1st XI Match Reports

NORSEMEN 0-2 BROOMFIELD 23/03/2002

This report is taken from Norsemens website. We wonder who the chubby broomfield midfielder might be ?

A similar start to last weeks match with both sides looking for an early goal. Our opponents had pace up front but fortunately their final pass, cross or shot was found wanting.

With three defensive changes forced on us due to understandable reasons like taking your Grandma's budgie to the pictures the last thing we needed was an early injury-so Mike Morris obliged by pulling up with a hamstring seeing us lose our main attacking threat. He was replaced by Tom Blanchflower whose excellent through pass to Steve Ballinger should have seen us take the lead. However Steve showed us why his nickname is Jigsaw as he goes to pieces in the box!

Another Norsemen attack saw Ballinger head narrowly wide and a braver referee might have awarded us a penalty when Ayres was tripped.

The game tightened up in the second half and a draw looked likely barring a defensive mistake. With a couple of minutes remaining a long (foul) throw from Broomfield was flicked on to a chubby Broomfield midfielder who would struggle to beat Graham Lewis in a 3 yard dash. Inexplicably he was allowed to waddle through and beat our keeper from 15 yards.

To add insult to injury we managed to concede another goal from another long (foul) throw where our defending at the back was even worse.

A frustrating and undeserved defeat against worthwhile opponents. Hopefully Grandma's budgie has had enough of the pictures and stronger availability in our last 3 games should see us clear of relegation.

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Polytechnic 3 - 0 Broomfield 09/02/2002

Broomfield travelled to Polytechnic, which is well known throughout the league to be a difficult place to get a result, even if you play well. Playing against a strong wind in the first half, Broomfield did well to reduce the home side to only a one goal lead. Indeed during the half time team talk, there was an air of confidence that they could turn the game around. However, as often happens in this type of game, too much importance was attached to the wind factor, and Broomfield seemed to think that this alone would win the game for them. Polytechnic had other ideas and kept up relentless pressure on the Broomfield goal, scoring a further two goals with the away side offering little resistance. It was definitely a game they need to forget because not only did they not play any football, but also seemed to lack collective spirit.

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Old Owens 3 - 1 Broomfield 02/02/2002

Broomfield came into this game needing a win to get their season back on track. Although they didn' t achieve this, it was a much more encouraging display than the previous week. During the first half Broomfield were totally on top playing some good passing football, in which Simon and Martin Pope were often instrumental. One of many moves saw Les put through. His shot could only be parried by the keeper and Steve Holliday was on hand to tap the ball into the net. However for all their domination, Broomfield failed to add to their lead and went into half time only one nil up. Broomfield continued to outplay the opposition, but still couldn' t manage to get that elusive second goal. They were made to pay in the seventieth minute, when Old Owens scored a well worked freekick. Broomfield had a chance to retake the lead but again were denied. Following a very fortunate second goal, Broomfields confidence seemed to visibly drain from their bodies and they were left almost expecting to lose. They were right and Old Owens added a third.

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Actonians 4 - 0 Broomfield 19/01/2002

Due to some enforced changes caused by both injury and absence, Broomfield decided to switch from their accustomed 3-5-2 formation to 4-4-2. Although a little tentative at first, Broomfield were soon able to adjust to the change in circumstances and settled to play some good football, with the returning Paul Georgio and Lee Knight, both of whom drafted in from the second team, involved in most of it .In contrast Actonians spent the majority of the half playing from caution, all to aware of the threat of real pace provided by Steve Holliday and Floyd Nelson. When they did venture forward, the combination of Duane and Danny at centre back, ably supported by Ray Cherouneau and Otis Thompson at fullbacks, were more than a match for them. The game limped to half time with Broomfield looking the most likely to score without actually creating a clear cut chance.

Similar was to follow in the second half with neither team really taking a firm grip on the game. Then on sixty minutes the game seemed to swing when Simon Pope slotted a beautifully weighted pass into the path of Matt Golding, who watched despairingly as his shot drifted past the far post. Within minutes of this escape, Actonians had scored and then repeated the feat to take a 2-0 lead. Although obviously in shock,Broomfield were still creating chances, but it just didn't seem to be their day with both Steve and Matt missing further good chances. Actonians third goal really put pay to any thought of a comeback and Broomfield were resigned to defeat. A fourth goal completed the scoring and ended Broomfields miserable day.

