Cassiobury 0, Abbots Reds 6 Another Sunday morning, and another six goal feast for the ravenous Reds. Our boys do like to take their time, however, and the goals only started to pile up in the second half. Last week it took an early and surprise lead for the opposition to spark the Reds into life; whereas today Abbots Youth were always in control and cruising towards a big win from the outset. But, as Dan said, the boys were simply “playing within themselves” and simmering along gently before they really got cooking during a relaxed first half.
There were some impressive moments and Lewis, who had looked so promising last week, seemed even more assured in central midfield as he used the ball intelligently and got the Reds moving. Louis was also full of running while Tom was determined to stamp his authority on the match. Jack was keen to build from the back and, growing in confidence, he looked to pass the ball rather than simply hoof it forward. He and Alfie are also building a good understanding and combined together well in defence – and their interaction at the back set up an early goal.
But, most of all, hats off to Harry. Our player of the 2009-10 campaign has responded well to being moved out of goal, where he starred last season, and this little stalwart of the Reds has played in defence, midfield and attack whenever the call has come. Today, in Ollie’s absence, Harry was asked to bring his keeper’s jersey and gloves. He did not need to do much to keep a clean sheet – but he never looked in danger of conceding a goal.
Bradley and Nathan are maturing all the time, being as sharp and clever in their thinking as they are nimble with their footwork, while Sam and Daniel have both enjoyed a rich run of scoring form in these early weeks of the season. We might be playing lesser teams at the moment, for this was Cassiobury’s third side, but thirty goals in the last four matches says much about our attacking verve.
Daniel remains our leading scorer, and he again contributed much against Cassiobury, but the goals today were shared by Sam, Nathan, Tom [2], Bradley and Louis. Tom’s pair was a neat little showcase of power for the first, an unstoppable shot fired in from a narrow angle, and dexterity for the second as he shimmied this way and that before walking the ball into the net. Brad scored a beauty while we all whooped in admiration at the final goal – which started with a cheeky little back-heel from Sam, a sweet one-two and a few more passes between the dazzling Reds before Louis supplied a cool finish. Louis has been a patient member of the squad and it was good to see him back on the score-sheet again.
There could have been more goals as Daniel hit the woodwork and the Cassiobury keeper saved at least three more as we poured forward. It was all a bit Arsenal-like – or at least what Arsenal look like if they’re playing Cassiobury rather than Chelsea.
“Yeah, just like Arsenal,” Dan mocked your reporter at the end, “except with a little more end-product after all that nice passing.” With Abbots joining his other teams, Watford and Spurs, in winning this weekend, Dan could afford to joke about the mighty Gunners and poor old Liverpool against Blackpool.
But Steve, already expecting everything to go horribly Black in the battle of the stagnant Pools at Anfield later that afternoon, hid his misery well – and he should be complimented for rotating the team so well again and ensuring that all eleven boys felt fully involved in another big win. Team-spirit was high, and it even reached the point where the mixing and matching was so seamless that our fans began to think that Alfie and Lewis had been cloned into one blurring blonde flash of brilliance. Congratulations to all the Reds: Harry, Jack, Alfie, Tom, Lewis, Sam, Bradley, Nathan, Louis and Daniel.
Cassiobury 0, Abbots Reds 6
Another Sunday morning, and another six goal feast for the ravenous Reds. Our boys do like to take their time, however, and the goals only started to pile up in the second half. Last week it took an early and surprise lead for the opposition to spark the Reds into life; whereas today Abbots Youth were always in control and cruising towards a big win from the outset. But, as Dan said, the boys were simply “playing within themselves” and simmering along gently before they really got cooking during a relaxed first half.
There were some impressive moments and Lewis, who had looked so promising last week, seemed even more assured in central midfield as he used the ball intelligently and got the Reds moving. Louis was also full of running while Tom was determined to stamp his authority on the match. Jack was keen to build from the back and, growing in confidence, he looked to pass the ball rather than simply hoof it forward. He and Alfie are also building a good understanding and combined together well in defence – and their interaction at the back set up an early goal.
But, most of all, hats off to Harry. Our player of the 2009-10 campaign has responded well to being moved out of goal, where he starred last season, and this little stalwart of the Reds has played in defence, midfield and attack whenever the call has come. Today, in Ollie’s absence, Harry was asked to bring his keeper’s jersey and gloves. He did not need to do much to keep a clean sheet – but he never looked in danger of conceding a goal.
Bradley and Nathan are maturing all the time, being as sharp and clever in their thinking as they are nimble with their footwork, while Sam and Daniel have both enjoyed a rich run of scoring form in these early weeks of the season. We might be playing lesser teams at the moment, for this was Cassiobury’s third side, but thirty goals in the last four matches says much about our attacking verve.
Daniel remains our leading scorer, and he again contributed much against Cassiobury, but the goals today were shared by Sam, Nathan, Tom [2], Bradley and Louis. Tom’s pair was a neat little showcase of power for the first, an unstoppable shot fired in from a narrow angle, and dexterity for the second as he shimmied this way and that before walking the ball into the net. Brad scored a beauty while we all whooped in admiration at the final goal – which started with a cheeky little back-heel from Sam, a sweet one-two and a few more passes between the dazzling Reds before Louis supplied a cool finish. Louis has been a patient member of the squad and it was good to see him back on the score-sheet again.
There could have been more goals as Daniel hit the woodwork and the Cassiobury keeper saved at least three more as we poured forward. It was all a bit Arsenal-like – or at least what Arsenal look like if they’re playing Cassiobury rather than Chelsea.
“Yeah, just like Arsenal,” Dan mocked your reporter at the end, “except with a little more end-product after all that nice passing.” With Abbots joining his other teams, Watford and Spurs, in winning this weekend, Dan could afford to joke about the mighty Gunners and poor old Liverpool against Blackpool.
But Steve, already expecting everything to go horribly Black in the battle of the stagnant Pools at Anfield later that afternoon, hid his misery well – and he should be complimented for rotating the team so well again and ensuring that all eleven boys felt fully involved in another big win. Team-spirit was high, and it even reached the point where the mixing and matching was so seamless that our fans began to think that Alfie and Lewis had been cloned into one blurring blonde flash of brilliance. Congratulations to all the Reds: Harry, Jack, Alfie, Tom, Lewis, Sam, Bradley, Nathan, Louis and Daniel.