A pasting at Memorial Park in West Ham by a talented Old Es Vets most of who were in their 1s back in the day. After a promising first half the wheels came off big time and by the end it was shooting practice for them as we crumbled.
A squad of 19 had been whittled down to 13 by kick-off. We set up 4-4-2 and looked solid. It was an even first 45 minutes. They knocked it around confidently and created more chances than us but ours should have been taken but both Kendall and Raxworthy failed to hit the target when in good shooting positions. We knocked off at a throw in and their midfield player cut inside to shoot past Bagley. A poor goal to concede. They nearly scored from a corner then Bagley made a crucial block just before half-time to keep it at 1-0. After a positive team talk from Ram, AP looked to build on an encouraging first half, but we conceded straight away. McDermott’s miskick was smashed in from six yards and heads dropped. After that we lost our shape, failed to press the man in possession and lost the midfield battle. The five goals that followed were a mix of great strikes and poor AP defending. We were taught a lesson, but at least Norman and Asim kept going right to the end in a forlorn cause. We mustered few chances meaning Steve Wilkes kept a clean sheet for Old Es. At least it was a game after three weeks without any action.
AP: Bagley, Ellacott, Alcide, McDermott, Kashmiri, R. Kendall, Coward, Rodriguez, Raxworthy, Tullett, Mounir. Subs: Ram, Warden.