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Broomfield 5 - 1 Crouch End Vampires 12/01/2002

Firstly I'd like to say thank you to my able substitute " The Blue Onlooker" for filling in the gaps since my last report. What can I say, Christmas is a hectic time! As was reported, it wasn't a particularly fruitful period for Broomfield, but we hope that this result will give us the impetus to get back to a winning routine.

Anyway the game. Having started 30 minutes late due to a bout of kit confusion from the opposition, Broomfield spent the first twenty minutes continuing their extended warm up. The confidence,so evident in the early part of the season, seemed to be missing, which only served to exaggerate Broomfield's struggle to cope with the demands of an unforgiving surface. Meanwhile the vampires were working tirelessly, closing down the home side and forcing errors as Broomfield tried to pass their way out of trouble. On one such occasion Crouch End got reward for their efforts as their centre forward latched onto a defensive mistake to take his side into a deserved lead.

This was obviously the shock Broomfield needed as they responded almost immediately, when a forward raid and cross by defender Danny Nelmes was turned in at the backpost by Matt Golding to level the scores. The rest of the half belonged to Broomfield with Floyd Nelson and Martin Pope at the heart of most of their good work. However at half time the teams were still locked at 1-1. This frustration continued a full twenty minutes into the second half, as a spirited Vampires side held out against waves of attacks. Saying that, Crouch End themselves missed two very good chances to take the lead, when they saw one effort rebound off the post and another tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Adam Bishop. It was at this stage that manager Mick Robins admitted he would have settled for a draw, which shows that the final result was more than a little flattering.

The turning point came when man of the match Danny Nelmes hurled in an exocet missile from the sidelines. The goalkeeper with the aid of a little nudge from Jimmy Jacobs, misjudged the flight of the ball, and Steve Holliday pounced to force the ball home from close range. Immediately all the discipline and spirit seemed to drain from the away side, typified by their keeper losing out to Floyd Nelson just outside the area. Floyd calmly chipped the ball into the unguarded net to put the game beyond doubt. Jimmy Jacobs added further insult, when perhaps inspired by Nelmes's earlier effort, he unleashed a 25 yard thunderbolt of his own, which sped unerringly into the far top corner. As he said in his own words after the game " I'm not one to boast lads, but that was some ****ing goal". A few minutes from the end, Steve Holliday claimed his second to complete the scoring and a satisfactory victory.

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Broomfield 2 - 2 Alleyn Old Boys 05/01/2002

Broomfield took the field against Alleyns determined to end their run of recent poor results. For most of the first half Brooms created the best chances with some skilful attacking play. Steve Holliday was unfortunate not the score when a clever chip hit the bar and bounced down on the line, the referee adjudging that the ball had not completely crossed the line. Holliday quickly made amends by showing a clean pair of heals to the home sides defence, confidently slotting the ball home to give Brooms the lead. Brooms made it 2-0 before half time when a corner from Matt Golding found James Jacobs free on the far post allowing him to nod home.

The second half was played in deteriorating conditions as an iced up pitch began to thaw and become very heavy. Alleyns seemed more equipped to play football under these circumstances and dominated most of the second half. Unfortunately Brooms usually solid defence began to make some uncharacteristic errors, needlessly giving the ball away in dangerous positions. Alleyns capitalized when a stray pass was intercepted, quickly crossed and headed home. Brooms defence failed to learn their lessons and in almost identical circumstances the ball was again needlessly given away, allowing an Alleyns player to run into the box. Captain Ian Nelson's tackle did not appear to make contact with the Alleyn's player who fell dramatically. Unfortunately for Brooms, the referee awarded a penalty which Alleyns duly converted. With Alleyns sensing possible victory, Broom's defence were hard pressed to hold on. However, they stood firm allowing Floyd Nelson and Steve Holliday to break away in the final period and almost collect all 3 points.

