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Fifth XI
Winchmore Hill 5 Old Actonians 2
Southern Amateur League
Minor Section Division One
Saturday 22 November
After a disappointing succession of results the 5s were looking to
get some points on the board and move back up the league. The team
was reshuffled again and Ed Curtis and Paolo Cerroni found
themselves back amongst the starting line up with the new formation
from the bronze god Keiron Capello, 4-1-2-1-2, in a move towards a
more attacking style of football. Having enjoyed a lot of early
possession, it was Old Actonians who made the first breakthrough
having been allowed too much time on the ball and the Hill found
themselves up against it again with the score at 0-1. The goal was a
great wake up call and the 5s nearly scored right from the break
with Ed Curtis playing in Chris Chapman who's shot was just wide.
Neil Prosser found space in the box on two later occasions and was
unlucky not to get on the score sheet. A ball down the left from
Ryan was chased down by Cerroni who beat a man and cut inside
releasing Chapman through one on one with the keeper. The defender
was forced to bring Chapman down and prevent a certain goal and the
5s won a penalty. Up stepped Damo who, after "giving the keeper the
eyes", sent the keeper the wrong way and equalised.
Damo's goal lifted the team and the 5s pushed forward looking for
the second. The holding central partnership of Pete Goldring and
Ryan allowed Ed the freedom he loves to go forward and through some
good link up with Chapman and Cerroni the 5s pressured down both
flanks forcing a flurry of corners which Neil Prosser delivered
accurately into the box but to no avail. The GHD champion Glen again
offered lots of mazy runs and attacking flair, not forgetting his
ambitious 30 yard shot which killed three pigeons – which apparently
Dave ate. Despite spending much of the half in the opposition's
territory, the 5s still failed to break through and at half time the
score remained 1-1.
The 5s started the 2nd half brightly and a ball from Glen found
Cerroni on the right who knocked the ball past the defender and then
hit a cross across the face of the goal which Ed converted to bring
the score to 2-1 and reward the 5s domination.
Pete, Ryan and Ed continued to link up well and their strength on
the ball and in the challenge helped the 5s dominate in the middle
of the park. Ed beat 2 players and then played in Ryan who was
through on goal - his effort beat the keeper but struck the woodwork
causing the ball to drop in front of goal where Cerroni was mopping
up and scored to bring the score up to 3-1.
The 5s stayed strong in defence and a long ball from Damo was
gambled on by Cerroni who broke away down the right, the 5s raced
into the box looking for another cross which although Cerroni
provided, was met by the diving header of an Old Actonians defender
who fired the ball in to the roof of his own net to bring the score
up to 4-1.
Millar and new addition Darren were brought into the mix and
provided lots of energy on a field where there were more than a few
tired legs. Millar joined Cerroni upfront and used his strength and
'never say die' attitude to push the Old Actonians' defence into
making errors. Darren was also a notably lively addition, who, as
well as shouting louder than anyone ever has in the history of
football, provided some great link up play form the defence to the
forwards and was always an option to receive the ball back.
With the score at 4-1 complacency snuck in and the 5s gave the ball
away allowing Old Actonians to break away far too easily through the
middle. After a few break aways they found themselves through on
goal and managed to score and reduce the deficit to 4-2. Their goal
gave them a new found hope and the 5s midfield and defensive pairing
of Damo and Keiron had to work very hard to keep the Hill from
conceding further goals. The defence remained strong and refused to
panic playing the ball out of trouble to the outlets provided by
Glen and Andy on either flank at full back. A good break away from
Andy down the left caused a succession of passes as the 5s again
enjoyed the majority of possession. The 5s played the ball around in
the midfield and demonstrated just how well they can keep the ball
before picking out Cerroni in the box who quickly turned the
defender and then bent the ball around the keeper into the bottom
right hand corner to bring the score back up to 5-2. The goal was a
great team goal coming from in excess of 10 passes and was boldly
dubbed by some as the best move of the season, nonetheless the 5s
will look to beat this as they strive to improve on this new brand
of attacking football. The Hill continued to push forward but not
long after the 5th goal the whistle went leaving the score at 5-2
and the Hill back to winning ways.
