OTFC IIs Match Report - vs. Royal Sun Alliance FC in the 6 South League: Tiffs (intended) starting XI: D Wight G Nutt J Edwards L Peake M Hope W Forsyth D Bettis T Thomas 1 Amigo 2 Amigo 3 Amigo On Friday evening, a previously somewhat jaded Tiffs team were looking forward to a return to league action the next day with what appeared to be a strong starting XI. Things soon started to go wrong... The 3 amigos failed to report for duty, Edwards local bus knowledge proved to be non-existent and Wight & Nutt were distracted by burning vehicles in Ewell. This all surmounted in a here we go again feeling as it dawned on us that we would be starting the match with just the 8 of us. A quick strategy-talk later and following the acceptance of the generous offer of RSAs veteran, Gaz, to join our ranks, the match was soon underway as the rain came down. With Wight in goal, Hope expertly marshalled the right flank, Peake and Nutt began their uphill battle to safeguard the centre of the Tiffs defence and Gaz provided coverage at left back. This gave Edwards, Bettis and a man-flu ridden Forsyth the unenviable task of shuffling, jockeying, shepherding and generally trying to keep up with the lively RSA midfield. Lone Ranger Thomas sniped and penetrated across the whole of the RSA half, rising gallantly at every opportunity to win the ball in the air. Tiffs started solidly and, despite a lack of possession, managed to keep the score level for the first 30 mins. With some great link-up play initiated by Hope bursting down the right flank, Tiffs almost achieved the unthinkable act of scoring first. Thomas sent in a great cross which narrowly evaded Edwards finish, Bettis passed-up the chance to fire one home and Thomas continued to dominate the high ball. Alas, this proved futile as Tiffs constantly found themselves pre-occupied with defending their own territory and couldnt latch onto the second ball. Having watched with intent and keen to get involved in the aerial domination, Peake produced the highlight of the match by furiously powering a header over the helpless Hope, directly from a gentle throw-in. As the game progressed, it looked like RSA were running out of ideas as they peppered the pitch behind our goal with wide and inaccurate potshots from outside the area, generally leaving Wight untroubled and gifting him the chance to shoot at every opportunity from his own six yard box. However, as Tiffs legs began to tire, the RSA took advantage of a slight lapse in concentration and whipped-in a cross from the right wing for their striker to fire home. The valiant Gaz then pulled-up lame as a twang in his hamstring forced him off the pitch, leaving the visitors pondering how to restructure their fledgling defence. Then followed a period of Tiffs madness as the RSA took full advantage of the void Gaz left as their veteran forward headed home twice, before they added a third in five minutes. Grateful to hear the halftime whistle, Tiffs trudged off the pitch 4-0 down, a bit dazed, vaguely confused and totally knackered. As we tried to regroup and talked tactics, Gaz emerged from a damp bench armed with his weapon of choice - a half-empty tube of Deep Heat. Inspired by his insistence to carry on as a wounded soldier, Tiffs started the second half even brighter than the first. A few last-ditch tackles later and Thomas broke free before putting Bettis through to score arguably the goal of the match. The deficit was reduced to three goals and the fightback was on as Tiffs continued to apply pressure in parts, Bettis firing a chance wide and Forsyth overcoming his illness to make the occasional rampant burst forward. As Tiffs restructured again, Edwards dropped into the back line to assist a tiring Nutt and Peake with their defensive duties as the energy-laden Hope mixed defence with attack. Alas, much to the detriment of the Tiffs goal difference, a patient RSA midfield were content to keep possession amidst all the shuffling and jockeying. They picked off another 3 chances, sometimes evading the offside trap and sometimes not, to notch up a six goal lead and knock the stuffing out of the visitors comeback. The refs whistle blew to end the game and put Tiffs out of their misery with a final score of 7-1 to the home side. Despite the handicap in numbers, the game was played in great spirit by both sides and the Tiffs hats were off to Gary for making the game much more bearable.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 21:54:01 +0000
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