Team sheet; Kraus, Jaimin, Hall, Dan Lewis, Sam Walton, Kynaston, Haslam, Bexson, Platty, Clayden, Livesey. Subs; Jacob Roche, Clobber, Kynaston’s friend Jonny
After a lengthy absence, the UWMCCFC returned to a blustery Tarkett on Saturday to play mid-table Bio Munich. With the Term 1 league title still very much up for grabs, the UWMCCFC needed to win in order to give themselves a chance of clinching pole position on Tuesday night against Tennis.
The UWMCCFC, building upon their confidence from the last few weeks, dominated possession in the early stages. Jaimin and Walton ran the flanks beautifully whilst Hall and Dan Lewis snuck in front of the Bio Munich players to win the ball back with regularity. Kynaston and Haslam communicated well in midfield and contributed nicely to our attacking play. With one men’s football player on the other team, Platty was keen to defend well and play on the counter attack with the pace of Livesey, Clayden and Bexson up front. About fifteen minutes in, a loose ball in midfield fell to Platty who released Clayden to smash the ball past the keeper and into the side netting to put the UWMCCFC ahead. Unfortunately from that point onwards, playing against the wind, it proved difficult for our boys to convert our numerous chances. Towards the end of the first half, when denied a penalty for handball from a cross, it seemed as though it was going to be “one of those days”. Subsequently a few clubmen, incensed by the referee’s decision, lost focus for a brief five minute period which let Bio Munich back into the game. A needless free kick was conceded inside the UWMCCFC half which was swung into the box, caught the wind and wrong-footed Kraus to put the teams level at half time.
Sensing a lot of anger at half time, Platty was keen to encourage his players to channel their frustrations towards a second-half renaissance of attacking football. According to Captain Platt, it was “clear that the ref wasn’t going to give us anything” and that the best plan of action was to take the control of the game out of his hands.
The second half began with a familiar pattern – UWMMCFC possession and missed chances. When denied a second penalty for handball inside the box a few heads understandably dropped. Vice-captain Hall (a big fan of the referee) did well to re-focus our players by reminding us of the rules of the game. For the purposes of this match report I will not discuss the meaning of “deliberate handball” as that is best left to philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Immanuel Kant or Ian Holloway. Luckily, with about twenty minutes left in the match, Platty was put through on goal to slot past the keeper and put us back in control of the game. With the lead, our composure in front of goal quickly improved. A good cross from Livesey found Jacob at the back post and he did well to try and miss from two yards out by finding the top of the net to put us 3-1 up. Then, from a free-kick, the Bio Munich keeper got confused by the wind and dropped the ball onto Jacob’s foot to give us a three goal cushion. From a combined distance of 2.000001 yards, Jacob had his brace, much to the annoyance of Platty who chastised him for “stealing my goals”. With the confidence flowing, Haslam broke free of his defensive shackles to burst past three Bio Munich players and smash the ball left-footed into the corner of the goal. Finally, with the clock running down, Haslam ran onto another through-ball and back-heeled it to Platt who beat his man on the bye-line before shooting somewhat randomly into a crowd of players (ignoring his earlier instructions to “keep calm in front of goal”). The ball found its way into the back of the net via a Munich defender’s back and the ref blew the final whistle.
In summary, it was a very enjoyable win for the UWMCCFC which put them in pole position to win the league on Tuesday night against Tennis.
Goal scorers; Clayden, Platt (x2), Jacob (x2), Haslam