|
MATCH REPORTS
(Season 2009-2010)
MARCH |
|
Sunday 7th March 2010
(FIRST MATCH OF DOUBLE-HEADER...30 Minutes each way) |
|
Waltham Sunday
League Division One Match at Turnford School, Cheshunt |
|
A.F.C. CHESHUNT |
1 |
EDMONTON ROVERS |
0 |
|
HT
0-0 |
|
Wayman (45
mins.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
A.F.C. CHESHUNT'S
LINE-UP: Adam
KINGSHOTT (GK); Brad LACEY, Carl SMITHIES, Sam PEARL, Keith McCORDICK; Mark
MALSHINGER, Lee SMITH, Tom LANGSTON, Glen WAYMAN; Neil PURSER, Marc SMITH
Subs.: Dan
TWITCHINGS, Josh SLABBER, Jamie ELLIOTT |
|
EDMONTON ROVERS LINE-UP (with Marks out of 10): Darryl
JOHNSON (GK) (6);
Terry MOORE (7), Alan BARNARD (7), Paul WOOLSTON (7);
Tony KING (6½), Rob BROWN
(6½), Danny SMITH (6½),
Jim ARROWSMITH (6½); Terry BROWN (6); Conor McGOVERN (6), Steve COKELL (6)
Subs.:
Vernon NXUMALO (On
for R.Brown 54 mins.) (6), Kris SPYROU (Not Used), Martin LOVEDAY
(Not Used) |
|
Referee:
Mark
MORRIS |
Weather
Conditions: Sunny, but cold |
Attendance:
14 |
 Report (by Laurence Hughes):
With the weather this
season causing by far the worst-ever period of postponed matches in our
35-year history, we faced the first
of what is likely to be five Double-Headers in order to try and complete our
fixtures, with our opponents being A.F.C. Cheshunt, a side who we had never
played before and whom most of our players knew very little about. That was
apart from our ex-London Ajax contingent of Rob & Terry Brown and Danny
Smith, who seemed to know one or two, including forward Marc Smith, who is
apparently Rob's brother-in-law and another ex-London Ajax player. Not that
that stopped the crunching challenges flying in of course.
We needed to field a strong side though, as A.F.C. Cheshunt had won the
Hertfordshire F.A. Sunday Intermediate Cup last season and were above us in
the Division One table, so we knew it was going to be yet another tough game
(or two). Fortunately, we managed to get a squad of 14 together, even though
Daniel Daley dropped out through illness on the morning of the match, while
skipper Stuart Dorward and his fellow midfielder Danny Hagan were already
unavailable because of family commitments and a one-match suspension
respectively, thereby leaving us short of three first-choice players and
with not
too many attacking options.
We also had both of our goalkeepers suffering from illnesses, with Simon
Jackson opting to stay at home and Darryl Johnson trying to play when he
looked very much under the weather. That saw 'D.J.' flapping, fumbling and
slicing numerous balls in the First Half of this first match, and it was
thanks to some excellent defending by several of his team-mates that somehow
saw us come off at Half-Time without conceding. We are not supposed
to come off at Half-Time in Double-Headers of course, but Referee Mark
Morris kindly allowed us 5 minutes to try and sort things out, especially as
we had not looked remotely like creating any clear-cut chances as A.F.C.
Cheshunt rather predictably proved to be much bigger, stronger and fitter
than most of our players and had pinned us back in our own half with a
succession of strong challenges as soon as any of our attacking players got
the ball.
The Second Half was pretty much the same story and the pressure told
eventually when Glen Wayman headed in at the far post after 45 minutes from
a deep left-wing cross, but unfortunately it was a bad error by keeper
Darryl Johnson, who didn't attack the ball and allowed it to get through to
Wayman too easily. A.F.C. Cheshunt then had a few other decent efforts at
goal but they were mainly straight at Darryl's midriff and he had no problem
dealing with those, while our only clear-cut chance of the first match was a
header from Alan Barnard which was somehow scrambled off the line, thereby
denying him his first goal for the club.
