Scorers: Asberg, Ramirez, Pope
For the second time in 3 weeks we took the journey down to Chiswick. We faced tough opposition in Polytechnic 6s, two teams higher than the one we lost to so disappointingly a couple of weeks earlier and we were back to make amends. We had a strong team not short of attacking options, and it was AP who made the early running. Looking hungry we knocked the ball round well and looked composed. A free kick from the right of the box offered an early opportunity. Terry curled a beautiful ball into the back post, where Oscar steamed in to smash the ball home, putting us 1-0 up. However Poly are a decent side and mid way through the first half they brought things level. Their player was allowed to turn on the edge of the box and his placement into the corner was pretty much perfect, bring them back to 1-1. Banny was also left seeing stars after a nasty clash of heads. However there were plenty of positives at half time and with a strong bench we felt we had a decent chance to take the game to them.
The second half saw us come under a lot of pressure and we had to dig deep. Gus made a good save with his feet to keep us in it as they threatened to break through and Terry was well positioned from their corner to headed the ball off the line. When their pacy winger skinned Mike I rushed to cover, knocking the ball wide, but as I tried to prevent the ball going for a corner the winger cut across my run and tumbled in the box. The ref pointed to the spot, I was livid. But fortunately for me Gus came to the rescue once again, saving well and making himself big for the rebound which their striker skewed wide. It was a break we needed and a platform to build on. But it was a platform that soon disappeared as a cross from the left was met by a Poly player who swept into the net putting them 2-1 up. We were down, but this years 6s team has a certain resilience to it and doesn’t give up. We battled hard and it was a piece of Spanish magic that brought us back into it. Jorges controlled the cross which I think came from Tris, turned and flicked it over their keeper, a fabulously composed finish. It was 2-2 and the game was tight, it could have gone either way, but now we had our tails up. With everyone dreading extra time we were all extremely pleased that Tris provided a definitive goal that he very much deserved. Chasing down the defender he forced an error, and pounced on a poor back pass, smashing beyond the keeper to put us 3-2 up with 5 to go. Poly looked broken and we defended well to close out the match for a hard won victory.
Man of the Match was a tough choice this week, as lots of players had a good game. James R and Mike both showed strength and commitment in the tackles to ward off the attacks, and Jack again did a great job picking up the pieces and screening the defence. Gus also had one of his best games for us keeping us in the match. But this week Oscar gets it for a great display of power and composure on the left wing, winning some important headers and crowning it off with a goal.
MoM: Asberg