Report by The Blue Onlooker

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Broomfield 1 - 2 Civil Service 15/12/2001

Broomfield returned to their league programme with their confidence dented, following two consecutive cup defeats. Civil Service who were also having a poor run of form set out to play very cautiously allowing Brooms the lion's share of possession, and attacking advantage. As the first half wore on Brooms opened up Civil's defence on several occasions, but failed to take their chances.

The second half saw Brooms confidence grow, with more or less constant pressure on the away side's defence. Unfortunately Brooms forwards were having an off day with Les Owusu, Steve Holliday and Floyd Nelson all failing to score with only the goalkeeper to beat. Brooms took the lead in a bizarre manner when Civil Service's goalkeeper hacked the ball against Floyd Nelson which then rebounded straight into the net. With the home side's total domination victory now seemed assured. However, Brooms defence were caught napping when a harmless looking high ball was allowed to bounce between centre half and goalkeeper, giving the opportunity to a more alert Civil forward to touch the ball home. To rub further salt into the wound, with minutes remaining Civil broke away to score a suspiciously looking off-side goal, leaving the home side wondering how they actually lost this match.

Report by the Blue Onlooker

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Broomfield 0 - 3 Old Westminster Citizens 08/12/2001

Manager Mick Robbins dream of bringing the A.F.A. Senior Cup back to Broomfield for the first time ended as in past seasons, with ignominious defeat. This time at the hands of 3rd division giant killers O.W.C., who turned the form book upside-down with a passionate performance.

In truth with the noticeable exception of James Jacobs, Brooms were never at the races, and showed little appetite for the contest. O.W.C. hit Brooms with 2 early goals, the first being a brilliant individual goal, the second a result of some leaden footed defending. These early reverses failed to sting Brooms into any meaningful attacking action with only Les Owusu mounting any serious threat to the home side.

Broom's second half performance was only marginally better, however, they did manage to create several good goal scoring chances which either good defending or poor finishing prevented a chance of a comeback. Midway through the second half, O.W.C.'s broke away to score a 3rd goal and seal the fate of a somewhat demoralized Brooms side.

Report by The (very) Blue Onlooker

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Broomfield 1 - 2 Old Actonians 24/11/2001

Broomfield entertained last year's finalists Old Actonians in the AFA Middlesex County Cup. Having convincingly beaten Old Actonians 3-0 in an earlier league game, Broomfield took the field in confident frame of mind. However, Old Actonians had come prepared to counter Broomfield's attacking style, and quickly dominated the early exchanges, never allowing the home side to compose themselves. After 20 minutes Brooms found themselves 2-0 down following a period of constant pressure from the visitors. It took the remainder of the 1st half for Brooms to reorganise themselves and mount any serious threat to the Old Actonians goal.

The 2nd half was a more even affair with Brooms gradually increasing the pressure. With 20 minutes left Walid Matata scored a typical poachers goal which then signalled a frantic last 20 minutes of attacking football from the home side. Unfortunately, Old Actonian's well organised defence proved to be very difficult to break down. Although good chances fell to Steve Holliday and James Jacobs, Brooms failed to score with their opponents running out worthy winners and inflicting on Broomfield their 1st defeat of the season

Report by The Blue Onlooker

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Broomfield 7 - 4 Old Danes 17/11/2001

In the words of cliche supremo Trevor Brooking, this really was "a game of two halves". Broomfield, as is customary in their cup football this year, started the game with ten men. Once again Adam Bishop was the "unlucky " man to get caught in traffic (obviously Old Danes flew in). Therefore Otis Thompson once again donned the jersey and once again managed to keep a clean sheet. When Adam arrived ten minutes into the match, Broomfield had already began the game poorly and it was hoped that now the formation was settled, they could start playing some football. This was not to be the case. While Broomfield coasted, the underdogs chased and harried and fully deserved to go 1, then 2-0 up. When Floyd Nelson pulled one back, Broomfield thought they would escape with a 2-1 deficit at halftime. No such luck! A silly freekick was given away, no-one got to the ball, no-one marked, 3-1. Broomfield trudged off to a thankfully teacup freezone, as manager Mick Robins gave his team a fairly stern talking to, demanding at least a bit of passion in the second half. He was not left disappointed.