Post match celebrations involved a core of the 5s hopefuls
journeying south to an exhibition of smut, as provided for by Damo
who incidentally looks really cute in leather, where Glen made a
great purchase to make those cold winter nights indoors all the more
enjoyable! The exhibition was followed by a refreshing skirt-chasing
session in Camden and then back to a house of "Dorrises", Glen was
last seen going upstairs to "show a girl his magic tricks"….
"Powerful!".
Civil Service 1 Winchmore Hill 1
Southern Amateur League
Minor Section Division One
Saturday 15 November
A new week, a new challenge, the same old players late - Paolo and
Ed forced to make their own way to the game! Following a train
journey across London amongst a load of 'egg-chasers', the fifth
eleven arrived at the oh so eloquent Barnes Bridge. After the usual,
'where is our changing room malarkey?', the fifth team lined up
looking to secure an away win and move up to 4th – other results
permitting. Chris Chapman was welcomed to the fold having moved down
from the 4th team and started upfront alongside Neil Prosser.
The game kicked off and the Hill made a promising start showing a
lot of energy and not allowing Barnes anytime on the ball. The
reunited centre-back partnership of Keiron and Damo looked strong
and remained so throughout the game assisted by Andrew Sidoli and
Neil Golding at full back. Ryan and Pete Goldring looked to take
hold of the midfield and won the majority of the early 50 50's.
Chapman made a noticeable debut and was very lively upfront breaking
away early on down the left hand side before firing a shot from a
tight, some say ambitious, angle. He continued to cause the
opposition's defence problems for the rest of the half and was
unlucky to see further shots saved having beaten defenders and found
space following some good service from Neil Prosser. Barnes too had
their chances and Dave Baker made some typically impressive saves,
particularly when he was asked to charge out to his left and clear
the ball away as the Barnes striker raced through on goal. The ever
lively Haslam put in some great work down the right and was the main
attacking threat for the Hill making several runs to the by-line and
whipping in some great crosses which unfortunately were not met.
Despite the dominance of the 5s, one of the Barnes forwards was
allowed too much time on the edge of the box and fired a shot into
the roof of the net, Dave later dived. Whilst the strike was a great
solo effort, the 5s were somewhat bemused by the fact that they were
now losing a game where they had dominated much of the possession.
With the score at 1-0 the Hill did well not to panic and immediately
upped their game. Despite further good work down the right from
twinkle-toed Glen at half time the score remained at 1-0 and Ryan
lead the typically motivational half time talk, however if you ask
me, the oranges were slightly overcooked.
The 5s started the second half brightly and their possession was
rewarded with a lot of corners and free kicks, most of which were
met by the aerial threat Damo who was unlucky not to score. To
capitalise on this dominance Ed Curtis came on and immediately made
an impact and provided a much needed link between the midfield and
the strikers. Lysander was also called on and continued the good
work Glen had offered down the right before a knock to his knee.
Ed's runs into the box caused the opposition defence no end of
troubles and he later won a free kick when they were forced to hack
him down. After a brief triple roll Ed stepped up to take the free
kick, which although trimmed the grass very finely, failed to
threaten the keeper. Not long after a ball over the top from the
right was latched onto by Miller who after a brief river dance
smashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
With the score at 1-1 the hill pushed and Barnes were on the back
foot and looking very edgy whilst the midfield remained strong and
the defence mopped up anything they were faced with. The returning,
and always late, Paolo Cerroni was summoned as the 5s looked for the
winning goal which looked as though it might come. Barnes struggled
as the 5s continued to attack and were lucky not to face a further
free kick on the edge of the box when Cerroni was brought down after
beating two defenders, advantage was played but Ed's shot was
blocked and the move was over. Cheers ref. Lysander looked to be a
threat on the left and the Barnes defence struggled to handle him.
The substitutions had made a great impact as the 5s enjoyed their
best period of attacking football.
