A great report, of what seems like a great game. However, if you're not going to make it a fair report, you might as well just write the last paragraph again.
'A great match, Shefford dominated. The other team were rubbish'
Monday, February 18, 2008
The frost may have melted but the Henwick pitches were hard underfoot as players went through the ritual studs v moulded debate before kick off. Q Associates started strongly and kept Shefford pinned in their own half for the opening 10 minutes, before the visitors began moving slightly further up the field.
A worrying sign for Shefford with Q getting a free header from a corner was turned into worse news shortly afterwards. Another corner swinging in, another free header well saved by Smurf but it fell to a Q player to finish from close range. This actually sparked Shefford into a response and the rest of the game was played pretty much in the Q half. Chance after chance went over or wide until Gareth Withers picked the ball up on the left wing, jinked inside and fired a looping shot into the top right hand corner to equalise with the last kick of the half.
Posession shared at the start of the 2nd half until Q's main player muscled the ball through nearly the entire Shefford defence. Tackles went in but none strong enough to get the ball off him and he eventually fired a low shot into the bottom corner. Shefford responded well and Withers again made an excellent run down the left to feed a neat cutback to debutant Glen Canning who only needed one touch to side foot it past the keeper.
Shefford now looked the stronger team and began limiting Q to chances, before an effort from outside the box squirmed out of Smurf's hands and dribbled over the line. The shot was accompanied moments later by a typically timed Crabbeman tackle so the scorer then spent the next 5 minutes seeking him out for retribution, which came in the form of an elbow and a second yellow card, putting Q down to ten men. Suicide against a pressing Shefford side and duly punished when a cross from (insert who crossed it here I can't remember) was headed home by Canning for his second on his debut to make it 3-3.
It was all Shefford for the last 10 minutes but the closest they came was a Crabbeman effort close in but at a tight angle and the ball wouldn't come out from under his feet.
Points shared - probably fair enough cos I haven't mentioned Q's disallowed (rightly) goal or their shot that hit the inside of the post and rebounded across the goal and out. But Shefford made more chances and scored better goals. Familiar story.
A worrying sign for Shefford with Q getting a free header from a corner was turned into worse news shortly afterwards. Another corner swinging in, another free header well saved by Smurf but it fell to a Q player to finish from close range. This actually sparked Shefford into a response and the rest of the game was played pretty much in the Q half. Chance after chance went over or wide until Gareth Withers picked the ball up on the left wing, jinked inside and fired a looping shot into the top right hand corner to equalise with the last kick of the half.
Posession shared at the start of the 2nd half until Q's main player muscled the ball through nearly the entire Shefford defence. Tackles went in but none strong enough to get the ball off him and he eventually fired a low shot into the bottom corner. Shefford responded well and Withers again made an excellent run down the left to feed a neat cutback to debutant Glen Canning who only needed one touch to side foot it past the keeper.
Shefford now looked the stronger team and began limiting Q to chances, before an effort from outside the box squirmed out of Smurf's hands and dribbled over the line. The shot was accompanied moments later by a typically timed Crabbeman tackle so the scorer then spent the next 5 minutes seeking him out for retribution, which came in the form of an elbow and a second yellow card, putting Q down to ten men. Suicide against a pressing Shefford side and duly punished when a cross from (insert who crossed it here I can't remember) was headed home by Canning for his second on his debut to make it 3-3.
It was all Shefford for the last 10 minutes but the closest they came was a Crabbeman effort close in but at a tight angle and the ball wouldn't come out from under his feet.
Points shared - probably fair enough cos I haven't mentioned Q's disallowed (rightly) goal or their shot that hit the inside of the post and rebounded across the goal and out. But Shefford made more chances and scored better goals. Familiar story.
http://www.football.mitoo.co.uk/LeagueTab.cfm?TblName=Matches&DivisionID=2479&LeagueCode=NDSFL2007
Kennet lost as well so although we actually dropped a bit in the league we're still in a healthy position. But we can see now that it's not just between us, Kennet and Q anymore you can add Hermitage Reserves and Bucklebury to the equation. It's all nice and open still. Thought we showed good character throughout yesterday and created far more chances than they did. Unlucky not to grab all 3 points, just shows we'll not be able to just turn up against anyone - we need to put some real effort in.