James Jacob curls in a free kick

Broomfield showed a lot more desire and started pegging the opposition back. However disaster struck, as in their eagerness to get back into the game, they had committed too many players forward. Old Danes took advantage, 4-1. Now thoughts started to change to , far from getting back into the game, one more goal and they could be on to a true thrashing. However dispelling these demons to the far reaches of their mind (near reaches in Jimmy's case!), Broomfield continued to press forward and their persistence was rewarded when Jimmy rifled an unstoppable freekick into the top left hand corner. The rest of the game was all Broomfield with wave after wave of attacks beating down on the Old Danes goal, led primarily by Floyd and man of the match Whallid. One such attack allowed Golding to get past his defender and send a cross to Danny Nelmes, who met it crisply on the volley and drilled it back past the keeper into the bottom corner for the goal of the game. By now Old Danes were out on their feet, and it seemed only a question of time before Broomfield would equalise. After 5 minutes of frustration, they got the prize goal to take the game into extra time, when Otis scored another Mick Young special, powerfully heading in a nearpost corner.


Otis rises majestically in to make it 4-4!

   Extra time continued in the same vain. Once again Golding beat the hapless fullback, swung over a deep cross to where Floyd was waiting to volley home. Further misery was piled on when Whallid mesmorised 2 or 3 defenders and sent a drive goalward, which the goalkeeper could only palm into the net, 6-4. The game was as good as over and Danes knew it. The irrepressible Floyd continued to terrorize the defence, until he was taken out just above the knee (Floyd was disgusted and had to have a good few cokes in the bar afterwards to calm him down). The ball then broke to Whallid who rounded the last defender, rolled it unselfishly to stand in walking wounded striker Laurie Wootten,who rammed it into the back of the net to complete the victory. To say manager Mick Robins was happy would be an understatement, as his AFA cup dream was still alive.

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Broomfield 2 - 0 Polytechnic 10/11/2001

Broomfield were welcomed to Hazelwood by the sight of a Polytechnic side in mid training session, a full 45 minutes before kickoff. This was the first clue to the type of side we were up against. The second was the first ten minutes where Poly bombarded Broomfield with wave after wave of quick incisive attacks, which tested our resilience, but once again the defensive trio of Ian Nelson, Lyle Wooton and Danny Nelmes backed up by Adam Bishop, remained firm.

Following several predictable yet relevant shouts "to get out of the changing rooms" and "to get out of first gear", Broomfield sprung into life, and a good move involving Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Holliday allowed Floyd Nelson to escape the offside trap. Floyd then left the rest of the defence for dead, nonchalantly rounded the keeper and slotted the ball into the open net. 1 - 0 to Broomfield totally against the run of play.

Even after the goal, Broomfield seemed strangely out of sorts and their passing game just wasn't clicking. However saying that both Paul Hamilton and Steve Holliday were getting the better of the Polytechnic defence, who were forced to resort to strongarm tactics to deal with their combined threat. It was on one such occasion, when Steve had managed to break clear, that he was ruthlessly taken out by a "last man" knee high challenge, on route to a clear goal opportunity. The culprit escaped with a yellow card, but justice was served, when the resultant freekick was turned round for a corner. The corner was met fantastically by Lyle Wooton who sent a twelve yard bullet header past the helpless keeper to send Broomfield into a 2-0 half time lead.

The half time talk revolved around actually playing like division 1 leaders, and we went out with this intention. However once more it was Polytechnic who got out of the blocks fastest and once again Broomfield were forced onto the back foot. Our task looked even more challenging when Hamilton was sent off in the 55th minute, but far from further encouraging the opposition, they actually seemed visibly to take their foot off the pedal, which allowed a ten man Broomfield to claw their way back to parity in terms of possession. Indeed Broomfield had several chances to increase their lead, but were denied either by good goalkeeping or indifferent finishing.

Although the last ten minutes was back to the wall stuff, with man of the match Bishop called into action on more than one occasion to make important saves, Polytechnic never really seemed convinced that they would score and they didn't. So the result was another good win with Broomfield showing a lot of character to grind out a victory, even if at times it wasn't always pretty.

