With last weeks match against Reeves being rained off, Bennett was interested to see how his team played today. Reiss looked really really ill and was coughing and spluttering all day but his dedication saw him turn up and not let his team mates down. Well done Reiss!
After the game against Maidenhead, Bennett decided to make a few changes to the side. Adam stayed in goal and Ethan played the Franz Beckenbauer role. (Ask your dad Ethan!!). However, Cameron dropped back slightly with Joe pushing into centre midfield where he regularly plays and scores for his school team. Sam went wide right, Jake back to his left hand side and Tom went up front. This formation, with Tom shining up front, gave the lads a chance to build their attacks on both sides but also hold the ball up front meaning Joe and Cam could push on. The swapping of Cam and Joe worked well as both interchanged as their natural game goes, meaning Rotherfield had to constantly adapt.
Anyway, onto the match and Tigers started with a flurry. 10 minutes of excellent football resulted in Cam’s slide rule first goal of the season and some near misses by Sam, Tom and Jake. Joe and Ethan looked comfortable but energetic. (Ethan later admitted being off school for 2 days so even better performance.)
Reiss entered the match for Jake and the Tigers pushed on. However, Rotherfield never give up and they battled their way back into the match. Tigers lost possession in midfield and a powerful strike hit the bar serving notice to the Woodley team. Rather than close down the rebound, they immediately gave the ball away in midfield and this time a wonder strike flew past Adam to make it 1-1. With this, Rotherfield increased in confidence and pushed on for a second. Tigers dug in though and the half finished 1-1.
The second half saw the Tigers start slowly and Rotherfield took advantage. A nothing ball into space with players out of position and the Rotherfield defender hoofed a long ball over the top. A sprint down the wing and great cross was expertly volleyed home to give Rotherfield a 2-1 lead. Almost immediately the Tigers came back with Sam putting a cross high into the Rotherfield penalty area. Abhishek challenged for the ball and managed to nick a touch and therefore notching his second of the season. 2-2
Now back in the game, the Tigers started to play again and some great running by Sam, Joe and Cameron was making a big difference to the Woodley side. Another break saw a great pass to Jake who released Sam, and after narrowly missing moments before, this time he made no mistake smashing the ball into the roof of the net. Great goal Sam!
By now, Joe was getting restless in midfield as Bennett had announced he felt Joe would score today. After rushing some shots, desperate to score, Joe found the mark with a minute to go. Rotherfield cleared the ball from a goal kick and Joe picked it up on the half way line. Bursting forward, he took a few paces into the Rotherfield half and unleashed a rocket that the keeper couldn’t reach. 4-2 and like Cam, Joe got his name on the scoresheet for the first time this season.
Well done Tigers against a very good Rotherfield team. Rotherfield play some great football, strike the ball well and even without Pablo, they look a very good side indeed. MOTM: Abhishek – His improvement in training in recent weeks has not gone unnoticed and his goal owed much to his bravery to challenge a seemingly lost cause.
Goals: Cam, Abhishek, Sam and Joe
Goal: Jake