The John Sills match report follows.
Kennet lost as well so although we actually dropped a bit in the league we're still in a healthy position. But we can see now that it's not just between us, Kennet and Q anymore you can add Hermitage Reserves and Bucklebury to the equation. It's all nice and open still. Thought we showed good character throughout yesterday and created far more chances than they did. Unlucky not to grab all 3 points, just shows we'll not be able to just turn up against anyone - we need to put some real effort in.
The John Sills match report follows.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Remember the last game of the season before last? (the relegation one) when we lost 3-2 to Hampstead Norreys who got promoted (think they even won that league). Well we were very poor that season and still only lost 3-2. No surprise then to seem them rock bottom of the Prem Div, having played 10, won just 1 (against Partick) and lost the other 9. Their keeper was a retard.
Yeah there's still tons of twists and turns to go yet. Think about last year when we ended up winning by 10 clear points and it never really felt certain until 2 games to go.
I have no doubt that Kennet will drop points, as will everyone, but other teams are having some good runs of form. Like you say, anyone from the top 7 are still well within grasp of the top. We've still got some good teams and some bad teams to play.
We'll have to see what Q are like on Sunday. They've had some bad results recently but we missed a trick last week as if we'd beaten Kennet then Q might have come into the game secretly expecting not to get anything out of it. As it is, they'll now be going into it in the same mood as us, off the back of a disappointment and knowing that the other team aren't invincible.
We've got a strong squad out on Sunday, only Lewis missing, so it'd be nice to play some decent footy - we know we can pressure them and we know they don't react well to conceding. Might be nice to let them hear that we only had 9 men last week against Kennet...
I have no doubt that Kennet will drop points, as will everyone, but other teams are having some good runs of form. Like you say, anyone from the top 7 are still well within grasp of the top. We've still got some good teams and some bad teams to play.
We'll have to see what Q are like on Sunday. They've had some bad results recently but we missed a trick last week as if we'd beaten Kennet then Q might have come into the game secretly expecting not to get anything out of it. As it is, they'll now be going into it in the same mood as us, off the back of a disappointment and knowing that the other team aren't invincible.
We've got a strong squad out on Sunday, only Lewis missing, so it'd be nice to play some decent footy - we know we can pressure them and we know they don't react well to conceding. Might be nice to let them hear that we only had 9 men last week against Kennet...
Just had a good look at the league table and who's played who etc and we're still in the mix, I think the top seven teams will be thinking they'll have a chance to get up there if they can get a winning streak going. We still have the advantage (looking at it positively) of games in hand over some and Kennet who are 8 points ahead of us now are going to drop points before the end of the season.
They have Hogs Head to play twice who look in good form, Bucklebury - who we know only too well can be a tough team to beat on their day and Hermitage Res who they've already lost too once. Plus they need to beat the other teams at the bottom, as just turning up doesn't guarantee a win....
Obviously we still have to beat these teams as well, but just trying to put a positive spin on things on this gloomy Friday morning!!
First things first though, massive game on Sunday - where we really can't afford to drop points.
They have Hogs Head to play twice who look in good form, Bucklebury - who we know only too well can be a tough team to beat on their day and Hermitage Res who they've already lost too once. Plus they need to beat the other teams at the bottom, as just turning up doesn't guarantee a win....
Obviously we still have to beat these teams as well, but just trying to put a positive spin on things on this gloomy Friday morning!!
First things first though, massive game on Sunday - where we really can't afford to drop points.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
It's getting tasty at the top eh? Hermitage Reserves are right on our arse too and haven't lost since September - though that was one of those games where we were all over them for 90 minutes and came out with a draw wasn't it?
It'd be funny if it came down to us v them again but I think there will be more teams in it this season.
The John Sills write up follows - adapted from a Matt Atkins report as I was in Torquay this weekend...