In the dying minutes of the second half, a great corner from Neil
Prosser was powerfully headed home by Damo who had seemingly put the
score up to 1-2 and won the game for the Hill. Enter the ref blowing
up for an apparent push on another defender by Golding With the goal
disallowed Barnes hung on to the draw and the final score remained
1-1. The Hill should have won and will look to build on what was a
largely disappointing result. Post match Fruilli ensued and Dave
provided the entertainment in a memorable game of spoof.
Winchmore Hill 5s 4 Winchmore Hill 4s 2
Southern Amateur League
Minor Section Division One
Saturday 4 October
Following the previous weeks dismal performance left the 5’s still
looking for our first points of the season, we found ourselves up
against the fours that had beaten us in a pre season friendly and
were league champions last season. A number of changes were made to
the starting eleven as we welcomed back a number of players. Keiron
(Baldrick) had obviously had a lot of time on his hands during the
week as he came up with cunning plan to stifle the attacking threat
of the fours full backs and go on the offensive from the kick off.
Playing a 4-1-2-3 formation the fives were straight in the faces of
the fours, with the midfield trio of Ryan, Ed and the excellent Pete
Goldring dominating from the first whistle. Despite the early
dominance we failed to create any decent chances in the first
quarter of an hour. Finally though we broke the resistance of the
fours with a free kick into the box which the centre halves failed
to deal with and Paolo Carroni gratefully tapped home. After a five
minute spell of consolidation a long punt ball through the centre
caused hesitation amongst the four’s back four and Carroni latched
on to the ball ahead of the onrushing goalkeeper to lob home his and
the fives second to go two up.
The fives were beginning to gain confidence, and ably supported by
some excellent defending and brave goalkeeping, began to play some
better football. However it was again another long ball that created
the next chance, a free kick from Damo travelled fully 50 yards and
found Neil in the box who on the volley delivered a quite beautiful
cross into the six yard box to set up Carroni surely for his
hat-trick only to be denied by a superb tackle. It wasn’t long
before the fives again increased the margin, a sprinting Ed making
an excellent run into the box to side foot past the goalkeeper, to
make it 3 – 0.
The fives were obviously cock-a-hoop, but the fours suddenly woke up
and began to get into game in the last ten minutes of the first
half, and deservedly pulled one back before half-time. The fives
deservedly went in at half time 3-1 up following a much improved
performance from one to eleven.
The teams emerged in the second half, with no changes made by the
fives, with early exchanges being very scrappy. However, the two
goals in this half were anything but scrappy. First blood in the
second half went to the fives; a cheap and somewhat harsh free-kick
was awarded about 25 yards out. As the wall was being set up, Neil
smashed an unstoppable curling/dipping free kick over the wall into
the corner of the net, much to the annoyance of the keeper, who was
in the process of setting up the wall. 4-1 surely the game was over.
Ten minutes later the fours pulled a goal back. Again a free kick
was awarded rather cheaply around 25 yards out in a central
position. The midfielder stepped up and delivered a beautiful
curling free kick into corner of the goal, with Dave rooted to the
spot.
4-2 to the fives and all of a sudden edginess appeared in the fives
play and if it hadn’t been for some excellent defending from Andrew
Sidoli, when the oppositions striker was clear on goal with still
quarter of an hour of the game to go, the outcome could have been
very different. Substitutions were made and the tired legs of Dave
Austick and Ed Curtis who both worked tirelessly were given a well
earned rest, and as the fours continued to press the excellent Damo
had to go off injured. This lead to a shake up in the formation,
5-3-2, which saw two of our goal scorers, Neil and Paolo dropped
into defensive positions, however the fours failed to break down a
determined rearguard from us and the final whistle was greeted with
much happiness and relief as we finally kick started our season. The
cunning plan had worked! Winchmore Hill fives 4 – 2 winchmore hill
fours.
