A grey, wet October morning met the Chawton squad as they gathered at Alton Train station for the short journey back to Bohunt School, the site of their famous victory in the cup the previous weekend.
Si unfortunately was unable to participate due to an injured back, but the squad was bolstered by the return of Bob and Lee making the squad actually number 15 in total.
Royal Oak, though looking a well organised outfit, forgot to mention the change of venue for the match so after waiting around for the opposition to arrive we finally established that we needed to go back to the REME pitch in Bordon.
Arriving obviously later than originally planned and with no changing rooms and it raining, it was not the best of starts for the Athletic boys.
Again the league were unable to provide a referee, the third time in 5 games, and again a random man provided by the home team filled the role exceptionally.
Oak started the game well, their neat; passing triangles were shifting the Athletic midfield around but opportunities were few and far between as both sides battled hard in the middle of the park.
The first moment of danger came as a thunderous right foot shot left Matt a spectator, only to watch as the ball cannoned back off of the bar. A lucky escape for Chawton who had yet to get a grip on the game. The ball was then cleared from danger.
Back came Oak, forcing corner after corner all dealt with comfortably by Matt in the Chawton goal. The back line of Old Shaun, Paul, Rich P and Martin, were inspired all doing brilliantly well to block, harry, close down and scramble clear on more than occasion each.
Oak then struck on the 20 minute mark, a speculative long shot through the rutted and muddy puddle strewn goalmouth saw the harmless shot bounce up and catch Matt on the upper arms, before falling into the path of the on-rushing striker, who slotted the ball home passed a helpless and disappointed Matt.
Chawton were edging back into the game, but Oak always looked dangerous in possession and Matt did well to push dangerous shots, one round the post and three over the bar. Despite the attention given to Matt by the striker, he still managed to come and claim most of the corners, snuffing out the danger.
Eventually Oak found a way past the Chawton defence to score the second, a deeper corner prevented Matt for coming to collect and the resultant scramble saw Matt slip and only palm the ball back to the penalty spot, it was forced goal wards where the striker was able to cutely finish.
The third came very quickly after and it started to look like it could become a rout, the right winger's mazy run, ended with a neat turn inside before firing passed a stranded Matt high into the far corner.
Chawton's heads were not to drop though as they continued to try and get the ball down and play the kind of football that saw them to victory in the previous fixture, despite Bob's return in the middle of the park they were just unable to put together the precise passing moves of the previous week, the final ball letting them down at the last.
An Oak corner sparked the best and most dangerous Athletic move of the half as Matt collected yet another corner inches from the head of a defender before launching an overarm throw into the Oak half, behind the full-back and into the path of young Shaun who had made an excellent and intelligent run. Sadly as he forged his was into the box, the move broke down and the ball cleared, but it proved that Chawton could still have a say in the outcome of this football match.
Half time saw a change of personnel with Seth and George being replaced by Lee and Rich E, sadly Lee's involvement was not to last long as an injured hamstring curtailed his involvement, after 15 minutes of the second half. It was enough time for the attacking elements in the Athletic side to show they were still up for the fight, Bob, Lee, young Shaun, Liam, Ben and Rich E, were finding more space in which to get the ball down and play.
Oak still pressed forwards but apart from corners their danger was restricted to very wayward shooting from distance, much to the relief of an untroubled Matt.
Chawton's best move came as Liam was set free of a very high and square Oak back four, he raced clear before superbly touching the ball one side of the keeper, running the other side and collecting before steering the ball toward the open goal, only for the full back to brilliantly block on the line, the block fell to Bob who could only steer his shot at the keeper, an excellent opportunity and one that lifted the Chawton heads even further.
Chawton kept plugging away and although mostly ineffective going forwards, the pressure on the Oak back four was increasing. Liam forcing the centre back to lob his own keeper and watch agonisingly as the ball slipped past the wrong side of the post for a corner. The resultant set piece saw Martin unluckily head over the bar.
Things turned a little ugly as the Oak number 11, who had left his foot, elbow and shoulder in for the majority of the game, finally got a talking too for a very high and very late challenge on Bob. The Chawton man very lucky to come away from the challenge with just a hole on his sock. The melee or pushing, shoving and finger pointing was handled fairly well by the make-shift ref, but many felt the punishment of just a talking too was perhaps a little lenient on this occasion. Especially as it was not the first time the official had spoken to the Oak man.
Chawton kept pressing and Oak kept shooting, waywardly, with Matt reduced to the occasional comfortable save and to retrieving the ball from the other side of the road.
And so the final whistle went in the rain, Royal Oak 3 - Chawton Athletic 0. A fair result and one that Chawton can be proud of; having drawn the second half 0-0.
Blog man of the match goes to Martin at Centre Back, he headed, intercepted and blocked shots and crosses all day, and alongside Rich P who also had a solid game, is starting to form an excellent partnership. His important contribution in yesterday's game ensured that the scoreline remained respectable, but special mention goes to old Shaun and Paul at full back who kept plugging away and to Liam who never stopped running from first minute to last.
On a sadder note, it now seems fairly apparent that Matt has re-injured his troublesome knee during Sunday's game. If the injury is the same as those previous injuries, which is almost certain, it will likely curtail his season as surgery will be required again. A real blow for the keeper, who despite having shipped 29 goals in 5 games; has been in great form so far this season. The Dr's appointment is this Thursday morning where he is likely to be referred back to the knee specialist at Basingstoke and hopefully join the waiting list to be operated on.
No comments:
Post a Comment