The sun rose over the Henwick mist like a lava lamp in Genghis' living room, hallway or bathroom. Shefford took to the pitch against a team they'd already destroyed 5 - 0 in arguably one of their best performances ever, but finding themselves a place behind them in the league. 3rd placed The Swan would have approached this game confident in their own ability but with bad memories of a footballing lesson from Shefford earlier in the season.
What better way to start then, than with Matt Atkins growling around the box from a corner and shouting "this is for you Shane!" before stabbing the ball in from close range.
Shefford enjoyed the confidence this early lead gave them and after half an hour of almost non-stop one-touch passing, Dave Lewis threaded and incisive ball through to Andy Miller who yelled "this is for you Shane!" before beating the advancing keeper.
This seemed to spur The Swan into some resistance and they clawed their way back into the game just before half time with a powerful strike into the top corner. He didn't shout anything.
Half time regroup with the game in the balance. The Swan started strongly but Shefford restored their two-goal cushion when Gareth Withers worked his way down the left wing and crossed for Simon MacIntyre to shout "this is for you Shane!" before finishing with a tap in at the far post.
But The Swan didn't want to give up and forced their way back into the game with a decent passing move to create an opening that was finished well to make it 3-2.
Shefford kept their heads up well and one dangerous ball forward required The Swan keeper to charge out of his area and head the ball clear. But it fell to Atkins and in the mode he's in at the moment it couldn't have fallen to anyone better as he shouted "this is for you Shane!" and coolly lobbed the ball from 40 yards out, over the retreating keeper and into the net to once again restore the two-goal advantage.
The Swan now had two goals to catch up and had seen how much effort it takes to put two past Shefford, so they faced a big mental battle to stay in the game. Basically, they lost that battle, when Withers produced some good skill again to feed Adam Davies on an venture forward. Davies received the ball, shouted "this is for you Shane!" and finished from close range.
The Swan players looked at each other and knew this was the end. All their training, all their hard work, for this. What a crock of shit, they probably thought to themselves. So imagine how they felt when the diminutive Ben Kirkham was somehow allowed to take a free kick from the edge of the area (this will be discussed in training) and launched and unstoppable goal of the season contender into the roof of the net, after shouting "this is for you Shane!" during his run up.
"Fucking cock off" probably said the goalkeeper, under his breath.
All that was left was for Chris Brown to finish off the scoring, shouting "this is for you James!" before lifting a deft lob over the keeper from 10 yards out to make the final score 7-2 to Shefford and send out a chilling message to the rest of the league.
It'd be funny if it came down to us v them again but I think there will be more teams in it this season.
The John Sills write up follows - adapted from a Matt Atkins report as I was in Torquay this weekend...
The sun rose over the Henwick mist like a lava lamp in Genghis' living room, hallway or bathroom. Shefford took to the pitch against a team they'd already destroyed 5 - 0 in arguably one of their best performances ever, but finding themselves a place behind them in the league. 3rd placed The Swan would have approached this game confident in their own ability but with bad memories of a footballing lesson from Shefford earlier in the season.
What better way to start then, than with Matt Atkins growling around the box from a corner and shouting "this is for you Shane!" before stabbing the ball in from close range.
Shefford enjoyed the confidence this early lead gave them and after half an hour of almost non-stop one-touch passing, Dave Lewis threaded and incisive ball through to Andy Miller who yelled "this is for you Shane!" before beating the advancing keeper.
This seemed to spur The Swan into some resistance and they clawed their way back into the game just before half time with a powerful strike into the top corner. He didn't shout anything.
Half time regroup with the game in the balance. The Swan started strongly but Shefford restored their two-goal cushion when Gareth Withers worked his way down the left wing and crossed for Simon MacIntyre to shout "this is for you Shane!" before finishing with a tap in at the far post.
But The Swan didn't want to give up and forced their way back into the game with a decent passing move to create an opening that was finished well to make it 3-2.
Shefford kept their heads up well and one dangerous ball forward required The Swan keeper to charge out of his area and head the ball clear. But it fell to Atkins and in the mode he's in at the moment it couldn't have fallen to anyone better as he shouted "this is for you Shane!" and coolly lobbed the ball from 40 yards out, over the retreating keeper and into the net to once again restore the two-goal advantage.