A.F.C. Cheshunt fully deserved to win the first match though, as the hopes
we had at Half-Time of them blowing themselves out because of their
work-rate proved to be unfounded. |
|
Sunday 7th March 2010
(SECOND MATCH OF DOUBLE-HEADER...30 Minutes each way) |
|
Waltham Sunday
League Division One Match at Turnford School, Cheshunt |
|
EDMONTON ROVERS |
0 |
A.F.C. CHESHUNT |
1 |
|
HT
0-0 |
|
|
|
Elliott
(60 mins.) |
|
|
|
|
EDMONTON ROVERS LINE-UP (with Marks out of 10): Darryl
JOHNSON (GK) (7);
Terry MOORE (7), Alan BARNARD (7), Martin LOVEDAY (7);
Kris SPYROU (6½), Rob BROWN
(6½), Danny SMITH (6½),
Steve COKELL (6); Terry BROWN (6); Conor McGOVERN (6), Vernon NXUMALO (6)
Subs.:
Tony KING
(6½) (On for Cokell at H-T), Jim ARROWSMITH (6½) (On for Smith 42
mins.) |
|
A.F.C. CHESHUNT'S
LINE-UP: Adam
KINGSHOTT (GK); Brad LACEY, Carl SMITHIES, Sam PEARL, Keith McCORDICK; Dan
TWITCHINGS, Lee SMITH, Tom LANGSTON, Mark MALSHINGER; Josh SLABBER, Marc
SMITH
Subs.: Neil
PURSER,
Jamie ELLIOTT,
Glen WAYMAN |
|
Referee:
Mark
MORRIS |
Weather
Conditions: Sunny but cold |
Attendance:
14 |
 Report (by Laurence Hughes):
For this second
match, Manager Trevor Hughes decided to stick with his 3-4-1-2 formation,
even though the odd player wanted to match A.F.C. Cheshunt's formation with
a straightforward 4-4-2. With Paul Woolston having to go home after the
first match due to family commitments then, the not-fully-fit (but when is
he ever ?) Martin Loveday started in place of him, therefore bringing
together our regular back three, while Kris Spyrou started on the right in
place of Tony King, and Steve Cokell moved to left midfield to replace Jim
Arrowsmith with Vernon 'Kizza' Nxumalo starting in attack to try and give us
a bit more pace up there.
Those changes worked to some extent, as the First Half of the second match
was much more even. Our best chance in the first 30 minutes undoubtedly fell
to Conor McGovern after an excellent move ended with a perfect cross from
'Kizza', but Conor missed the chance of a Goal Of The Season contender by
volleying wide.
The First Half finished goal-less again (as it had in the first match) and
both defences were still very well-organised and hard to break down, but the
Second Half of this second match was much more open, which was probably
always going to happen as players tired. Unfortunately though, A.F.C.
Cheshunt created by far the better chances, especially in a 5-10 minute
spell early in the half when they forced Darryl Johnson into making a couple
of brilliant point-blank saves, this being in stark contrast to his
performance in the first match. During the break between the two matches, I
did see 'D.J.' coughing and spluttering as if he was just about to puke...so
maybe he did somewhere out of camera shot and got it out of his system ?
Just when it looked as if we would battle our way to a goal-less draw
through some courageous defending though, A.F.C. Cheshunt brought on their
only 'fat bloke' for the last few minutes, who up until then had been
running the line (as if they were just giving him a brief run-out for a
laugh). Of course he then went and scored with virtually the last kick of
the game as he found himself unmarked at the back of the area to hit a shot
which deflected in off Terry Moore and resulted in annoyingly manic
celebrations as his team-mates jumped on him to celebrate a 1-0 victory and
the six points that would lift them up to second in the table. Although it
looked embarrassing, the player in question was in fact Jamie Elliott, who
like most of A.F.C. Cheshunt's players had previously played in Senior
Saturday football, so he was certainly no mug. The reason he was left
unmarked though was because Kris Spyrou had gone off with cramp three
minutes earlier and didn't make any attempt to hobble back on, therefore
leaving us down to 10 men. That was more the fault of none of our players
(and particularly Manager Hughes) knowing that when somebody goes down with
cramp, you don't just push his foot up to stretch the calf...you give him
some water to drink as well !!!
We got some new 'bottle green' (which were supposed to be jade) socks for
this game, but can we have a physio please ? |
|
Sunday 14th March 2010
|
|
Waltham Sunday
League Division One Match at Hazelwood Sports Ground |
|
EDMONTON ROVERS |
3 |
GREAT EASTERN |
1 |
|
HT
1-0 |
McGovern
(27 mins.),
King (71, 77 mins.) |
|
Murphy
(59 mins.)
|
|
|
|
|
EDMONTON ROVERS LINE-UP (with Marks out of 10): Darryl
JOHNSON (GK) (7);
Terry MOORE (7), Alan BARNARD (7), Martin LOVEDAY (7);
Tony KING (7), Rob BROWN
(7), Danny SMITH (7),
Steve COKELL (7); Danny HAGAN (7); Conor McGOVERN (7½), Daniel DALEY (7)
Subs.:
Terry BROWN
(6½) (On for
Smith 69 mins.), Vernon NXUMALO (6½) (On for
Daley 76
mins.), Kris SPYROU (On for Cokell 82 mins.), Jim ARROWSMITH
(Not Used) |
|
GREAT EASTERN'S
LINE-UP: Simon
MORRIS; Andy HOLLOWAY, Matt DAY, Jon FAIRBROTHER, Jeff MARSHALL; Stuart
HOPKINSON, Mark BLACKTIN, Dan McFAYDEN, Ollie BRECKON; Ross MURPHY, David
HARES
Subs.: None |
|
Referee:
Eddie
ANDREWS |
Weather
Conditions: Sunny and dry |
Attendance:
10 |
 Report (by Laurence Hughes):
After facing two
really tough opponents in a row who turned out to be much better than us, we
were relieved to be up against a side in Great Eastern whom we had beaten in
our previous two meetings and were below us in the Division One table.
