60s At Home To Ethelbert Wanderers

We did not start this game well. There was pre-match pressure in us knowing that a win would put us level on points with Woodnesborough at the top of the league and only second on goal difference and this may have affected us.

We struggled to find, or string together, any sort of decent passing game. We were seeing plenty of possession at the start but continuously gave the ball away easily and invited the opposition to apply pressure. It was obvious to the players and the spectators that we had no composure on the ball and this was frustrating our players. We were then turning away from the ball and our communication also started to go awry. The only thing we were doing well was to track our players and defending solidly.

We continued to dig in as the half progressed and the longer the game went on the better we were becoming in all areas. We had maintained our discipline which was something Ethelberts had struggled with. They were soon on 3 non-walking offences and in jeopardy of giving away a penalty.

As we got our passing game into some sort of gear, we started to pull the opposition across the pitch. Shaun, Rob and Steve R all had shots that went narrowly wide or were saved but we were definitely the better team by now. They were struggling to keep up with our movement and with the half time whistle looming they gave away their fourth non walking offence and we were awarded a penalty. Steve R stepped up and despatched the spot kick high to the keeper's left and we had the lead.

Half time came and our discussions were around our poor passing which was getting better but still needed further improvement and to hold our width and make the pitch big.

We came out strong at the start of the second half. Andy C and Kevin created space wide and there always seemed to be room for one or other of them to move into. Our passing did improve and we were getting slick with our ball movement and one touch play was creating chances. All of our players were getting shots away but could not extend our lead.

Finally, a slipped pass through from Andy C found Shaun clean through. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, his standing leg was taken away from him by an Ethelbert defender and a penalty was awarded under the DOGSO rules with the defender also being shown a blue card. Steve R again stepped up and this time kept his kick low to the keeper's left but with the same result and we had doubled our lead.

Ethelbert's, at this point, started to push to try and get back into the game. They started to enjoy more possession and began to push us back. It was our turn to start to chase our players and we were getting caught on the wrong side when defending and then giving away contact fouls.

One such free kick was giving away 3m out and just to the right of centre of the area. We now switched off and failed to make much of an effort to shut down the shot. Mike came out but was turned and the subsequent shot went through a bunch of players and into our net.

This gave Etheberts encouragement and impetus. We were still chasing but we were creating plenty of chances. Shaun had 3 or 4 good opportunities to extend our lead but his shots went narrowly wide or were well saved. Kevin also saw a good shot pushed around the post.

Ethelberts were still keen to get something from the game and in almost a duplicate of their first goal, they scored again from a free kick in a similar position. We again switched off and nobody closed the striker down as he took his shot which went low and hard into the corner and we were all level.

Both teams were now going for it with a hope of snatching a victory. Steve R and Rob both had half chances but Shaun was finding himself in space and looked like scoring. With only a few minutes left, some quick interchanging in the midfield and a swift ball square from Andy found Shaun free in the middle and he made no mistake. We were back in front.

We now held onto the ball and frustrated Ethelberts with a lack of the ball and we saw the game to a successful conclusion. Final score Canterbury Mariners 3 - 2 Ethelbert Wanderers.

The team worked hard for this victory and improved after a vert=y sketchy start but they never stopped working and gave everything for this result, so thank you.

My thanks to Jan, Colin, Steve P and Paul D who all turned up ready to play but were unused substitutes.

My special thanks to all supporters who came to watch and offer encouragement to the team.

Congratulations to Mike who solidly marshalled the defence and was the Player Of The Match.

Paul