The Swan now had two goals to catch up and had seen how much effort it takes to put two past Shefford, so they faced a big mental battle to stay in the game. Basically, they lost that battle, when Withers produced some good skill again to feed Adam Davies on an venture forward. Davies received the ball, shouted "this is for you Shane!" and finished from close range.
The Swan players looked at each other and knew this was the end. All their training, all their hard work, for this. What a crock of shit, they probably thought to themselves. So imagine how they felt when the diminutive Ben Kirkham was somehow allowed to take a free kick from the edge of the area (this will be discussed in training) and launched and unstoppable goal of the season contender into the roof of the net, after shouting "this is for you Shane!" during his run up.
"Fucking cock off" probably said the goalkeeper, under his breath.
All that was left was for Chris Brown to finish off the scoring, shouting "this is for you James!" before lifting a deft lob over the keeper from 10 yards out to make the final score 7-2 to Shefford and send out a chilling message to the rest of the league.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Clocktower had a few better results in recent games - considering we haven't played them yet we'll need to make sure we don't take them for granted just because (at the moment) they're below us.
A draw between Herm Res and Q would probably be a better result for us. I think there'll be a few twists and turns before the season's out - all seems to be who does what on the day. Nobody's gonna run away with it. If we can get our heads focussed it's all there.
A draw between Herm Res and Q would probably be a better result for us. I think there'll be a few twists and turns before the season's out - all seems to be who does what on the day. Nobody's gonna run away with it. If we can get our heads focussed it's all there.
We're sneaking up the league, but it's bloody close! Hermitage Res are in the same position as us, although they might have played this Sunday and their result hasn't been recorded yet.
A lot of hard work ahead...
http://www.football.mitoo.co.uk/LeagueTab.cfm?TblName=Matches&DivisionID=2479&LeagueCode=NDSFL2007
A lot of hard work ahead...
http://www.football.mitoo.co.uk/LeagueTab.cfm?TblName=Matches&DivisionID=2479&LeagueCode=NDSFL2007
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Just thinking Smurfy - you now face something of a dilemma.
We play The Swan next and you have pretty much everyone except Screw available. So do you go with the team that whacked em 5 - 0 before Christmas or do you go with the team that didn't allow Berks Arms a shot on target 2 days ago? Those were our last 2 clean sheets.
Haha - glad I'm not manager anymore :-)
I won't be there by the way, I'm afraid I'm away for the next 2 weekends. Though after my performance on Sunday I don't think you'll exactly miss me on the pitch. Big games too. Lots of pressure. Make or break the season.
We play The Swan next and you have pretty much everyone except Screw available. So do you go with the team that whacked em 5 - 0 before Christmas or do you go with the team that didn't allow Berks Arms a shot on target 2 days ago? Those were our last 2 clean sheets.
Haha - glad I'm not manager anymore :-)
I won't be there by the way, I'm afraid I'm away for the next 2 weekends. Though after my performance on Sunday I don't think you'll exactly miss me on the pitch. Big games too. Lots of pressure. Make or break the season.
Monday, January 28, 2008
For the eyes of John Sills.
Shefford took to the pitch in the early morning sunlight, their bright yellow kit clashing horribly with the tangerine orange of Berkshire Arms. What a bunch of uneducated morons those people really are.
A rare start for Bellers up front had got the crowd eager to see what delights he could conjur up. Some of them are still there waiting. Shefford started brightly with most of the posession and all of the early chances. When Berks Arms did venture forward, they didn't kick the ball properly and were shit.
Bellers got an early touch and played a simple ball to Lewis a few metres away. This was arguably the highlight of his appearance, as with the following sprint he realised just how useless gym-work is for match fitness and felt a bit sick.
A hand ball shout in the box was waved away by the ref but minutes later a second one resulted in the ref shaking his head to say no and then blowing his whistle and pointing to the spot. Up stepped Lewis keen to restore his confidence after seeing his last penalty saved, to see his penalty saved.
Shefford didn't let their heads drop and continued to press forward. Soon enough, Withers jinks inside and is felled inside the box again. Everyone was keen for Lewis to step up again and he rewarded himself by absolutely spanking the ball into the top right corner.