However, we had to be a bit wary, as they had won 4-2 against
previously-unbeaten Flamstead End the week before, while they included
forward Ross Murphy in their line-up this time, a player who had scored a
hat-trick against us last season as we slumped to a 4-0 defeat at
Hartham Common. As it turned out though, Great Eastern had actually played a
'ringer' in that win against Flamstead End (which they admitted to the
League after this match), and on this occasion they turned up with just a
bare eleven as presumably Mothers' Day commitments and the longest journey
in the League from Bengeo to Palmers Green put one or two regulars off ?
As for us though, we were fielding a very strong squad of 15, even though
skipper Stuart Dorward was missing yet again...this time due to
'entertaining clients' at Murrayfield the day before. An hour or so before
the match though, it had looked like we were on course to field just a bare
eleven ourselves, as Vernon 'Kizza' Nxumalo and Kris Spyrou had not
confirmed their availability on the Forum so we had no idea if they were
playing or not, while goalkeeper Darryl Johnson
and his likely stand-in Martin Loveday both looked as if they were going to
drop out at one stage, and with Simon Jackson also unavailable due to a bout
of bronchitis, 'God knows' who would have gone in goal ! In 'D.J.'s case,
the problem was a couple of missing toenails after a car ran over his foot
at work during the week, while Loveday had an even stranger explanation for
his likely absence when he texted me an hour before kick-off to say 'Lol,
I am seriously unwell. I can't get off the toilet. I will be there as soon
as I can. There is no way I can play today though'. However, all four
players turned up, with Loveday ready to start the game after just appearing
to have a hangover (as usual ?) and nothing else, while Darryl successfully
sliced the ball approximately 20 yards in a fitness test with Steve Cokell
before the kick-off, so he was as good as normal and ready to start in goal.
That meant Manager Trevor Hughes had a really difficult decision to make in
picking a starting line-up, as we had 15 very good players there, none of
whom deserved to be a substitute, but having lost our last three matches he
certainly had to make some changes and pick a starting eleven that he felt
was most capable of winning this particular game. That saw Terry Brown, Jim
Arrowsmith, Kris Spyrou and Kizza all left on the sidelines with all four
knowing that one of them was going to end up not getting a game at all...and
boy did Trev have an earache at Half-Time after facing 45 minutes of
non-stop 'Why aren't I in the starting line-up, Trev'-style complaints. How
frustrating then that this match was not a Double-Header where everybody can
be given at least 60 minutes playing time...and of course for Double-Headers
we end up with just a bare eleven thanks to players dropping out at the last
minute !
At least the sight of several good players on the line made sure our
starting line-up were on their toes though, and we could have taken the lead
after only two minutes after an almighty scramble in the 6-yard box which
the video will have to unravel as to how we failed to score. It then
continued to be a far more open game than the Double-Header against A.F.C.
Cheshunt the week before with Great Eastern nowhere near as strong as them
defensively and with the pace of Daniel Daley back up front for us, but
after a number of bad misses, we had to wait until the 27th minute to take
the lead when Conor McGovern scored a Goal Of The Season contender with a
quality finish into the top corner from outside the area after running onto
Steve Cokell's perfect through ball. Great Eastern did have a few chances
themselves though, but they didn't really test the less than 100% fit Darryl
Johnson in the First Half and we deservedly came off at Half-Time 1-0 up.
The Second Half started in a similar vein, but then we somehow managed to
lose our concentration defensively in the 59th minute and allow dangerman
Ross Murphy to equalise with an easy tap-in after Darryl Johnson had spilled
a weak shot from Jeff Marshall...the most worrying aspect of the goal being
how Great Eastern suddenly managed to have three players all bearing down on
'D.J.' without a defender in sight !
That goal gave Great Eastern confidence though and we then had a really
dodgy spell for the next 10 minutes or so, but Tony King then took the pressure off by heading us back
into the lead in the 71st minute after a good blindside run into the 6-yard
box. Manager Hughes wrote in his report that it was Conor McGovern who
crossed the ball for Tony to score, but the video proves it was Rob Brown...as
I first thought.
(See picture below left). Trevor
should have been able to concentrate by then though, as he had finally
brought Terry Brown on two minutes earlier after 69 minutes of continual
touchline discussion as to why he had been 'dropped' in the first place !
