contribution to another good team performance.
Another difficult choice for Man of the Match with
many players showing great strength and character during the game, especially
to cope with losing a 2-0 lead, which is just the type of response we need, and
it was awarded this week to Kyle Curtis who played his best game this season on
the wide left position.
SQUAD: Craig Francis, Kyle Curtis, James
Hurrell-Smith, Michael Payne, Oli Randall, James Boulton, Oli Boon, Mo Bouaziz,
Brad