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Ealing Association 0 - 8 Broomfield 03/11/2001


Danny Nelmes stops a rare Ealing Association attack

Broomfield travelled the long way down to Ealing for their first taste of Middlesex cup football this season. Although Broomfield didn't make the best of starts, commencing the game with 10 men (Otis Thompson the lucky man to don the goalkeepers jersey), they soon got into the swing of things with early goals from Whallid and Floyd.

When goalkeeper Adam Bishop arrived ten minutes into the match and Broomfield returned to their full compliment, their superiority became even more apparent and they added to their tally with goals from Paul Hamilton and Matt Golding. The second half continued along the same lines with Broomfield dominant,so much so in fact that man of the match Steve Holliday was able to drop into sweeper. Further goals from Golding, Nelson, Thompson and an own goal completed an 8- 0 scoreline.

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Broomfield 3 - 1 Carshalton 27/10/2001

Carshalton arrived on the back of a surprise win against Actonians, so Broomfield should have known that they were in for a stiff challenge. Unfortunately it took Broomfield 10 minutes to fully realise this. Prior to this, we were under constant pressure and had gone a goal behind, when a collection of mistakes led primarily by Golding ( Who says its always good publicity!) and compounded by other members of the defence, gifted Carshalton an early lead.

Finally Broomfield were stung into action and levelled the score, when a corner delivered by Golding, took a deflection off a couple of legs, one of which apparently!! was that of Steve Holliday and found its way into the net.

Broomfield then launched wave after wave of attacks, with man of the match Floyd Nelson at the heart of things, gliding effortlessly past a series of desperate lunges on a number of occasions, to set up a glut of chances. Unfortunately Broomfield managed to squander these chances with finishing, which would make Andy Cole look composed.

However one move got the finish it deserved, when Floyd picked out a Carshalton player, who in the spirit of fair play knocked it back to Ian Nelson. Ian then chipped the ball into the Carshalton area, where Les flicked on to Steve Holliday, who lobbed the advancing keeper to take Broomfield into a 2-1 half time lead.

Following the break, Broomfield continued to dominate the game, but still found it difficult to convert their opportunities. This fact obviously encouraged the visitors because they started to create a bit of pressure, but this was more than adequately dealt with by the solid back line of Nelmes, Nelson, Wooton and keeper Bishop. In truth, Carshalton never really looked like scoring, but any such fears were allayed, when Golding broke through a tackle, rounded the remaining defender and slid it past the keeper to make it 3-1.

In conclusion, Broomfield showed a lot of character to come back as we did, but it was not an entirely satisfying victory. To quote manager Mick Robins' favourite current saying "We mustn't start believing our own publicity."

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Crouch End Vampires 1 - 5 Broomfield 20/10/2001

No it wasn’t “ the real test”. Once more Broomfield started off brightly and Crouch End struggled to contain their passing and movement. One such occasion led to the first goal where Steve Holliday and Otis Thompson combined before allowing Matt Golding to coolly steer home the first goal.

In contrast to previous weeks, Crouch End replied quickly to level the score after some uncharacteristic sloppy defending. Their joywas short lived however as, when Steve Holliday hounded their defence and keeper, the ball found its way to Golding, who from fully 40 yards, chipped the ball into the unguarded net to restore Broomfields advantage. Crouch Ends misery was compounded further when Golding latched onto a fine through ball from Danny Nelmes, drew the keeper and calmly slottedhome to complete a fifteen minute hattrick. No its not a misprint, fifteen minute hat-trick!

Accusations were launched that Golding may as well have walked off there and then, such was his lack of impact on the rest of the proceedings, but I feel that he was merely concentrating on his defensive duties, shying away from further personal glory for the sake of the team.


More action from the game against Crouch End

This selfless act allowed Martin Pope to have a greater influence on the game, and following some good work on the right, Les crossedthe ball into the middle, where Steve Holliday had the routine job of knocking the ball into an open net, with the keeper hopelessly out of position. Holliday was obviously alittle more nervous than he first appeared, as , shortly afterwards, he was forced to change a dubiously stained shirt before rejoining the action.


Otis discovers how much Matt has been paying the opposition recently

Once more then, Broomfield took a commanding 4-1 lead into half time. Determined not to rest on their laurels, as last week, Broomfield continued to play vibrant passing football, orchestrated primarily by Ray Cherouneau and (though it grates me to say it ) man of the match Jimmy Jacobs. Les added to his tally tomake it 5-1, before getting injured for the forth week running, prompting rumours that there will be a “ Guess the minute Les stubs his toe “ competition next week.