Vernon 'Kizza' Nxumalo was then brought on in the 76th minute and Manager
Hughes was just about to bring on Kris Spyrou for Tony King when the
ginger-headed Humbersider scored again with another header to put us 3-1
up...this time from a near post corner with the ball going in off keeper
Simon Morris's legs. With King now on a hat-trick, Steve Cokell was
therefore hauled
 off instead to give Kris a game, while our fourth (and
therefore unused) substitute Jim Arrowsmith not surprisingly stormed off
into the changing rooms...Trevor not knowing that Jim was unavailable for
our Double-Header against Flamstead End the following week and therefore
really needed a game in this match ! There may have been a lot of arguments
concerning who should have played or not, but at least we won though, this
being a result that leaves us comfortably in mid-table with nothing much to
play for (as usual at this time of year).
Every player seemed to have a totally different opinion of who was at fault
for our poor performances against East Herts and A.F.C. Cheshunt, but they
all seemed to be saying that despite that, we should have kept exactly the
same side for this match just because of 'loyalty'...as if we are just
playing for fun. Yes, this is exactly the reason why we have not won
anything for 22 years and not reached a Cup Final for 24 years ! What
caused all the arguments though is of course the atrocious weather this
season...by far the worst in our 34-year history. That meant everybody was
desperate to play a full game because of those 9 weeks in a row without a
match back in December & January and numerous other Sundays throughout the
season so far when fixtures had been called off because of waterlogged or
frozen pitches, leaving all of our players kicking their heels in
frustration. If we had been playing every week, then there is no doubt
whatsoever that players would not have complained so much if they were named
as a substitute now and again. Who'd be a Manager, eh ?! |
|
Sunday 21st March 2010
(FIRST MATCH OF DOUBLE-HEADER...30 Minutes each way) |
|
Waltham Sunday
League Division One Match at Hazelwood Sports Ground |
|
EDMONTON ROVERS |
2 |
FLAMSTEAD END |
1 |
|
HT
1-0 |
McGovern
(15 mins.),
Daley (60 mins.) |
|
Swift
(45 mins.)
|
|
|
|
|
EDMONTON ROVERS LINE-UP (with Marks out of 10): Darryl
JOHNSON (GK) (7);
Terry MOORE (7), Alan BARNARD (7), Martin LOVEDAY (7);
Tony KING (6½), Rob BROWN
(7), Danny SMITH (7),
Steve COKELL (7); Stuart DORWARD (6½); Conor McGOVERN (7), Daniel DALEY (7)
Sub.:
Kris SPYROU
(6½) (On for King 39 Mins.) |
|
FLAMSTEAD END'S
LINE-UP: Gary
STEVENS (GK); David RUSSELL, Paul BOURKE, Lee SIMMONS, Michael LOCK; Patrick
QUINN, Antony HARRISON, David LOCK, Daniel REEVE; Danny SWIFT, Louis HART
Subs.: Stefano
DiPIAZZA (On for Quinn at Half-Time), Dean LEWIS (On for Hart at
Half-Time), Kevin BOURKE (On for Simmons 42 mins.) |
|
Referee:
Ian
ANDREWS |
Weather
Conditions: Mainly Sunny |
Attendance:
10 |
 Report (by Laurence Hughes):
As I 'predicted',
we only managed to find a squad of 12 for this Double-Header against in-form
Flamstead End after having 'too many' players for our 90-minute match
against a much weaker Great Eastern side the week before. That was thanks to
three players in Danny Hagan, Terry Brown & Jim Arrowsmith preferring to go
away with their WAGS for the weekend and then, not for the first time this
season (and it won't be the last), Vernon 'Kizza' Nxumalo dropping out late
on Saturday night because he had 'no money'. However, at least we fielded
more-or-less a full-strength starting line-up, even though midfielder
Tony King was suffering from a stomach bug and sweeper Alan Barnard had sunk
9 pints of lager overnight...from what he could remember !
Flamstead End though had only suffered three defeats all season, with only
one of them (a 5-2 League Senior Cup loss to AFC Cheshunt way back in
September) being a genuine one, as they went out their County Cup only on
penalties in the Quarter-Final, while their shock 4-2 defeat to Great
Eastern in Division One a couple of weeks ago was down to Great Eastern
playing a 'quality Senior Saturday' player as a ringer. (Flamstead End will
be awarded those points at the next League Management Committee Meeting,
thereby making them technically still unbeaten in Division One coming into
this match). In fact four of their results so far this season made alarming
reading for us (a 2-2 draw against Cheshunt Corinthians, a 3-1 win against
AFC Cheshunt, a 1-0 win against East Herts and a 4-0 win against Enfield
Royals), as we had been totally outclassed by those four sides ! They also
turned up with a full-strength squad apart from one player hobbling about on
crutches who had come along to give his team-mates some support...something
that none of our players would ever think of doing, probably
because they would be left with the babysitting duties at home if they
had a broken leg ?, but maybe Flamstead End's idea of having an organised
team photo before the kick-off was not the best thing to do, as when we did
that against Spenny Rangers earlier this season, we fell flat on our faces
as everybody had an absolute 'mare' in a game that we lost 3-0 without
managing a single shot on target.