Winchmore Hill 1 Old Owens 2
Southern Amateur League
Minor Section Division One
Saturday 20 September
It has proved to be a mixed pre-season for the 5th team
comprising 2 wins and 2 losses – but the big plus here being we got
in 4 good practice matches before our season opener against Old
Owens 4’s. So thanks must go to Rob Burwood for his sterling work
in this regard. With a new captain and a number of new players,
these friendlies could prove to be invaluable as we embark on the
new season.
Old Owens offered up a very stern test for the new look 5’s and
finished near to the top of the table last season (drawing against
and beating us along the way) - but this was a game we lost rather
than they won. With 3 points firmly in our grasp with 1 minute left
on the clock, this looked to be a great opening win for Winchmore
Hill. But alas, it was not to be and Old Owens scored 2 goals, I
repeat myself here, both coming in the LAST MINUTE OF PLAY.
This was a real choker for the team and an experience we won’t
forget for a while but hopefully a lesson we will learn from.
The opening to the game was fast and a little frantic but after an
initial settling in period Hill composed themselves and began to
dictate. Looking very solid at the back, the midfield began to
spread the ball around nicely, with some lovely interchange work by
Curtis and Goldring in the centre of the Hill midfield. The Owens
defence were under sustained pressure during the opening exchanges
and indeed it wasn’t long before the goal came. A long ball from
the back by Bush drifted beyond the Owens defence, with Garala
latching onto it in the opposition penalty area, and showing superb
composure he cut inside past the defender and the keeper squaring it
for Carroni to tap into the open goal. 1 – 0 to the Hill.
Five minutes later it should have been 2, a great cross in from the
right saw Garala timing his jump to perfection and firmly heading
downwards into the bottom corner, with only a truly outstanding save
by the keeper getting a fingertip to it and palming it round the
post. Everyone on the pitch was surprised to see it kept out.
The first half whistle came with Hill firmly in the driving seat and
putting in a very solid performance at the back - snuffing out any
Owens attack before the keeper even had to make a save.
That well known football cliché that “football is a game of 2
halves” can certainly be applied to this match. The second half was
mostly Owens – with the Hills passing game going out of the window
allowing the opposition to take command of the game. Owens are a
strong physical side and they began to bully the Hill midfield out
of it and claw their way back into the match. And with Hill being
unable to hold the ball higher up the pitch meant Owens were being
allowed to mount sustained attacks on the Hill defence. Hill had
their chances in the second period, but it is fair to say that Owens
had the vast majority of the play in the second 45.
From then on Hill were under the cosh, and this was compounded
further when Ed Curtis managed to get himself knocked out with a
blow to the temple – resulting in an immediate trip to the hospital
and leaving the Hill to cling on for the last 30 mins with 10 men,
as all subs had been made. And cling on Hill did, quite valiantly,
as the pressure on the back four at times was immense – but still
somehow managing to hold Owens at bay. The midfield did their best,
but losing Curtis was a blow and the extra man advantage was telling
– and by leaving 1 up top, which we really had no choice about, we
had no real outlet. At times we didn’t do ourselves any favours by
not holding onto possession and seemingly being unable to play the
ball into each others feet. And this obviously meant Owens kept
getting the ball back and kept mounting further attacks.
But just when it seemed Hill had bravely managed to hold them at bay
and with 1 minute remaining on the clock – I know, as I asked the
ref after the game – Owens finally got a deserved equaliser. The
goal took the form of a deflection after the ball had pinballed
around the home teams 18 yard box. Then with the last second of the
game, a cross into the box saw an Owens player rise unmarked to head
the ball into the roof of the net from 6 yards – no names named, but
this was poor defending considering all of the hard work that Hill
at put in over the previous 89 minutes. And with that last piece of
play the ref blew the whistle – with no time on the clock left for a
restart.
A very depressed Hill trudged back to the changing rooms left to rue
the 3 points lost – but with a great lesson in concentrating until
the final whistle. The team can’t really be faulted too much for
their performance over 89 minutes – especially bearing in mind we
were down to 10 men for a big chunk of this. But it only takes a
second to score a goal – or in our case 60 seconds to concede 2.
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