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Tenth Eleven
Winchmore Hill 1 Alexandra Park 3
Southern Amateur League
Minor Section Division Five (North)
Saturday 15 November
In amateur football you can really only ask for 2 things from a
player, RELIABILITY & COMMITMENT. Ability is also nice to have, but
the first two are an absolute must and therein lies the problem.
Five players cried off on Friday, a situation that not only lets
their ‘team-mates’ down but also the club. The most successful teams
we have at the moment have been playing together week in, week out
since at least the beginning of the season and in the case of the 8s
for a few seasons before. They know each others game, know how to
play together and consequently WIN. It is unrealistic to think that
with players choosing which weeks they play that an understanding
will develop between players, it won’t. It is unrealistic to ask a
player to know what another player is going to do before a ball is
kicked, they can’t, it takes time for these attributes to develop.
On Saturday we were out played
and out thought during the first half. AP got their formation right
with a 4-3-3 line up, with 2 quick wingers and the ever experienced
veteran upfront bossing the play. Winchmore for the fifth week in a
row had a different midfield, could not settle, did not settle, and
were overrun. The damage done, an unfortunate Vinnie unable to get
the ball away after a corner 1-0, soon this was 2-0 when a breakaway
down our right let AP’s forward in and less than 5 minutes later it
was 3-0.
Half-time came not long after, a chance to re-organise was duly
taken. A change in the middle needed and a new right winger on.
Soon it was AP, who had decided 3-0 was good enough, who were the
ones under pressure but the finish would just not come. We could not
get the deserved breakthrough. We did eventually but this could be a
case of too little too late at 3-1. Although this was not a deserved
result, it is one that brings to the fore the issues currently being
experienced.
This writer thanks all the players that did turn up on Saturday for
their never say die attitude, their willingness to fight for a
cause, even in the face of defeat they should hold their heads up
high. Reflecting commitment I would like to highlight the
willingness of one player to drive for over one and a half hours,
longer than a full match, just to get to football then have to leave
after the match to make his way home.
Old Finchleians 4 Winchmore Hill 5
Southern Amateur League
Junior Novets Cup
Saturday 8 November
On a
cold, wet, windy day the Winchmore 10s travelled the not too far
distance to Oakhill Park, the skipper via Oakwood & Barnet, missing
our keeper but otherwise with the strongest eleven possible. The
game as it turned out would be about finishing, had Finchelians
taken their chances in the first 20 minutes Winchmore would have
been trailing by 6 had Winchmore taken theirs in the second half
Finchelians should have been 8 down and buried but neither side
could or did capitalise on their periods of dominance which lead to
the game being close.
The game flowed from end to end, attack after attack with little
time to catch the breath, the Hill started with a firm backline of
Adamson, Nicolaides, Behling and Fraulo (a cumulative age of 586
with two 29yr olds in there) who very soon were trying to catch the
heals of the very mobile forwards of Finchleians and soon were 1-0
down this should have been more but they just could not shoot, the
Hill then decided to take the game by the scruff of the neck and
were soon 4-1 up, via a fantastic break away by Thorpe, a quick 2
from Martin, and a quick attack by Baker who was freed by a nice
ball up the line by Fraulo (our very own version of YODA).
Half time came and went and soon Hill were up 5-1 after Cocoracchio
turned neatly on the edge of the box and beat the keeper. This
should of seen us home but after a couple more 1 on 1s we now could
just not finish setting up what became a frantic end, the game
changed with 25 minutes to go the Hill making their final
substitution surrendered midfield and were soon swamped, 5-1
became5-2, 5-2 became 5-3 with what must have been the clearest
handball ever to of been seen outside of the NBA, with 5 minutes to
go Finchelians got the game to 5-4 and started looking for the
leveller but it was not to come Hill stood firm and onto the next
round we go to face Kew at home.
After the match tired bodies celebrated the win with a well earned
beer and Vince WAS heard to say ‘play that well when 900 years old
you be’.
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