Sherwood FC 9 – 1 Riverside FC
Just as well we were at home this morning – those lovely River Plate colours would have taken more than a dose of Daz to recover from the mud bath down at Carrington. Thank you to the grounds staff of Darren, James and Ep who spent half an hour stabbing the pitch to help the water drain away despite Neil's valiant efforts prior to reinforcements arriving!
With both Alfie and Luke unavailable due to injury and illness, Neil and Steve had a 13 man squad to match against Riverside’s 10 – and for an anxious few minutes Riverside had even fewer players to field. It was clear that Sherwood had an advantage but Riverside put up a valiant defence – especially in the first half when they matched Sherwood pace for pace.
Neil took the opportunity to experiment with positions – putting Thomas into midfield and Lex into defence in the second half.
The first try on goal came from Thomas with Kel putting the first one home a few minutes later. Then it was Nico who attempted an experimental goal into the subs’ bench (disallowed) before sending a superb shot into the net from outside the box. Ryan made it 3-0 before Riverside got one back to make it 3-1 at half-time.
The match was notable for some superb passing between the Sherwood lads. Brandon, Jack, Connor, Michael and Lewis were on top form down the wings (where the pitch was driest). None of them might have got a goal for themselves, but their contributions were stylish and match-winning. Tom, looking so, so cold, was excellent in defence, managing to take the ball from the larger and warmer looking Riverside player he was marking. Jordan was also on form with his tackling and some superb shots at goal – he seems to be getting better and better every match.
The second half saw Riverside flagging as their 10 men battled bravely on. Sherwood’s goal tally started to build. Kel got the 4th, 6th, and 8th goal to make it a quartet (that will help him maintain his position in the league stats). Thomas got the 5th and 9th, showing us all just how versatile and strong a player he is (and he can kick in the right direction when he needs to). Mid-field terrier Ryan, got the 7th and his 2nd.
The final score was 9-1 to Sherwood. The Man of the Match award went to the whole team for a consistent and effective performance. Special mention however, needs to go to Patrick. He had only a few moments of excitement to keep him warm. Of most note was that second half moment when the ball came to rest just in front of the line. Patrick was busy lying in the mud and it was up to his keeper partner Lex to kick it out – fortunately he remembered not to use his hands! We bet our hallway and bath ended up with more mud in it than anyone else’s!
Final Score: 9-1
MOM – The Team
