Winchmore 1s vs Manorians 1s
Middlesex and Essex Cup
4 January
Kit: Bright Yellow
After nearly a whole calendar month off the Hill took the field with a strong side of 12.
We had no Will Deamer who has been struggling with a knee niggle so Ben Mullin was called up from the 3s.
Barrel was on the other side of the world and Lewis forgot that Saturdays are for the boys so was still up North.
We went back to a 4-5-1 for this game. Kieran, having made some excellent reasoning for his inclusion in the side following a disappointing benching last year, was put back into his CDM role in front of a familiar back 4.
Sam Russel held ground next to him allowing Bex a little more freedom at the top of the pyramid.
As the teams warmed up in the low hanging winter sun it became apparent that we would need to change from our familiar purple.
We sent club man Nick Dean to source the white kit from the cupboard and on his return produced the classic Canary Yellow vibe claiming the white kit was ‘definitely not’ in the cupboard.
Imagine our surprise 15 minutes into our kick off when we see the 6s kitting up in white having found it by moving just one bag from the lock up *face palm*
The lottery of the cup meant that we faced a team we know very little about. This allowed us the freedom to concentrate entirely on what we wanted to achieve without the distraction of anticipating the opposition tactics.
The extra Christmas pounds were affecting some more than others but we dug in from the start. We used the width of the pitch well and had joy with Tom King and Jamie Doyle down the wings. Sam Jennings joined in down the right hand side and Tom Corfe touch tackled his way down the left.
We looked in control for large parts of the opening exchanges and took the lead 20 mins in. Captain Branners finally headed on target and what a difference that makes! Rising at the penalty spot at a corner he forced the ball just out of reach of both the keeper and the man on the post. 1-0. With confidence, this can be claimed as the first goal of the decade for Winchmore Hill. A triumph.
We look dangerous on the attack and should have had another before the break. Some fine work down the right hand side again and the ball was fizzed across the 6 yard box. Alex Bex had used all his ability points to get into the box which meant there were none left to apply to the finish. From 5 yards and just inside the post he riffled his effort 20 yards over.
We went in 1-0 up. Game certainly not over. Lots of positive reinforcement about where our successes were coming from and reminders about the need to stay switched on and not give them any encouragement.
Now shooting away from the sun it made it easier to, well, just easier to see! We took advantage of this and pressed on for more goals. The 3 goals coming fairly spread throughout the half. The second Winch goal scored by Barney Jones after the ball landed kindly at his feet. Comfortably slotted home to double our lead.
Our third came from a likely sauce. Tommy K.
Free kick to the back post was headed back across goal. Teeks unleashed an almighty volley that was probably going over but it struck a hapless defender, killed all the pace and trickled agonisingly into the right corner. He’s claiming it. If this sets him off onto a goal scoring run then we'll let him have it.
Our 4th came from an less likely source with perhaps 15 to go. Alex Bex (who had already lost 3 balls over the clubhouse from previous efforts) had a little link up on the edge of the opposition box. He found himself free at the penalty spot and placed the ball neatly along the ground to the astonishment of the home fans.
4-0 up with 10 to go…. Why not make it interesting. A 25 yard free kick made it’s way over the wall and was initially saved by Ben who parried it back into play. This resulted in the ball being turned into our own net to deny us the clean sheet.
4-1 with 3 minutes to go…. Why not add more nerves. We found ourselves out of shape in the middle for the first time and with the space the Manorians player found he flicked the ball over the back 4. The striker got ahead of our centre half and with Ben caught a little in no man’s land he dinked it over him.
There wasn’t enough time to complete the comeback though and the game played out to a Winchmore 4-2 victory.
Old Aloysians in the next round where we’re hoping to do the business again.
A welcome return to The Paulin and a result we need to build on to get something from our season. We played with purpose, looked like we had a game plan and created some good chances. We need to take this into next week. The more we try and create something, the more we will. The more we create the more we will score. Goals equal points and points mean prizes.
We move
MOM – Kieran. Justified his frustration and comments after the last game with a fine display, backing himself up with actions
DOD – Bex. Lots of reasons. 45 yard free kick over the club house. 3 shots from inside the box over the club house. Missed from 4 yards at the away end that would have been over the club house. Lost the ball in the sun… 10 minutes after the clouds had come over and the sun was no longer out. Woeful.