Chantry Grasshoppers 18th April 2009

With three games remaining of the season we are guaranteed a top three place. Which is a good acheivement in itself. It is still in our hands to finish in the medals but we needed to get a result today against one of our main rivals.

We had three players missing today, Jack, Dan and Connor R. That still left us a healthy squad to choose from!!! Right up until we lost another three players on the morning of the match!! Cammy through injury and Ollie Mac & Charlie W through illness!!! This left us with 15 players to get through two potentially tough matches.

A Game

The line up was - Ollie S in goal, Sam in defence, Freddie, Charlie B & Will in midfield, Dash & Matty up front. Connor S on the bench.

We started brightly as the game got off to a cracking pace. Both teams were fired up for this and were pretty evenly matched. Sam settled very quickly at the back and looked confident in the role. Freddie, Charlie and Will were in the thick of it straight away and worked hard moving from defence to attack and back again. This set the tone for the whole game, up until the last 10 minutes when all three of them had finally ran their legs off. With no midfielders on the bench they had to tough it out which they did brilliantly. Dash and Matty worked hard up front and were able to get the ball and hold it causing the Chantry defence some problems.

After 9 minutes with neither goalkeeper having veery much to do we won a free kick deep in the Chantry half. Charlie sent a dangerous ball into the box, Dash seemed to duck under it and it deflected in off one of the defenders. 1-0. A lucky break but we weren't complaining.

Chantry came back at us and came close to getting an equaliser, a combination of strong defending and Ollies saves kept us in the lead.

With 17 minutes played Dash and Charlie combined brilliantly, splitting the defence open with a lovely passing move, Charlie fired a shot towards goal, Matty managed to get his foot to it and turned it past the keeper. 2-0.

4 minutes later Charlie was again the provider as he got the ball across to Dash who fired home to make it 3-0.
Sam took a knock whilst tackling their striker and had to be replaced by Connor who carried on Sams good work at the back.
Just before half time Freddie received the ball just outside the Chantry box, he took it passed the first defender and side stepped the second by good use of both feet and smashed it towards goal. The keeper got a hand to it but couldn't stop it going in. 4-0 the half-time score.

We knew Chantry would come back at us and needed to keep a clean sheet for as long as possible to take the wind out of their sails. Unfortunately they managed to pull one back 5 minutes into the half. 4-1.
This gave them some hope and they very quickly got another!! It was starting to look like a comeback was on the cards.
Within a minute we stormed forward and Will blasted home to make it 5-2.
Chantry were in attack again and very quickly scored again to make it 5-3.
By this time our midfielders were exhausted. Chantry were able to make multiple substitutions and looked dangerous every time they got the ball. I decided to sacrifice a striker and defend our lead. With Matty and Dash taking it in turns to be the lone striker and our gallant midfielders on their last legs it was down to Sam, Connor and Ollie to keep Chantry at bay. They did this superbly and we finished the game winning 5-3.

This result puts us in second place due to our superior goal difference over Chantry.
Man of the match today was Charlie Bance who was captain today and lead from the front. A special mention to everyone else. The boys needed to dig in today and they worked very hard as a team, getting a welldeserved result.

B Game

The line up was Harley in goal, Kyle in defence, Curtis, Keiran and Alex in midfield, Nat & Jake up front. Ollie S was on the bench for the second half.

This game was played at a much slower pace than the first. The game seemed to move from one box to the other without either goalkeeper being too troubled. Each time they attacked they were met by Kyle who managed to snuff out any move. The striker tried to knock it passed him and use his speed but couldn't get near the ball as Kyle sheilded it brilliantly and then took the resultant goal kick. This happened so often I could see the striker get more and more frustrated leading to a hilarious confrontation. As Chantry were about to take a corner he attempted to barge his marker out of the way and gain advantage. Unfortunately for him Kyle stood his ground and he just bounced off him!!
Curtis and Alex worked hard going forward up the wings and Keiran battled well in the middle. We struggled again to keep possession up front though and lost the ball far too easily too many times.
Chantry had the first real chance with a good powerful shot from the edge of the box. Harley dived and saved it well and Curtis was able to hook it clear.
On the stroke of half-time keiran got the ball to Nat on the edge of the box. This time Nat showed why he was called the goal machine and powered it home to make it 1-0 at half time.

Ollie replaced Nat at half time. We were a far better team in the second half after a brisk half time team talk!! Curtis was now tracking back as well as going forward, something lacking in the first half. Alex had been doing it all game and continued in the second half. As the game went on it opened up and we started making good clear chances. Unfortunately all of these were missed. Chantry had their share of attacks and kyle needed support from Alex and Curtis on a few occassions. This time it was Curtis tracking back the whole length of the pitch to make crucial tackles. The best chance for Chantry was thwarted by Harley who raced off his line and got a last ditch tackle in just outside the box.
Chantry equalised late on from the softest of penalties. Kyle attempted to clear the ball out of our box by kicking it over his head and managed to hit it against his own hand. Harley had no chance as the penalty was well struck into the bottom corner.
The game ended 1-1.
Man of the match today was Kyle. Once again he stuck to his task, used his strength and is deceptively quick when chasing down a ball!! Well done.

Two games remaining and there is a slim chance that the b's could finish in position as well. We've got it all to play for.