Elmhurst First vs Rivets FC First
3 - 2
15 September 2018 · Berks and Bucks Intermediate
Away cup match played on 15 September 2018.
Kicked off at 3:00 PM
3-2
vs Elmhurst First
Away cup match
Rivets came into this game after a disappointing performance in the league the previous weekend. All teams have off days, so it was up to Rivets to react and put things right.
The game started fairly evenly, with both teams looking dangerous on the break. Elmhurst had pace to burn up front, which eventually led to a breakthrough after a through-ball was tucked away on 18 mins. Rivets found themselves in the same situation as the previous week, but this time the lads stuck at it and continued to work hard. The hard work paid off just before the half hour mark, when Ryan opened his account for the season after a through- ball from Sutton.
Aside from Luke coming off injured, half time drew in without further incident.
The second half began with some heavy Elmhurst pressure, which was due to Rivets not maintaining possession and giving the ball away cheaply. Against teams like Elmhurst who have a lot of energy and pace, you simply have to keep the ball and match their energy to compete, but Rivets did neither and found themselves back behind 10 mins into the second half. The half continued with a familiar feeling from the previous week, as the quality on the ball had dropped and their attacks were wasteful and easily dealt with - which inevitably saw Elmhurst hit the yellow and blacks on the break and give themselves a 2 goal cushion.
There was a large difference between this game and their previous, as the effort and desire to get back into the game was there, but the decisions in the final third and how the team built attacks was not up to the standard needed to get anything out of the game. Rivets did make things interesting after a long ball from Beale put Marc in , which was finished to bring the lads back into it with 10 mins remaining. Elmhurst weathered the storm, while always looking dangerous on the break and eventually deservedly advanced to round 2 of the cup.
Rivets can take positives from the game, but the team must learn quickly that the quality of opposition is better than the previous season and to be a force in this league, they'll need to improve in many areas.