Indeed the team photo certainly appeared to be a jinx for our opponents as
we really came out of the blocks and played superbly for the first 20
minutes or so and created several good chances, but we only had one goal to
show for it when Conor McGovern rifled in a first-time shot from Daniel
Daley's lay-off in the 15th minute. Not that I saw where the ball went as
there were too many players in the way and it was nestling in the net well
before I realised where it had gone and panned the camera round to find it.
Sorry Conor, but it won't look good on You Tube I'm afraid. I need a higher
'gantry'.
At that stage, Flamstead End looked nothing like the side that their form
suggested, but then strangely, a couple of minor Refereeing decisions that
didn't go their way seemed to fire them up rather than whoever was their
Manager appearing to do so, and it was a much more even game after that. We
probably just about deserved to go off at Half-Time 1-0 up, but we came
under much more pressure in the Second Half. Fortunately, our one and only
substitute Kris Spyrou was an ideal replacement for the ailing Tony King on
the right-hand side of midfield, so we were still able to compete well when
he came on in the 39th minute, but Flamstead
 End scored an increasingly
inevitable equaliser in the 45th minute when forward Danny Swift out-jumped
Conor McGovern to head in a
free-kick, although keeper Darryl Johnson thought it was going wide and
watch it sail in at the far post.
At that stage it looked as if Flamstead End's energy and fitness would prove decisive,
but D.J. made a number of good saves to keep us on level terms. However, we
had some good chances on the break ourselves, as we were fielding our most
effective front three (for a change) in McGovern, Daley and skipper Stuart
Dorward, and Flamstead End certainly didn't look anywhere near as solid at
the back as our last Double-Header opponents AFC Cheshunt. That saw us
finally take one of those chances to go 2-1 up in the very last minute of
normal time when Daley ran through to score with a good low cross-shot into
the bottom corner after giving several defenders a problem with his pace. We
still had work to do to gain the three points and inflict the first genuine
League defeat on Flamstead End this season though, as it needed another
excellent save by D.J. and a clearance off the line by Kris Spyrou, both in
Injury Time, to see us through for an excellent victory.
Only one problem though...we had to play another 60 minutes ! |
|
Sunday 21st March 2010
(SECOND MATCH OF DOUBLE-HEADER...30 Minutes each way) |
|
Waltham Sunday
League Division One Match at Hazelwood Sports Ground |
|
FLAMSTEAD END |
6 |
EDMONTON ROVERS |
0 |
|
HT
2-0 |
Russell
(12 mins.),
P.Bourke (29 mins.),
Swift (35 mins.),
Hart (41, 52, 58 mins.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
FLAMSTEAD END'S
LINE-UP: Gary
STEVENS (GK); Luke WEBB, Paul BOURKE, David RUSSELL, Michael LOCK; Nicky
BARNES, Stefano DiPIAZZA, Patrick QUINN, Dean LEWIS; Kevin BOURKE, Danny
SWIFT
Subs.: Louis
HART (On for Lewis 37 mins.), Paul PANNELL (On for P.Bourke 37
mins.), Daniel REEVE (On for No.5 Swift 44 mins.) |
|
EDMONTON ROVERS LINE-UP (with Marks out of 10): Darryl
JOHNSON (GK) (5½);
Terry MOORE (6), Alan BARNARD (5½), Martin LOVEDAY (6); Kris SPYROU (6), Rob BROWN
(6), Danny SMITH (6),
Steve COKELL (6); Stuart DORWARD (6); Conor McGOVERN (5½), Daniel DALEY (6)
Sub.:
Tony KING
(5½) (On for McGovern 37 Mins.) |
|
Referee:
Ian
ANDREWS |
Weather
Conditions: Mainly Sunny |
Attendance:
10 |
 Report (by Laurence Hughes):
For this second
match, Manager Trevor Hughes decided to start with Kris Spyrou and then
bring on Tony King for Daniel Daley in the Second Half as Daley wanted to go
home early to watch 'Man United' on the box. No problem then, as Trevor
could then concentrate on being Lino again and not have to worry about mass
substitutions that would have been the case had a squad of 14 or more made
themselves available. The Lino aspect was of course the reason why Trevor
was not keen on chasing up replacements from our 39 registered players once
Danny Hagan and 'Kizza' had dropped out, although as it happened, most
of those 39 players were either out at a party on Saturday night or away for
the weekend with their WAGS (from what I read on Facebook)...not just
messers Hagan, Arrowsmith & T.Brown, so the chances of us finding a squad of
14 or more were pretty remote anyway.