All in all, another good win!

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EBOG 0 - 5 Broomfield 13/10/2001

Whilst tucking into my post training orange juice and lemonade, some of the more mature members of the club ( Messrs Young, Hitchins, Chapman etc) have told me on a weekly basis that the next game would be "The real test." Although they were right with Easthameians and Actonians, they were most definitely wrong with EBOGS, whose 5-0 beating was flattering to say the least.


Wallid and Stave attack a dangerous corner from Matt

Saying that Broomfield did play some breath taking football in the first half, which resulted in 3 great team goals. Firstly there was a crisp movement between Floyd, Les and Steve Holliday, leaving Les free on the left hand corner of the box. Les then floated a ball back across goal, where man of the match Martin Pope ran in to force a ball into the roof of the net. Five minutes later Jimmy Jacobs received the ball in the middle of the park and then delivered a raking forty yard pass down the left hand side. Golding picked it up and crossed to Les, who thumped a fantastic volley "Roy of the Rovers style" back across the keeper. Steve Holliday then completed the first half rout by squeezing a shot into the top left corner from a seemingly impossible angle, following some good build up play from Floyd and Martin.

Broomfield took their foot off the pedal in the second half and the quality of their football suffered. Nevertheless they managed to convert a further two chances, both scored by Walid Matata. Perhaps this weeks match against Crouch End Vampires will provide "The real test."


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Broomfield 3 - 0 Old Actonians 06/10/2001

As I said in last week's report, Actonians have been champions for the previous three years, so this result more than any other, announces Broomfieldarrival in Division One.

In contrast to the previous week, Broomfield started off brightly and took the game to the opposition. The game was very fast paced, but Broomfield lookedfairly comfortable. Midway through the half, following some confusion in the Actonians defence, Jimmy Jacobs found himself with a clear route to goal. The whole of Broomfield heldtheir breath, as Jimmy fired an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area into the far corner of the net, which took Broomfield into a well deserved half-time lead.

Predictably Actonians came out all guns blazing in the second half, but Broomfield remained steadfast. Then on the 55th minute, Matt Golding picked up aloose headed clearance just outside the edge of the area. I won't go into too much detail (some things are too beautiful for words), but I basically beat about four or fivedefenders a la Ricky Villa, before slotting the ball into the corner, the main difficulty being hurdling the crowd of prostrate bodies on the way to my celebration.

We then spent a lot of time defending resolutely, before Wallid Hussain put the result beyond doubt in the 80th minute, with a well taken goal. Although the whole team played very well, special mention has to go to Jimmy Jacobs and Danny Nelmes, both of whom were superb.


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Broomfield 2 - 1 Old Esthameians 29/09/2001

Broomfield started off first Division life with an excellent win against a team, who finished third last season. Broomfield started off slowly, going agoal behind, albeit a deflected one, in the first minute and chasing shadows for the next twenty. We then settled down, started playing some good football, and by half-time hadconvinced ourselves that we were far from out of our depth.

This belief continued into the second half, when following some good harassing from Floyd Nelson, Steve Holiday managed to chip into the unguarded net from a very acute angle.

If you haven't heard from him already then I'm sure stand-in manager Mick Young will tell you about the second goal, where, having been awarded a corner, Mr Young instructed Matt Golding to "hit it ***ing near post, edge of six yard" in his own inimitable way, as he had seen Otis Thompson making a good run on the previouscorner. Golding duly obliged, but Otis still had a lot of work to direct it powerfully for a great headed goal.

Mick obviously then proceeded to play down his part of the goal for the remainder of the evening though there were whispers concerning the vacancy atLeicester City.

Special mention should go to the back four - Laurie Wootten, Otis Thompson, Danny Nelmes and goalkeeper Adam Bishop who all defended brilliantly, as wellas the opposition striker who missed two open goals, which make the Russian's six-yard miss against Ipswich look like a good effort.

All in all a great team effort, we will know we can play better, and we will need to next week against triple champions Old Actonians.


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