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Sat 24 Feb 2024 · East Men's Division 6 South West
Saffron Walden 6
Mens 5th XI
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Saffron Walden 6s 1-2 Hertford 5s
Josh Dear27 Feb - 21:18
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Another 3 points on the road…
After a turbulent start to 2024 (frozen pitches, points dropped against Royston and Letchworth, a rampant game against the 6s followed by a pasting by the Tigers), it was good to get 3 points on the road against a strong Saffron Walden team.
It goes to show how strange div 6 is, in that Walden have lingered at the foot of the table all season but appeared a decent side, causing us problems with their long ball game and effective short corners. It took us a little while to find our attacking rhythm, dominating midfield possession but not quite finding the finishing touch in the first half. Excellent movement and creativity from Tim up front started to open up chances, but some smart saves from the SW keeper kept it to 0-0 until half time.
In the second half we continued to push. Jasper regularly stretched their left back with his galavanting runs down the right onto the touch line before usually being brought to ground with some questionable ‘tackling’. I think their central defender was quoted as saying “get up, this isn’t football”. We restructured to a 442 shape, bringing Matt up front from the back line to give us a target man which worked a dream. We conceded a hard hitting short corner, but bounced back almost immediately - a fantastic through ball from Lee found Tim waiting in the D to guide it home. Just 2 minutes later the returning Luke Godwin turned on the afterburners and skinned 3 men in purple before sliding it to Matt at the top of the D, who drove it right before slamming onto the backboard.
We continued to dominate the game, with the back line defending superbly and distributing the ball well. Chris and `Sean were able to push high and saw a lot of the ball, whilst Tony and Dave kept things under wraps. Andy kept us in it with some important saves in both halves, including an impressive outstretched foot at the post. Creative forward passing from Lee and Josh often found Tim, Matt, Luke, Mark or Ben in decent high positions, but MoM this week goes to young Aaron who yet again ran the 5s midfield like a seasoned pro. DoD goes to the skipper for his self inflicted head injury. Still got the ball dimple marks to prove it.
Big weekend coming up with a double header of games and 6 points up for grabs… bring it on!
Josh
It goes to show how strange div 6 is, in that Walden have lingered at the foot of the table all season but appeared a decent side, causing us problems with their long ball game and effective short corners. It took us a little while to find our attacking rhythm, dominating midfield possession but not quite finding the finishing touch in the first half. Excellent movement and creativity from Tim up front started to open up chances, but some smart saves from the SW keeper kept it to 0-0 until half time.
In the second half we continued to push. Jasper regularly stretched their left back with his galavanting runs down the right onto the touch line before usually being brought to ground with some questionable ‘tackling’. I think their central defender was quoted as saying “get up, this isn’t football”. We restructured to a 442 shape, bringing Matt up front from the back line to give us a target man which worked a dream. We conceded a hard hitting short corner, but bounced back almost immediately - a fantastic through ball from Lee found Tim waiting in the D to guide it home. Just 2 minutes later the returning Luke Godwin turned on the afterburners and skinned 3 men in purple before sliding it to Matt at the top of the D, who drove it right before slamming onto the backboard.
We continued to dominate the game, with the back line defending superbly and distributing the ball well. Chris and `Sean were able to push high and saw a lot of the ball, whilst Tony and Dave kept things under wraps. Andy kept us in it with some important saves in both halves, including an impressive outstretched foot at the post. Creative forward passing from Lee and Josh often found Tim, Matt, Luke, Mark or Ben in decent high positions, but MoM this week goes to young Aaron who yet again ran the 5s midfield like a seasoned pro. DoD goes to the skipper for his self inflicted head injury. Still got the ball dimple marks to prove it.
Big weekend coming up with a double header of games and 6 points up for grabs… bring it on!
Josh
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