However, although Flamstead End fielded a side for this second match that
included about 8 fresh players, we still managed to compete well for most of
the First Half and didn't give them too many chances. We were actually a bit
unlucky when they took the lead in the 12th minute as Darryl Johnson made a
good save from David Russell's penalty after a handball by Danny Smith, but
the rebound went straight back to Russell for an easy tap-in. Although we
were unable to create any clear-cut chances ourselves because we didn't have
enough pairs of fresh legs, we would have been happy to come off at
Half-Time only 1-0 down, and in fact that scoreline would have been a fairly
accurate reflection of the First Half. However, not for the first time this
season, we then went and let in a really bad goal right on the Half-Time
whistle when some of our players turned their backs on an attempted shot in
the 6-yard box from a corner, but Flamstead End defender Paul Bourke
actually mis-kicked it and it trickled into the net ! At least that's how
Stuart Dorward (one of the culprits ?) explained it as he came off at the
break a few seconds later. The Video Notes will reveal all...and they will
be scathing, as that goal killed the game off and the following 30 minutes
resulted in one of the worst and most embarrassing performances I have seen
from a Rovers side for many a year about 3 months (in that
Second Half hailstorm against St. Mary's).
It took Flamstead End just 5 minutes to make it 3-0 after the break when
Danny Swift tried his luck from about 30 yards and the ball sailed over
Darryl Johnson and into the top corner, thereby sparking a deliberate
piss-taking celebration by Swift for the camera...as if he had just scored
against Barcelona rather than an ageing collection of 35-year-olds whose
legs had gone. The professional cameraman that I am though, meant that I
still filmed it, but I couldn't bear to look through the viewfinder. I just
pointed the camera in the general direction and looked away, while resisting
the temptation to jump down off my podium and 'chin the geezer'...which
wouldn't have been a good idea as he looked like some kind of bodybuilder
and no doubt would have smashed me to pulp...and I don't think my fellow
League Officers would have been too impressed either ! What was far more
annoying though, was that most of our players couldn't care less as they
were playing for fun anyway (with the honourable exception of Rob Brown &
Danny Smith). Unfortunately, Rob and Smithy were so knackered from the
effort they had put in (and niggling injuries) that they were unable to show
any more fighting spirit themselves, while Conor McGovern hobbling off with
a knee injury just two minutes later caused even more damage. With us only
having one substitute (and an ill one at that), that gave Daniel Daley the
right hump as he then knew he was going to miss the First Half of Man United
v. Liverpool, while Stuart Dorward in particular was really struggling
having
 hardly
played at all for several months due to work and family commitments. With
the chances of us scoring now zero, our players just sat back for the rest
of the match and basically only bothered to put in a challenge if the ball
came near them. Flamstead End of course had soon brought on three fresh
substitutes, one of them being forward Louis Hart, who then went on to score
a quick-fire hat-trick. The first of those three goals (and his side's
fourth) in the 41st minute was simple enough...an easy finish after an
apparent 'mistake' by Darryl Johnson (according to Manager Hughes), but I
have to admit that his second goal (and their 5th) in the 52nd minute was
one of the best goals I have ever seen at any level of football...a
blistering volley from a pinpoint left-wing cross
after a brilliant fast move. Fair play to him for not taking the piss in
front of the camera for that one, although he did a bit for his third (and
their 6th) in the 58th minute after a terrible defensive blunder by the
extremely pissed Alan Barnard.
However, we only have ourselves to blame in not making sure we had a squad
of 14 or more, as that was by far the main reason for such a bad
capitulation. In fact, there is even a case for leaving players out who are
as pissed as Barney, especially when he came out with the statement on the
final whistle that 'Flamstead End are not a good side'. I think when he
sobers up and watches the highlights on You Tube, he will be able to correct
himself.
The first match of this Double-Header showed that we are as good as any team
in the Division when we field a strong starting line-up. Somehow we have got
to find a way of overcoming the 'Don't want to come and go Sub and end up
running the line' problem. We are not going to win anything until that is
resolved...or until Manager Hughes decides to phone players and persuades
them to do so (as happens at virtually all other Sunday clubs). |
|
Sunday 28th March 2010
(FIRST MATCH OF DOUBLE-HEADER...30 Minutes each way) |
|
Waltham Sunday
League Division One Match at Hazelwood Sports Ground |
|
EDMONTON ROVERS |
0 |
TURNFORD GEESE |
1 |
|
HT
0-0 |
|
|
|
Johnson
(Own Goal)
(33 mins.) |
|
|
|
|
EDMONTON ROVERS LINE-UP (with Marks out of 10): Darryl
JOHNSON (GK) (6½);
