SUN
13 JAN 08
BITTON 0
FRY
CLUB COLTS 4
With most other games this weekend postponed due to
the wet weather, this was a golden opportunity for us to gain valuable points
with the games in hand we have over the teams immediately above us.
The wind was blowing from one goal to the other and
by winning the toss, captain Oli Randall gave us a
great start even before the first whistle blew by kicking with the wind. Right
from the kick off, we pressed the Bitton defence hard and from the second move of the match down our
left the ball was played inside to Brad Monelle who
tricked his way past 3 defenders in the box, dummied the keeper and slotted
home the opening goal after just 2 mins. A great
start which gave our Midfield of Oli Randall, Scott
Gregory and wide men Charlie Frampton and Nathan Dawson a good foundation to
build on. Despite the wind, Bitton were still a
danger and played some good short football to open up the game. Both James Hurrell Smith and James Boulton were having to keep their concentration with good support
from their full backs Ben Keen and Kyle Curtis. However, they did hit the post
which fortunately went safe and Craig Francis pulled off a great save when a Bitton forward had a good chance to score. We had a few
corners over the next 20 mins from Kyle Curtis which
just failed to connect with a Frys head but with
further pressure on the Bitton defenders, on 24 mins Lewis Watt drew a free kick wide left. Brad Monelle set the ball up and with a ferocious drive guided
the ball around the wall and keeper into the far corner to put us well in
command at 2-0. A further free kick a few mins later
just outside the penalty box saw Brad Monelle’s
chance to score a first half hat trick just chipped over the bar. With such a
strong and difficult wind, 4 changes were made during the first half just to
help the midfield players draw breath. Danny McCarthy soon found his chance to
shoot which the keeper tipped around the post. From the resulting corner, it
was played short to Mo Bouaziz and his cross found
James Boultons head which hit the bar and came out to
Jordan Knight whose diving header made sure we went into half time 3-0 in the
lead.
With the wind getting stronger, Bitton
looked to push forward as quickly as possible for an instant reply. However,
they hadn’t anticipated that we would shorten our game to retain feet
possession when possible. On more than one occasion this gave us a chance to
get in behind the Bitton full backs. After 12 mins of the second half, a great ball down the right wing
to Brad Monelle gave him a chance to push past the
defender and with a great cross to the far post found Jordan Knights feet and
he coolly slotted home our 4th goal of the game. Fortunately for us,
the second half seemed to drift by very quickly. Our defence
grew more in confidence as everything Bitton threw at
us was dealt with, especially by James Boulton who
was keeping his focus so well in difficult conditions. Without doubt, this was
helped by our midfield who were at times in total
control of the ball with just the wind to deal with. Lewis Watt was getting
stronger up front and was part of the best move of the second half. The ball
was played wide left to him and with his back to the full back he controlled
the ball and turned the defender to get into a clear run. He pushed the ball inside
to Mo Bouaziz and his quick release to Brad Monelle gave him a shooting chance which he just failed to
hit cleanly. Bittons frustration was showing as the
game drew to a close. On 2 occasions they drew great shots only to see them
come back off the bar. In the end, we overcame extremely tough conditions and convinced
ourselves we could concentrate 80 mins to play football and not concede. 3 very
valuable points won which took us off the bottom of the table.
For todays Man of the
Match, there were some great performances from every single player, notably,
Brad Monelle and Jordan Knight who both took their
goals very well, Ben Keen and Kyle Curtis who defended solidly and Danny
McCarthy and Mo Bouaziz who controlled large parts of
the midfield effectively. However, James Boulton was
the worthy winner today as his confidence and focus was so valuable to the win
and keeping a clean sheet.
SQUAD:
Craig Francis, James Boulton, Ben Keen, James Hurrell Smith, Danny McCarthy, Mo Bouaziz,
Oli Randall(Capt), Kyle Curtis, Jordan Knight, Scott Gregory, Lewis Watt,
Scott Palma, Nathan Dawson, Charlie Frampton, Brad Monelle