We treated our crowd of two fans to another goal-fest as we beat Natick comfortably to progress to the semi-finals. We looked comfortable throughout the 90 minutes, even though we played the last 25 with 10 men.
In the early stages we held the ball well and, for the first time in the summer league, regularly used the width of the Waltham pitch. Our first goal came from the flank: Andy chipped the ball over the defence for Ivan, who promptly lost the ball trying to get past a defender. The attempted clearance cannoned off another defender and landed right back in front of Ivan, and he gratefully accepted the second chance and hit a low shot in off the left post.
Natick replied quickly, pulling level after some confusion following a corner kick. The defence was a little disorganised as the ball bounced around the penalty area, and the clearance only reached the edge of the box. A powerful, well-directed shot was hit straight back into the left side of Ron's goal.
After that upset we dominated, holding well, supporting well and playing simple passes. When Bardot received the ball from the left with his back to goal, he laid it back to Mick, who belted a shot from fully 35 yards out. The goalie managed to take some of the sting out of the ball but it dropped behind him to restore our lead.
Our third goal came after Bardot hustled and hassled the right back who tried to clear from the end line, but played a perfect pass to Alex at the edge of the penalty area. He calmly hit his shot first time into the top left corner.
Shortly before the half-time whistle Victor squared the ball from the left to Joe B who hit a good shot from right of centre. The 'keeper managed to get across to his right to block, but Christer was following up and bundled the ball in from close range.
Leading comfortably at half-time, we got fresh blood when Karsten turned up, taking a break from spending time at airports. He made an immediate impact, turning a defender on the half-way line with a sweet touch and running toward goal, only to be tripped just outside the box. Gabriel and Andy stood over the kick for a long time before Gabriel hit it through the wall to make the score 5-1.
This year we've seen a couple of players fall and writhe in agony after a foot-treading incident. Peter took a different approach mid-way through the half, taking a retaliatory swipe at the Natick defender. The referee, a strict disciplinarian, immediately reached for his reddest card.
Natick were buoyed up by their advantage and quickly pulled a goal back. Our defence had been pulled out of position and missed a pass down the left channel. The ensuing pass sailed across the face of the goal and was headed in by the Natick midfielder who'd raced in at the far post.
With twenty minutes remaining Natick started to turn the screws, and we had to weather a short period of pressure, but Ron held a couple of long-range shots well. As the Natick team faded we started to create chances again. Notable moments were Steve Shea doing a slick turn followed by a 360 spin to work his way clear of the attention of a couple of midfielders, and Mike, operating in stealth mode, connecting with a pass at the edge of the area and sending a shot just wide and over the bar. In the dying minutes Christer made a run down the left and squared to Victor who had time to settle the ball and ponder his options before belting a shot over the 'keeper's head into the top of the net.
This was a well-deserved victory that brings us to the semis against the division 1 south champs. We'll be missing some players for that game, including Andy on leave, Peter suspended and Karsten stuck in some airport.
No comments:
Post a Comment