On a day where the entire club was unbeaten, it would have been poor form for us not to do our bit!
Due to injuries, holidays and work commitments, we were without a few regulars but everyone that came in really did everything that was asked. Following our pre Christmas slump in form, it was important that we took three points on Saturday to get the winning momentum up and running for the new year.
From the kick off, we looked good. Our passing and composure on the ball was decent and Jack and Ollie were making good runs down the wings putting pressure on Norsemen each time. Up front, Alex and Matt were troubling their defence at each opportunity. It was no surprise that we opened the scoring in the first ten minutes when Jack finished well following a well worked move from our half by Rich and Alex. Unfortunately, five minutes later we conceded a sloppy equaliser but luckily, it was the last error that our defence made on the day. We bounced back and continued to score another three goals before the half time whistle giving us a comfortable lead before facing the wind in the second half. At half time we spoke about keeping the pressure on and not letting Norsemen back into the game. Almost straight after kick off, Ollie proved that he was listening when he coolly slotted one past their keeper to make it 5-1. Credit to Norsemen though, who continued to attack and forced Mo into making some fine saves during the half to keep our lead intact.
For the remainder of the half, we continued to play some very good football. The back four never looked under pressure, the centre midfield of Scants and Fryer was dominant, Jack and Ollie were a constant threat down the wings and Matt and Alex a constant threat up front. Ditmir and Tom contributed well in the second half to keep our attack fresh at all times. Our dominance began to frustrate the Norsemen players throughout the half and at least two yellow cards should have been shown for the studs up and late challenges as well as dissent to the ref. We were lucky not to have suffered any injuries as a result as some of the challenges were industrial to say the least!
Things that we learned on Saturday:
- Derek is overweight……………even though he strongly denies it!
- Mo can throw the ball further than he can kick it!
- Jack got new boots to match the AP kit!! Commitment or what!
- We are now 4in the League!!
Great performance and commitment by everyone on Saturday. Alex’s hat trick and Matt’s brace were all brilliant finishes, their link up play with each other and our midfield was top class and Norsemen could not deal with it. Thanks also to the players that came to help us out. An encouraging start to the new year, let’s keep it up!
Team: Michael O’Riley, Chirac Shah, Derek Graham, Andy Burwell, Mike Myers, Ollie Edge, John Scantlebury (Tom White), Richard Fryer, Jack Dudmish (Ditmir Sulemanji), Alex Tabram, Matt Doddimead.