Within minutes good work from Genghis put Withers in position to cross the ball and Atkins was waiting at the far post. One touch to control and one touch to score.
2 up at half time and Smurf hadn't had a save to make. Been a long time since we mentioned him, so it's important to know that Bellers is still on the pitch at this point.
2nd half kicks off and begins much the same way. Shefford with most of the play, not playing brilliantly, but Berks Arms are pretty much beaten. A corner to Shefford and as Chris Miller knocks it short to Withers, you can hear Asst Manager Bellers moaning that we shouldn't do short corners because they never work, as the ball is crossed over and Atkins heads in from a tight angle at the far post. With that, Bellers is off the pitch.
After that the game really petered out. A few chances for Shefford but the goal mouth is in a bad condition so lots of miss-hit shots - pick of the bunch was a quality through ball from Ads but Browny couldn't steer it in past the advancing keeper. But lots of hard work from everyone and good discipline at the back means a clean sheet is kept and Smurfy a full 90 minutes without having a save to make.
A healthy 3 - 0 win which hopefully can kick start Shefford onto a strong run to make the most of their games in hand.
Shefford took to the pitch in the early morning sunlight, their bright yellow kit clashing horribly with the tangerine orange of Berkshire Arms. What a bunch of uneducated morons those people really are.
A rare start for Bellers up front had got the crowd eager to see what delights he could conjur up. Some of them are still there waiting. Shefford started brightly with most of the posession and all of the early chances. When Berks Arms did venture forward, they didn't kick the ball properly and were shit.
Bellers got an early touch and played a simple ball to Lewis a few metres away. This was arguably the highlight of his appearance, as with the following sprint he realised just how useless gym-work is for match fitness and felt a bit sick.
A hand ball shout in the box was waved away by the ref but minutes later a second one resulted in the ref shaking his head to say no and then blowing his whistle and pointing to the spot. Up stepped Lewis keen to restore his confidence after seeing his last penalty saved, to see his penalty saved.
Shefford didn't let their heads drop and continued to press forward. Soon enough, Withers jinks inside and is felled inside the box again. Everyone was keen for Lewis to step up again and he rewarded himself by absolutely spanking the ball into the top right corner.
Within minutes good work from Genghis put Withers in position to cross the ball and Atkins was waiting at the far post. One touch to control and one touch to score.
2 up at half time and Smurf hadn't had a save to make. Been a long time since we mentioned him, so it's important to know that Bellers is still on the pitch at this point.
2nd half kicks off and begins much the same way. Shefford with most of the play, not playing brilliantly, but Berks Arms are pretty much beaten. A corner to Shefford and as Chris Miller knocks it short to Withers, you can hear Asst Manager Bellers moaning that we shouldn't do short corners because they never work, as the ball is crossed over and Atkins heads in from a tight angle at the far post. With that, Bellers is off the pitch.
After that the game really petered out. A few chances for Shefford but the goal mouth is in a bad condition so lots of miss-hit shots - pick of the bunch was a quality through ball from Ads but Browny couldn't steer it in past the advancing keeper. But lots of hard work from everyone and good discipline at the back means a clean sheet is kept and Smurfy a full 90 minutes without having a save to make.
A healthy 3 - 0 win which hopefully can kick start Shefford onto a strong run to make the most of their games in hand.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Good stuff, means everybody is there for the taking. To be honest, when we were sweeping past The Swan I remember at the time thinking that they weren't that bad a side, particularly the quality of some of their play in the final third. We rode our luck but we also defended well and played with such enthusiasm and energy that we took the game to them to the point where they almost expected to lose.
We need to be setting that sort of performance as our minimum standard though, because anything less than that and we open ourselves up to dropping points. I have no doubt that there was a link between the fact that we kept a clean sheet and the fact that we scored 5 goals. It wasn't because The Swan were rubbish because they weren't.
We need to be setting that sort of performance as our minimum standard though, because anything less than that and we open ourselves up to dropping points. I have no doubt that there was a link between the fact that we kept a clean sheet and the fact that we scored 5 goals. It wasn't because The Swan were rubbish because they weren't.
http://www.football.mitoo.co.uk/LeagueTab.cfm?TblName=Matches&DivisionID=2479&LeagueCode=NDSFL2007
Q Ass lost their first game of the season last Sunday to The Swan (2-1). All other games were cancelled.