Jamile LITTLE (6½),
Alan BARNARD (7),
Terry MOORE (7);
Tony KING (6½), Danny HAGAN
(6½), Jim ARROWSMITH (7),
Vernon NXUMALO (6½); Stuart DORWARD (6½); Daniel DALEY (6), Steve COKELL (6½)
Subs.:
Martin LOVEDAY
(6½) (On for Little 38 Mins.), Terry BROWN (6½) (On for
King 46 mins.), Simon JACKSON (GK) (Not Used) |
|
TURNFORD GEESE'S LINE-UP
(I think) ?: Robert
THWAITES (GK); Paul CAVILL, Chris WICKS, Paul KIELTY, Tony VULLO; Lee
ELLERBECK, Peter ENEFER, Andrew PERRY, Paul SIMPSON, Brett NORRIS; Jamie
FEELEY
Subs.: Neal
DODD (On for Kielty in First Half), Phil BAKER (Not Used ?) |
|
Referee:
John STOCKMAN |
Weather
Conditions: Mainly Sunny |
Attendance:
14 |
Report (by Laurence Hughes):
After the debacle
of the week before when a lack of substitutes saw us lose 6-0 in the second
match of our Double-Header against Flamstead End, Manager Trevor Hughes
dared to text/e-mail a couple of players (against club rules) to encourage
them to turn up and give us a squad of 14 this time...namely Jim Arrowsmith
(who was upset at being an unused substitute in our 90-minute match against
Great Eastern) and Vernon 'Kizza' Nxumalo (who had not been paid at work and
didn't want to let his team-mates down by not paying his subs). This of
course is what all other Managers in our Division do (by phone), and with
Daniel Daley bringing along Jamile Little for his long-awaited debut to make
up the squad of 14 (albeit with two goalkeepers as Simon Jackson returned
after illness), everybody was reasonably happy and confident of producing
better performances in both matches this time. However, as usual when
the clocks go forward for British Summer Time the night before, there is
always at least one of our players who forgets. On this occasion it was
Martin Loveday, and that caused a problem straight away as he had arranged
to give Terry Brown a lift, who was therefore left stranded up in Cheshunt.
That meant Jamile Little had to be thrown in at the deep end as a defender
in our back three, but fortunately, unlike one or two others Daley had
brought along to the club over the years, Jamile had actually played
competitive 11-a-side football before and fitted in well in terms of his
positioning, passing and calling for the ball. Having been signed up at the
start of the season, it was hoped he would have been able to make his debut
a bit earlier, but of course the bad weather and mass postponements had put
paid to that.
Although we were missing the injured Conor McGovern and midfielders Rob
Brown and Danny Smith due to social commitments, we were still fielding a
decent side for this first match with Danny Hagan also returning to the
squad in addition to Jim and Kizza, and we started well by creating a couple
of good chances. However, after doing the same to Flamstead End in the first
match the week before, the same thing happened in this match where Turnford
Geese obviously worked out our formation after a while and realised we were
not as bad a side as some of our results this season suggested, so they
raised their game and were extremely competitive with a lot of tackles
flying in. That seemed to suit Jamile Little though, who had been described
by Daniel Daley as our answer to Patrick Vieira before the game, and indeed
he certainly won some excellent tackles with long legs sliding in to reach
the ball, but also caught players late on one or two occasions because he
hadn't played for ages and obviously found the pace of the game difficult.
That saw him and a Turnford Geese midfielder being booked after one
flare-up, but our players were more than happy to see that sort of fighting
spirit when they are normally accused (by me !) of being too feeble and just
playing for fun !
With chances few and far between for both sides in the First Half because of
that, it therefore finished goal-less, but the deadlock was broken after
just three minutes of the Second Half when Turnford Geese took the lead as a
low shot from Brett Norris was apparently 'saved but then thrown over his
own line' by Darryl Johnson for an Own Goal ! I have no idea how he managed
to do that...until I see the video, but it was another frustrating mistake
that eventually cost us the game, yet everything else 'D.J.' did was
more-or-less faultless in terms of handling crosses, calling, positioning
and kicking. Not that he had much to do after Turnford Geese had taken the
lead, as their defensive-looking 4-5-1 formation just sat back on their lead
and we never looked like breaking them down, even though Terry Brown and
Martin Loveday had both turned up by then and been brought on for Jamile
Little and Tony King. Turnford Geese gave us plenty of possession in
midfield, but we just came up against a brick wall with every attempted pass
aimed to forwards trying to make a run in behind them being cut out, and in
fact we were lucky not to lose by more as they hit us on the break a couple
of times but fired wide from good positions.
It was a frustrating game, but a predictably close one with both sides very
evenly-matches and more-or-less level with each other in the Division One
table. At least with a squad of 14 this time though, there was more chance
of us doing better in the second match, so we weren't too disheartened.
