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Match Report |
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With just over a month to the cup final, the two teams met in a dress rehearsal for the 3rd May. Horley had done very well to get the pitch in a playable state despite all the rain and although it was not a perfect pitch it was definitely playable. We were missing Freddie and Charlie so lined up with George in goal and Joe, Matt and Pat in defence. Elliot and Josh were on the wings with Áedán and James in the centre. Ollie played behind Adam and Federico. The game got underway and it was shaping out to be a great game. It was a frantic start with both teams looking to play football. After 7 minutes, we made the breakthrough. The Horley defender took a goal kick which Áedán was excellently positioned to receive. He hit a high looping shot towards goal which the keeper spilled and it went in. 1v0 NPL and a great start. Both teams were having chances and our back 3 were having to stand up to the Horley strikers and George had very little to do even though Horley were doing there fair share of attacking. We were defending corners well and when we attacked we looked dangerous with our pass and move football. After 18 minutes we were dealt a blow when James had to go off with a re-occurance of the illness which has seen him miss training for a few weeks. We re-shuffled with Pat moving into centre midfield and Luke slotting in at the back. Almost immediately we won a corner. Ollie delivered a beauty into the box that found Pat unmarked at the near post. Pat attacked the ball with his head and it powered into the back of net! 2v0 NPL. The remainder of the half was again end to end. We had half chances through Adam, Federico and Ollie whilst George was called upon to make a few difficult catches. The half ended and it had been a very pleasing half. The half time interval enabled us to re-shape properly after James’ exit. The boys were reminded of their jobs and we knew that Horley would come at us strongly especially now that they had the wind. Straight from the whistle we attacked. A pass out to Elliot in turn found Adam in the penalty area who hit his shot which the keeper tipped around the post. It was a great start to the half and we hoped it would continue. As the half progressed Horley became stronger. After 9 minutes of the half their right winger broke down the wing and put a cross into the box. It found the striker at the back post completely unmarked who shot past George. 2v1 and it was a poor goal for us to concede as we switched off and were punished. The game continued to be end to end with Horley just edging it. We however had our chances through Federico and an Ollie free kick. James was reintroduced for Josh with Elliot moving to the left and Ollie to the right. James played behind the front 2 where he didn’t have to do too much running. This change seemed to give us a bit more impetus going forward but Horley still looked dangerous. With 12 minutes remaining Josh was brought on for Adam and played at the back as we looked to hang onto our lead. Unfortunately we couldn’t quite hang on. George made a great save at the feet of the Horley striker. The ball span behind him and Áedán did brilliantly to get behind George and attempt to clear. His clearance hit the Horley player and the ball was bundled over the line. 2v2. The remaining 10 minutes were frantic. George was called upon to make a number of saves and as has been the case so many times this season, some of these were top drawer. Despite Horley looking the most likely to score we so nearly stole it at the end. A cross into the box found James’ head and he powered a header towards goal. It looked a certain goal but somehow the keeper dived and tipped the ball round the post. It was a great save and definitely made up for his earlier error. The game came to a close and we had drawn 2v2. This is a good result especially as we had to change the players around in the centre of the pitch which was always going to disrupt things. The wind played a factor in the result and I think both teams agree a draw was probably a fair result. We now know where Horley’s weaknesses are and they probably know a lot more about our game. It promises to be a great cup final and we now have the belief that we can score and play well against a side who have had an impressive season. Man of the match went to George who yet again produced a match saving performance. Well done George! No game next week as our next game is 12th April at home to Queens Park Well done lads, another good performance and its now 5 games unbeaten! |
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Horley Town A 2v2 NPL Youth B League: Epsom & Ewell U11 Div 2 Date: 29th March 2008 |