Monday 15th September
vs. Town Green Rangers 2-8
Team: Ciarán; Elliot, Caleb (capt.), Louis, Josh; Sam;
Mark, Ollie, Jacob, Adam; Joe. Subs: Cormac, Dylan, Tom.
The first half display didn’t suggest the second half
battering the boys took, although the fact that they were never in front, as
the Rangers scored twice in the half against the run of play, turned out to be
ominous.
Joe forced an early save out of the keeper and Jacob was close
with a long range punt after 8 minutes as they settled well, moving the ball
swiftly to feet and pressing the Rangers to get it back.
Ciarán will be trying to figure out how he missed the
opener, even if the midfielder who shot from long range seemed to get more of
his hands on the ball in the build up than he did. If that 12th
minute goal was a setback, the fantastic power header by Jacob from Josh’s
excellent corner to equalise two minutes later more than made up for it.
The midfield four linked superbly to carve out an opening
for Adam, who shot wide soon after. Joe’s tight hamstring forced him off after
18 minutes, with Dylan’s pace replacing him up front. His pace was soon
stretching the Rangers but they had the cushion of the lead in the 25th
minute, a ball over the top taking out the whole of the defence for the forward
to lift it over Ciarán, stuck in no-man’s land.
Jacob and Mark were running the game at this point and
combined to bring the scores level after 32 minutes, after Mark took advantage
of a quick throw to send the ball into the box and Jacob touched the ball away
from his marker and turned it home.
Good as they had been in the centre of the pitch with the
ball in front of them, they looked weak when exposed between the lines and Sam
had cleared a couple of chances before the break. Rangers went on to take full
advantage of this frailty as they steam-rolled the boys in a dominant second
half.
They took the lead in the 38th minute, a
corner routine perfected on the training pitch seeing a free man on the far
post of a short corner free to volley home. Doubling it three minutes later, as
they took advantage of poor midfield control to lift it over the advancing Ciarán
(this time doing the right thing), they had the confidence now lacking in the
boys to run away with the game.
Sam, Adam and Mark were replaced by Tom, Joe and Cormac
but by then the Rangers had scored a fifth as a cross-shot flew over Ciarán.
The Crosby keeper was powerless to prevent number six, a free header from a
corner but was quick off his line in the 56th minute and pulled off
a good full length save minutes later to keep the score down.
Sam and Mark returned for the tiring Ollie and Jacob but
they still looked open at the back: Ciarán’s kick out after 59 minutes may have
been flat but nobody challenged to win the ball back and prevent the seventh
and in the last minute the Rangers scored again, breaking through the line and lifting
it over the beleaguered keeper.
This was a weary second half performance – they had
struggled to maintain their first half efforts in previous matches – as the
best of the Town Green teams gorged on poor marking at corners and an exposed
defence who had little protection. Elliot took the Man of the Match award after
yet another determined display at right back.
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