CLICK HERE
to see Turnford Geese's website. |
|
Sunday 28th March 2010
(SECOND MATCH OF DOUBLE-HEADER...30 Minutes each way) |
|
Waltham Sunday
League Division One Match at Hazelwood Sports Ground |
|
TURNFORD GEESE |
2 |
EDMONTON ROVERS |
3 |
|
HT
1-1 |
Feeley (22 mins.),
Ellerbeck (47 mins.)
|
|
Hagan
(28 mins.),
Nxumalo (33 mins.),
King (44 mins.) |
|
|
|
|
TURNFORD GEESE'S LINE-UP
(I think) ?: Robert
THWAITES (GK); Paul CAVILL, Chris WICKS, Neal DODD, Tony VULLO; Lee
ELLERBECK, Peter ENEFER, Andrew PERRY, Paul SIMPSON, Brett NORRIS; Jamie
FEELEY
Subs.: Paul
KIELTY, Phil BAKER |
|
EDMONTON ROVERS LINE-UP (with Marks out of 10): Simon
JACKSON (GK) (6½);
Jamile LITTLE (7), Alan BARNARD (7), Martin LOVEDAY (7);
Tony KING (7½), Danny HAGAN
(7), Terry BROWN (6½),
Jim ARROWSMITH (7); Stuart DORWARD (8); Daniel DALEY (6½), Steve COKELL (6½)
Subs.:
Vernon NXUMALO
(6½) (On for Cokell at Half-Time.), Terry MOORE (7) (On
for Little at Half-Time), Darryl JOHNSON (GK) (Not Used) |
|
Referee:
John STOCKMAN |
Weather
Conditions: Mainly Sunny |
Attendance:
14 |
Report (by Laurence Hughes):
For this second
match, we were able to swap goalkeepers with Simon Jackson now fit again
after bronchitis, while Terry Brown and Martin Loveday both started the game
as Vernon 'Kizza' Nxumalo and Terry Moore were given a rest. This was a
special occasion for skipper Stuart Dorward though, who was breaking
70's/80's Rovers stalwart Demitrius Nurse's long-running
All-Time
First-Team Appearances record in this match, and he even had his brother
Derek and nephew Jack turn up to watch him. Yes, a rare appearance on the
touchline of an ex-Rovers player coming along to watch (and risking being
given the Lino's flag !). Plans for both teams to form a guard of honour for
Stuart and applaud him onto the pitch were not surprisingly abandoned though
due to the competitiveness of the first match, but at least Del and Jack
could watch the game in peace as Darryl Johnson had made another case for
being named Clubman Of The Year by volunteering to run the line on the far
side.
As in the first match, we started well and created some good chances, but it
was Turnford Geese who took the lead in the 22nd minute from another silly
goal when Simon Jackson called for a corner which he was never going to
reach, and with the rest of our players not bothering to attack the ball
because of the shout, it left Jamie Feeley with a free header which he
buried to make a mockery of our zonal marking system...much to Manager
Trevor Hughes's annoyance. However, we managed to equalise just six minutes
later from a corner ourselves when Stuart Dorward got in a header which went
in off Danny Hagan's chest in the 6-yard box. Obviously Stuart was
'desperate' to score on his record-breaking day, but the majority of our
players 'voted' it as Hagan's goal, which I suspect was correct. (The video
will confirm when edited).
We therefore came off level at Half-Time, and with Turnford Geese's players
appearing to be flagging somewhat despite having three substitutes
themselves, we were confident of gaining a victory, especially with Stuart
now showing signs of finally getting back to his very best form after months
of work & family commitments interfering with his fitness and general
availability. Indeed we went 2-1 up just three minutes after the break when
Vernon 'Kizza' Nxumalo (who had come on at Half-Time for Steve Cokell and
been thrown up front alongside Daniel Daley) scored his first goal of the
season with a left-footed shot into the top corner from 12 yards which
looked suspiciously like he was actually aiming for somewhere a bit lower
down ! However, if there was an element of luck for that goal, there
certainly wasn't for the one that put us 3-1 up in the 44th minute as Tony
King rounded off a brilliant move with Stuart Dorward by finishing
clinically into the bottom corner.
Typical of us though, we nearly threw it all away by conceding a second goal
with 13 minutes still to go as Lee Ellerbeck made it 3-2 just as Manager
Hughes was telling our players not to worry about Turnford Geese switching
to a 4-3-3 formation and leaving our back three facing three forwards, but
as it turned out, we kept the pressure on them thereafter anyway and could
even have won by more in the end.
A 3-2 victory against a side who had beaten top Premier Division sides
Spenny Rangers and I.M.L. in Cup competitions this season was an excellent
result, and once again showed that we are as good as any team in the
Division when we can field eleven fit players and a couple of decent
substitutes. We even had a good result after all the players had gone in, as
with the help of Alan Barnard and Derek Dorward lifting up a wire fence for
him to crawl under a tiny gap, little Jack Dorward managed to retrieve a
couple of our match balls that had been booted over a back garden earlier in
the season and therefore save us £100 ! I then went into the changing rooms
to see if Manager Hughes could give Jack some money out of the Subs Tin for
doing that (so that he could buy a packet of sweets or something ?), but
unfortunately Del and Jack had gone by then. Well done Jack though...and as
Barney said afterwards, let's hope the Health & Safety people weren't
watching !
CLICK HERE
to see Turnford Geese's website. |
Site
Designed & Maintained by Laurence Hughes (Club
Secretary, Chairman & Cameraman !)
e-mail:
laurence_hughes@yahoo.co.uk
© 2010 Laurence Hughes
|
