The Great Escape

After last week's drubbing, Cumnor needed to get something from the trip to Oxford City. And not just in terms of points, but pride and belief from a committed performance. We certainly left Cowley with the sense of a reputation restored but we should have left with all three points.

The positives were many: having Fyn back from injury strengthened the defence, Finlay showed some lovely creative touches, Charlie had a superb first half, Adam and Doddie delivered from out wide and Tom and Nathan worked tirelessly leading the front line. Our goals too, were superb. Finlay had a split second to look up and shoot early from 25 yards out and did so, finding the corner. Some great midfield play saw Adam put in a wonderful cross for Nathan to drill home. And the equaliser after a period of sustained pressure was well deserved with Doddie's searing cross met by a leaping Will. The draw came from a desire to fight till the very end. We were bold and aggressive and going three up front and three at the back (sorry Toby, for not getting much game time) demonstrated that surrendering a two goal lead was unacceptable. The boys were challenged to fight at half-time and prove themselves to be worthy of the win. It wasn't quite to be. The goals against us were down to poor positioning, sloppy decision making and defending, all made more glaring by our lack of communication. We don't talk to each other and that isolates people on the ball or poses doubt as to who will deal with a dangerous situation.

Overall, the positives to come back from behind and get the 3 - 3 draw against tough opposition will do us good. So an excellent first 20 minutes and an impressive last 15. Let's use this and move on.

Player of the Week: Joseph, captain's performance, enjoying a superb start to the season.

Abingdon Go AWOL

A little harsh perhaps but difficult to gauge how good our opening performance of the season was with the opposition so visibly struggling. Then again, a team can only play what's in front of them. Cumber kept the ball on the floor and tackled beautifully, working nice tight patterns and playing confidently from the back. Kyle and Harry gave us an immediate attacking outlet from full back whilst Will and Rory and centre-back pressed the midfield of Joseph and Alex high up the pitch.

In pre-season our finishing had been woeful but all four goals from Nathan, Adam, Ben and Will showed a crispness of technique and an assuredness in front of goal. Bad luck to Abingdon, they battled manfully and we, as a coaching team, did all we could to ensure the second-half would get under way. It did, for all of 10 minutes before another Abingdon injury forced the ref's hand and he called the abandonment. Cumber get the win, 4-0.

Luck of the Irish

Ok - luck had nothing to do with it - Cumnor was comprehensively outplayed by a sharper, more dynamic and stronger team.  That said, we had patches in the game where we more than held our own, however it was a tough challenge and we just couldn't match Irish on the day.

The first 15 minutes were not Cumnor's finest.  We conceded a soft goal due to some poor tackling, then were somewhat unlucky with the linesman's call, before contributing to a third goal through a couple of mistakes.   The next 20 mins were much better, the defence of Harry D, Tom, Rory, Harry S and Kyle held firm and continued to play good football under intense pressure.  The midfield duo of Joseph and Alex worked tirelessly against a very strong pairing from Irish and we gradually managed to get moving forward.  Adam had a couple of long range free kicks and Nathan harried and chased the Irish defence.  Finally a chance game, and Doddy hit a great first time shot which was well saved by the Irish keeper.  HT came, and given our start 3-0 was a good effort.

Cumnor made a number of changes at HT, with Michael, Charlie, and Finlay all joining the fray, whilst Kyle was moved to centre back to cover for the injured Tom.  Within 5 mins a slick Cumnor move saw Alex put in a great cross, only to see Nathan's header hit the crossbar.  However things had certainly picked up, and the boys were playing with greater desire.  Joseph led from the front and tackled anything that moved, but Irish maintained a threat and the more Cumnor pushed forward the more we were left open to counter attack and balls over the top.  This vulnerability led to another 15 minute spell of conceding 3 goals, and we were 6-0 down.

Given the scoreline, the boys continued to battle hard.  Charlie worked the right flank well with either Harry or Adam, and this helped create a great chance for Adam which was saved by the keeper.  Tom came back on up front and his speed started to open things up and Doddy did well with two free kicks - one a delightful cross that should have been headed in, the second a good shot that the keeper saved.  Close to the end Irish made an mistake and Ben hit a swerving shot that somehow the Irish keeper managed to turn over the bar.  Cumnor were then undone by some tired defending and we conceded 2 more.  8-0 and a chastening experience.

Whilst the result was tough to take, there were some positives.  Rory was his usual solid self, winning many headers and tackling hard.  Joseph and Alex worked very hard against an extremely mobile midfield, Alex having run himself into the ground and being replaced 15 mins from the end. The three HT subs all had an impact, Charlie and Michael defending well and supporting out wide, whilst Finlay is adding some serious endeavour to his undoubted ability.  Overall though, whilst technically the Irish players were a bit better, their desire to win the ball was stronger in spells and this proved costly.