The UWMCCFC approached the last game of term in high spirits, confident of securing another victory against lower table opposition. However, as ever with the UWMCCFC, nothing is routine and captain Thomas soon came to the realisation that all eleven players would not be present for the start with Harris rocking up a few minutes late and Nedmonds having the second no show of his UWMCCFC career. Quick thinking saw Shane, hanging about after Men’s Football squad training, recruited to replace Nedmonds and promptly placed on the left wing.
The UWMCCFC started quickly this week, playing Barcelona-esque football and threatening to carve open the Ninja Skrtel’s defence with every attack. The opening goal came courtesy of a perfectly measured ball over the top from Jack Gould, back in the centre of the park, for Platt to side foot in and continue his hot run of form. With the UWMCCFC pressure mounting throughout the half, a fine move down the right saw Liam David cross in for Thomas to tap in and extend his lead as the top scorer. Seeking the opportunity to finish the game off as a contest, the UWMCCFC overcommitted at a corner shortly after though and caught on the counter, were unable to deal with a ball played into the box that eventually fell to an opposition player who was able to finish into the bottom corner.
Continuing a theme throughout this season, a response was quick in coming and they were the beneficiaries of a defensive mix up which saw Platt presented with the opportunity to tap in for his second. However, more sloppy defensive play gave the Ninja Skrtel’s strike too much time to carry the ball forward and get a strike away which took a small deflection of Annandale before finding the back of the net. Once again, this jolted the UWMCCFC into life and they produced probably their best goal of the season as some quick passing down the middle and the right saw the Ninja Skrtel’s carved open for David to produce another fine cross that Platt volleyed home clinically for the first hattrick of the season.
The half time whistle came with a 4-2 lead but Thomas unhappy with the goals conceded; demanding his team tightened up at the back and did not succumb to overconfidence as they did twice in the first half having gone two goals up. With the captain’s words ringing in their ears, the UWMCCFC proceeded to produce a fine half of football, controlling possession and stringing a number of brilliant passing moves together. Shane capped off a fine ringer performance by bagging a debut goal after Berger-North played the ball across the edge of the box for him to curl home into the bottom corner. Joe Harris also managed to nick himself a goal much to the disgruntlement of the rest of the defence as a few rebounds in the box saw him gifted with an easy header from one yard out. The game continued to be dominated by a UWMCCFC team full of confidence, playing their best football of the year and giving the captain a number of selection issues once the team is back to full strength.
This win capped off a very successful first half of the year for the UWMCCFC, with the team firmly established at the top of the table and their playoff place already looking fairly secure. The second half of the season offers the opportunity to iron out some flaws and tighten up at the back to cut out some of the sloppy goals conceded as the UWMCCFC chase the best playoff positioning possible. The first game back will also see Shane encountered once more as the biggest match of the season sees the UWMCCFC play Engineering, a game that will go a long way towards deciding who finishes top of the table.