LATEST MATCH REPORT: MENS 5TH XI

Mens 5ths VS Sanderstead 3s 18/11/06

This match was over almost before it even started. The first goal within 30 seconds from Al, and 2 more within 5 minutes put us 3 nil up and home and dry. If anything it was too easy - the saying "lambs to the slaughter" is probably being harsh on lambs in this instance. Goals came from Howie (2 goals, missed some sitters in the 2nd half - was it jug avoidance...), Stef, Dave (... what was he doing that far up the pitch??), Matt (hot on the heels of Adrian's 11 goal benchmark).

By half-time it was 6 nil, and our heroic keeper Dan had spent the half in his hammock, catching up on sleep. The only thing we could do to keep him interested was offer him the chance of taking a flick should one come our way. As luck would have it, the Umpire did award us a flick (think it could be our 3rd of the season) and Dan stepped over the half-way line in anger for the first time this season - slapping his pads and getting himself ready for glory. He'd obviously been practising taking flicks as he stepped forward and fired it into the top right corner of the net / dribbled it feebly along the ground so it just crossed the line. 7 - 0 and everyone was bored. Cossey sealed the victory with an 8th at some point, but by then we were all thinking about going to the Settle and stopping this one sided debacle.

The one positive to come from this game, and something that we want to take into next week, is that if we dominate early and push for a goal in thew initial phases of the match, teams start to get scared that we're going to crush them and then capitulate. Let's go for the same approach this coming weekend.

We have 3 more games before Christmas, against the teams that are currently 4th, 5th and 6th. Kenley, who we are playing this weekend, drew with Bank, lost by one goal to Sanderstead 2s and drew with OG's. They're a good team, let's show then that we're better Let's keep our 100% record going to the Christmas break with 3 more displays worthy ofchampions...

Sanderstead 2s and Bank both kept up the pressure at the top of the tabel by winning, so we are still only 4 away from the pack.

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