Cumnor Battle Through The Mud

A tough day indeed as Milton made Cumnor work almost as hard as the quagmire for the 4-0 win.

It was a mixed performance but important to remember how bad the mud was and, if you are a team who like to pass the ball, well it wasn't really our kind of conditions. We struggled with pace, passing and tempo in the first- half and didn't really create much, failing to get the ball wide to Harry S and Adam in the nicer areas. There was a decent penalty shout but we're not having much joy with refs.

In the second-half, we changed to a 3-5-3 and that extra body in midfield gave us more thrust. Fyn, playing in his old position of striker, launched a brilliant run that almost brought an opener. Nathan continued to work hard alongside him and Doddie was again full of sharpness and inventiveness. It was stand-in skipper Will, though, who fortuitously scored the opener after curling a cross in from wide left. Goal two came from Fyn as he found the right moment to break the defence.

Cumnor were cruising at this point and all boys were being used to ensure as much game time as possible. Harry D had little to do but remained sharp. In defence, Rory, Michael and Tom held a tight line whilst Ben was his ever busy self in midfield. Toby and Charlie also stepped in and did what was required. There could have been more goals with good opportunities for Doddie, Nathan, Fyn, Will and Ben thwarted by the keeper.

Two more goals followed each one set up expertly by Adam from corners. Will glanced one in and then Fin, leapt high and hard to smash one against the flailing keeper. Kyle stepped back in to close the game out and we were home and dry.

Overall, we'll take that. Moving on it would be good for us to react more quickly to events and start looking at quick corners, faster throw-ins, upping the intensity and seizing the initiative.

Player of the Week: in tough conditions, Rory was the stand out player.

Cup Collapse

A disappointing end to our Berks & Bucks Cup run as we went down 2-1 to a decidedly average Woodley Hammers. We should have won and would have won normally especially as we dominated in the second-half. But we fell asleep at a corner and leaked a goal. We hit the bar. We had two very good penalty shouts denied. It was just one of those days so we take it on the chin - and yes, we need to take defeat with good grace - and we move on.

Player of the Week: an accomplished display on the ball from Doddie who added real imagination and creativity to our attacking play.

New Year, Same Old Story

There's something about Ducklington we just can't handle. Our matches have a familiar pattern, we only really perform for one half. The same can be said of last Sunday although circumstances were very, very different. Earlier this season we were beaten in the first half. For the re-match we made the boys aware of the importance of going toe-to-toe with the league leaders and not letting them dominate. And we certainly achieved that. The boys, playing a new 4-3-3 system specifically employed for this game, were superb for the first 35 minutes. They did not give an inch. In fact, we were the stronger team. The second-half was a different story. The tight pitch, the mud, Ducklington's better fitness levels and perhaps their superior technique in trying conditions gave them the game. They were better in the second-half although we were unlucky to go behind to a flukey cross when the difficult wind pulled the ball away from both Harrys. The second goal, no complaints… it was a well-worked and well-taken effort. Ducklington deserved their 2-0 win but