M6 Match report Vs Waltham Forest

The game saw a welcome return for Thomo making his first club appearance for 9 years.

Our opposition contained quite a lot of youth and we expected the game to involve a lot of running. They had a flat 11 however and no keeper so, perhaps we thought that the game may be fairly easy.

On field captain for the day Steve Holmes gave the pre match team talk and we lined up with a strong looking team.

Expectations about it being easy were dashed as the game started. The 11 men on the pitch for them meant they were able to overload us, especially down their left-hand side and we had to battle to try and control the game.

The first 15 minutes were pretty even with no real chances for either team, but we then started to dominate the game but without any real penetration into the box and chances being created.

Towards the end of the first half we were on top and up struggling to find the breakthrough. Waltham Forest were doing well to crowd us out in the D and we were unable to get any real shots on goal but our pressure was building. Fessey had a shot on goal blocked by a defenders foot on the line, and after some debate we were awarded a penalty flick. Under pressure, bearing in mind they only had a defender in goal, Steve expertly slotted the flick into the bottom corner. It would have been a goal even if they had a keeper!

The half time team talk was a positive one as we were playing well but Steve reminded us that we were not making use of the fact they didn’t have a keeper and were not putting enough balls into the box.

The second half saw us dominating and trying to put the game to bed. Ethan and Arran continued their tireless running in midfield and we started to get more penetration into the D. That pressure paid off with some good drilled balls into the D and an eventual tap in by Ethan to put us 2-0 up.

Waltham Forest were able to use the extra outfield man to create some pressure but we were strong defensively to keep them out and the couple of shots they had were saved well by Roderic.

We killed the game off after some good play down the right and Steve adding a strong finish to slot the ball home and put us 3-0 up.

The heavens then opened and gave us all a proper soaking but it was not enough to dampen our spirits as we kept going to keep a clean sheet and a deserved first win of the season.

The first hot teas of the season for the 6’s from Ged and Baden were excellent and very well received by both cold and wet teams!

Match report - Dave
Goals - Steve x 2 and Ethan
Man of the match - Ethan