Team sheet; Kraus, Dan, Marcus, Gabriel, Nish, Jonny, Bexson, Platt, Jacob, Clayden, Livesey. Subs; Clobber, Sam Walton
The UWMCCFC made their return to the hallowed turf of Tarkett on Saturday to take on a Physics FC side with clubman Chattle in goal. To say that the UWMCCFC players looked worse for wear before kickoff would be an understatement. Following on from some Halloween related antics the night before and Platty complaining of flu-like symptoms (still undiagnosed) the pre-match team talk was brief and less than informative.
In the first half, the UWMCCFC looked to build upon their performance from last week with some workmanlike defending and occasional passing play up front. However, it was somewhat clear from the get-go that the team (still in its infancy) has yet to gel. Physics FC, not dissimilar to Maths & Stats, kept hold of the ball for most of the half with UWMCCFC players doing their utmost to try and keep up with their movement on and off the ball. Luckily, Physics were prone to overcomplicating play and when one of their defenders passed the ball to Clayden, leaving keeper Chattle stranded on the edge of his box, Clayds rounded him and finished with aplomb to continue his good goalscoring start to the season. However, although this provided a slight lift for the UWMCCFC players, it proved to be short-lived as Physics suddenly became less nervous on the ball and took the game by the scruff of the neck. Minutes after Clayden’s strike, Physics’ star player broke into the box and unleashed a shot which Kraus did well to parry, but unfortunately, straight back to the Physics player who finished with a header to equalise.
In the second half, UWMCCFC legs and minds began to tire and the levels of desire and concentration which kept us afloat last week were found wanting. In a heads-gone moment which pretty much summed up the team performance, defensive stalwart Marcus handled the ball in the box to give Physics a penalty and the lead. Then, from a corner, the consistently awful defender from set-pieces, Platt, decided to ignore Hall’s pleas for help with two defenders at the back post and preferred instead to give a Physics winger a free header. It was only at 3-1 down that the UWMCCFC began to rally. In the final ten or so minutes of the game we produced some fluid passing moves up top and were much more assured in defence, some positives to draw upon next week.
The match was very much a write-off for the UWMCCFC with Captain Platt looking to learn some tactical lessons from the defeat. It may be a cliché, but you do learn more in defeat than you do in success and in the context of the league, the lessons we learnt on Saturday will come in handy towards the business end of the season.