1st XI Match ReportsNORSEMEN 0-2 BROOMFIELD 23/03/2002This 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. back to top | Back Home | Back to Stats
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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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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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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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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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.
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 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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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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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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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.
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.
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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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.
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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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.
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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