This
was our first evening game of the season, Away to Imperial Saints, with the
return leg being the following Wednesday.
Neither Luke G, Jordan or Oscar were available so both teams started in
the 1-2-3-1 formation. Unfortunately,
due to weather conditions and a lack of a Dictaphone, what follows is the
facts of the match, along with a few things that I remember.
Game
1 - The line up was:
Joby
James
Callum
Josef
Jim Ethan
Joe
C
Rolling
Subs: Mark & Josh
It
was pretty even stuff, both teams having good possession.
Imperial won a corner after about ten minutes and it was chipped in.
That was the cue for our entire team to get out of the way of the ball
in case it hit them! It was
powered back in and a Saints player poked it in 1-0.
We had chances down at their end, Josh had a great run and shot across
goal and Jim went on two mazy runs but neither shot found the back of the net.
HALF-TIME:
IMPERIAL SAINTS 1
FRYS 0
We
started the second half a lot stronger with fierce tackles flying in and we
began to exert authority on the game. Joe
had a few chances and eventually a high chipped shot went in over the
‘keeper 1-1.
Then came a really strange period of the game when for five minutes
Imperial got everything right, from an unopposed run through the team to a 30
yard shot that flew in over Joby 2-1,
3-1, 4-1.
We recovered and put pressure on but the damage had been done and the
game soon ended.
FULL-TIME
: IMPERIAL SAINTS 4
FRYS 1
Man
of the Match – Chosen
by Andy for excellent play –
James Baker
Game
2 - The line up was:
Jamie
G
Sam
B Tom
Dan
Max Spike
Sam
K
Rolling
Subs: Jack Y & Luke A
An
altogether different game, and one in which we saw excellent performances from
the whole team in terms of passing and movement.
Imperial never really threatened to score so it was just a matter of
how many could we take? What
impressed me most in this game was actually the link play between Spike, Dan
& Luke A, not just once, but time and time again throughout the game.
Chances in the first half fell mainly to Sam
K and he duly made short work of it 0-1
& 0-2.
HALF-TIME:
IMPERIAL SAINTS 0
FRYS 2
The
second half was a quieter affair, but we still dominated.
It fell into a repetitive process.
Their ‘keeper would get the ball, drop kick it a short distance to
Tom, who would head it back where Sam K would start causing their defence
mayhem. The only surprise of the
game was that we didn’t score more. Sam
K seemed odds on to score as one cross came in, but managed to find himself in
the back of the net, not the ball. Tom
put the finishing touches at the end 0-3.
FULL-TIME
: IMPERIAL SAINTS 0
FRYS 3
Man
of the Match – Chosen
by Andy for excellent play –
OVERALL
RESULT : IMPERIAL SAINTS 4
FRYS 4
It
was a game that I felt we deserved to have won overall instead of drawn.
That said, we saw two excellent performances from a team that have
shown a consistent improvement over the season.
The question is, can we improve the score-line in the return fixture?