We're at a really important stage of the season now where all games are 'must wins' as our games in hand only move us around the 2nd and 3rd mark.
Hopefully the games will be on this week as the rain has been light if at all.
Dickhead Arms will be well up for it against us so the fact they're bottom counts for nout.
Q Ass lost their first game of the season last Sunday to The Swan (2-1). All other games were cancelled.
We're at a really important stage of the season now where all games are 'must wins' as our games in hand only move us around the 2nd and 3rd mark.
Hopefully the games will be on this week as the rain has been light if at all.
Dickhead Arms will be well up for it against us so the fact they're bottom counts for nout.
Monday, January 07, 2008
http://www.football.mitoo.co.uk/LeagueTab.cfm?TblName=Matches&DivisionID=2479&LeagueCode=NDSFL2007
Latest league table following yesterday's results of
Berks Arms 2 - 1 Turnpike
Clocktower 2 - 3 Swan
Hogs Head Res 1 - 1 Kennet
PO 0 - 4 Q Ass
Leaves us 9 points behind the leaders (Q Ass) with 1 game in hand.
But...
Q Ass have played all the shit teams. From the teams in the top half of the table, they've only played Swan (and won 2-1) and Kennet (and drew 1-1). We have to play them twice in the league, and rolled them over 5-2 in the cup.
Our 2 biggest wins of the season have come against Q Ass in the cup and Swan in the league. Q are top, Swan are 3rd.
What this shows is that the league is still wide open and if we can continue putting in performances like yesterday where everyone worked very hard, then it doesn't take much for us to be up there. A little bit more luck in front of goal and little bit more concentration and better decision making at the back and we'll be a difficult side to beat.
I thought we worked hard yesterday and while both goalkeepers made excellent saves and both teams saw shots come back off the woodwork, their keeper was far busier than ours. The goals we conceded showed how a tiny lapse of concentration can cost us, and we need to improve on that. Always better to just deal with the ball and then have people tell you that you didn't need to. But Bucklebury aren't a bad side at all and we played some good stuff, particularly all across the midfield they struggled to cope with us when we were on the ball.
Overall I thought it was a good return after the break, the result was fair enough. But we've only taken 1 point out of a possible 6 from them, despite being the better team on both occasions, and that's not the sort of numbers that get you up the table, so we need to start digging out those wins next Sunday against Turnpike.
Latest league table following yesterday's results of
Berks Arms 2 - 1 Turnpike
Clocktower 2 - 3 Swan
Hogs Head Res 1 - 1 Kennet
PO 0 - 4 Q Ass
Leaves us 9 points behind the leaders (Q Ass) with 1 game in hand.
But...
Q Ass have played all the shit teams. From the teams in the top half of the table, they've only played Swan (and won 2-1) and Kennet (and drew 1-1). We have to play them twice in the league, and rolled them over 5-2 in the cup.
Our 2 biggest wins of the season have come against Q Ass in the cup and Swan in the league. Q are top, Swan are 3rd.
What this shows is that the league is still wide open and if we can continue putting in performances like yesterday where everyone worked very hard, then it doesn't take much for us to be up there. A little bit more luck in front of goal and little bit more concentration and better decision making at the back and we'll be a difficult side to beat.
I thought we worked hard yesterday and while both goalkeepers made excellent saves and both teams saw shots come back off the woodwork, their keeper was far busier than ours. The goals we conceded showed how a tiny lapse of concentration can cost us, and we need to improve on that. Always better to just deal with the ball and then have people tell you that you didn't need to. But Bucklebury aren't a bad side at all and we played some good stuff, particularly all across the midfield they struggled to cope with us when we were on the ball.
Overall I thought it was a good return after the break, the result was fair enough. But we've only taken 1 point out of a possible 6 from them, despite being the better team on both occasions, and that's not the sort of numbers that get you up the table, so we need to start digging out those wins next Sunday against Turnpike.
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