Trimley Red Devils 13th December 2008

The lads were up for this today after suffering our first A team defeat this season last week. It was bitterly cold. I couldn't feel my hands or feet after the game. Whilst the A game was being played the Trimley B Team took refuge in the warmth of the clubhouse. As Our B team had disappeared I assumed they had taken the same sensible step. Until I noticed the swing park next to the clubhouse with a little flock of red tracksuits perched on top of the climbing frame!!!

A Game

The line up was- Ollie S in goal, Sam in defence, Freddie, Charlie and Will across midfield, Dash and Matty up front. Jack and Keiran on the bench.

We had spent some time in training working on defending without jumping in and defending from the front. The two areas that cost us dearly the week before.

The game kicked off with us playing against a strong wind. As usual it started at a frantic pace with both teams flying in as you'd expect from a local derby. We settled down quickly and began to show the football we are capable off. Sam performed very well at the back and kept his patience, not allowing the striker any chance of breaking through. Freddie, Charlie and Will battled well in midfield, gave great support to Sam and looked dangerous every time they moved forward with the ball. Basically they worked their socks off( As you know we expect nothing less!) Ex Trimley player Dash and Matty have shown signs of becoming a good striking partnership in previous games. These partnerships take time to develop and today they showed what they were capable of. Individually and as an unselfish pair. Trimley struggled to get into our half, when we got the ball forward we were keeping it there. Dash was obviously desperate to put in a good performance against his old club and did everything in the first 10 minutes except score. Matty also came close. Eventually Dash won the ball and laid it off to Will on the right, he put in a great cross and Matty finished it well to give us a well deserved lead.
Soon after Sam won the ball at the back and passed it through to Dash who passed it across to Matty who made it 2-0.
By this time our heads were up and we looked like scoring every time we got the ball. Ollie was the quietest man on the pitch. Freddie won the ball on the left and passed through to Matty, this time it was him who provided the pass to Dash who banged it in to give us am important 3 goal cushion.
Just before half time we got the fourth when Charlie slid through a lovely pass to allow Dash to run on and get his second.
4-0 was the half-time score.

With the wind behind us it was all Felixstowe in the second half. Jack and Keiran joined the fray and looked dangerous, putting in some great effort. Somehow we failed to extend our lead. Freddie hit the post and the crossbar. The Trimley keeper pulled of some amazing saves from close range efforts from various players but we couldn't get the ball in the net. More importantly though we were spending the majority of the game in their half denying them any chance of getting back in the game.

The game ended 4-0 with a well deserved 3 points. Choosing a man of the match was very difficult as every player had performed well and played his part in a great team performance. We settled on a joint award to Matty and Dash. It's important that a striking partnership play as a team. Both lads set up goals for their partner and celebrated as if they had scored them themselves! Great stuff.

B Game

The line up was Harley in goal, Kyle in defence, Dan, Cam and Charlie W across midfield, Curtis and Jake up front. Connor, Nat and Alex on the bench.

This was a much tighter affair. With both teams more evenly matched the midfield had to battle for everything and put in some great effort. Kyle was solid at the back and Harley was able to clear up and attempts on goal comfortably. Curtis battled well up front but it was little Jake who played out of his skin today and despite being possibly the smallest and youngest player on the pitch, out played and out fought the Trimley defence. Cammy performed his central role superbly and has now settled in to his game. Tackling well as he always has done but now he takes an extra bit of time and plays a nice pass rather than hoof it away at the earliest opportunity. Despite this the score remained 0-0 at half-time.

I can't remember much about our first goal except that it was a Charlie Wilson corker. Hit with power and accuracy from around the edge of the box. 1-0

The cold was now so bad I couldn't bear to take my hands out of my pockets to make any notes. Nat's goal to make it 2-0 is a complete blur to me as Hyperthermia had settled in. Having a 2 goal cushion warmed me slightly and when Trimley pulled one back the nervous energy was all that was keeping me going.
We hung on and survived a couple of scares at the end. Trimley came very close to equalising with a couple of last minute corners. We defended well and kept our concetration and won the game 2-1.

Another strong team performance with every player putting in the effort despite the bitter conditions. Man of the match was easy today. Jake battled superbly and was involved in every attacking move causing the defence all sorts of problems.