Cumnor Click

Cumnor had a lot to live unto to surpass our recent win at Harwell but on a gloomy cold afternoon, the boys played some of the best football we've seen. With key players Rory, Michael, Kyle and skipper Joseph out with injury, an adjustment was required and we lined up with Doddie, Will, Fyn and Harry S at the back, Adam and Nathan in centre mid, Finlay and Alex wide and Ben playing just behind Tom.

From the start there was a confidence and composure to our play with the boys relishing the glorious playing surface and enjoying meeting a Harwell team who wanted to play football. For the purist it was a great spectacle packed full of quicksilver passing, intelligent movement and intricate combinations. We were especially creative playing down the flanks working neat little angles. Harry D's decision making and distribution was spot on and Will and Fyn defended tirelessly and played beautifully throughout.

The first-half brought a flurry of chances with Ben playing the pivot nicely and working well with Adam and Nathan. The scoring opened after some great wing play from Alex who lashed in a cross for Finlay to challenge before the ball fell to Nathan. 1-0. A few minutes later Harry S clipped in a beauty which Ben met with a tremendous volley from the edge of the box. The keeper made a quite brilliant save but Tom was there to follow up. 2-0. Tom had a couple of chances after more creative build up work. Against the run of play, Cumnor fell to a counter attack goal after the dangerous Harwell 8 (Matt) raced through and finished superbly. 2-1.

We kept the same formation to start the second-half and soon extended our lead after Tom hit a wonderful early shot past the excellent Harwell keeper. 3-1 By now, Cumnor were playing with supreme confidence with Will and Fyn seemingly unbeatable at the back, the full-backs pushing on and Adam and Nathan working relentlessly in the midfield. More excellent attacking work saw Finlay ghost into a lovely position to hit home our fourth. With Charlie and Toby now heavily involved Cumnor kept pressing and finally got a fifth from the excellent Nathan.

A brilliant win and a great match. The opposition and the ref were full of praise for the way we played. With Ducklington on the horizon if we play like this we will beat them. Well done all.

Player of the Week: could have gone to anyone but in the end we went for Doddie because his confidence, technical prowess, calmness and willingness to get the ball to feet and play football give us a great attacking option from left-back. He also tackled strongly and linked wonderfully with Will, Finlay and Nathan.

Cup Full Of Goals

A scintillating display of finishing saw Cumnor ease past Faringdon 11-1 in the 2nd round of the Berks & Bucks Cup with Ben scoring 3, Will 2, Doddie 2, Adam 1, Fyn 1, Nathan 1 and Finlay 1. But more pleasing than the scoring was playing boys in different positions. Special thanks goes to Harry S who went in and pulled off a brilliant penalty save. Well done all, there'll be tougher opposition to face but you can only play who's in front of you.

Player of the Week: Charlie for another assured outing at full back.

Penalty Pain for Cumnor

 One cruel passage of play cost Cumnor a deserved draw against Kidlington in what was a pretty even match.  The first half started with Cumnor on the back foot for the first 10 minutes, however we grew in confidence and started to match a good Kidlington side.  Defensively Will, Fyn, Charlie and Doddy were strong, and when they were breached, Harry D was usually in the right place at the right time to save the day.  The midfield, minus captain Joseph, took time to settle, however this is not surprising given Harry S was playing in a new position and Kyle was getting used to a new partner. Once the organisation came, they looked solid. Going forward we looked stronger as the half wore on, with Tom "needs new boots" Davenport chasing and threatening before being replaced by Nathan after 20 mins of sliding around.  Nathan offered the alternative back to goal option, encouraging us to go a bit wider, bringing Adam and Finlay and Alex more into the game - to good effect.    

Midway through the first half, Ben found some space in front of the defence and slid a neat pass into the path of Alex.  With plenty still to do, Alex burst clear, cut inside and neatly finished inside the far post for his first Cumnor goal.  Without creating too much more, Cumnor managed to hold on to a half time lead.  

The second half started like the first, with Cumnor on the back foot and under pressure.  However this time not even Harry could save us, with the Kidlington striker finally breaking free of Will and Fyn's shackles and scoring a well taken goal.  This generated a positive response from the Cumnor boys, with the tempo raised a few more chances were created.  Alex and Doddy were a real threat on the left hand side, and this led to chances for Nathan, Ben and Adam, however we couldn't convert. 

Then, the moment that decided the game.  A great corner from Adam, bullet header from Will, ricochet off a Kidlington head, hacked clearance, breakaway, foul, penalty, goal. From virtually scoring at one end Cumnor conceded at the other 10 seconds later.

Try as we might we could just not get the goal back. we threw everything at them, however Kidlington played "winning football", the linesman became pedant of the year and despite lots of changes we couldn't create the one good opportunity.  

Ultimately, we can argue we deserved a draw (as did Chelsea at Stoke).  However, result don't always go for you, and I think, fairly, Harwell could have argued they deserved a draw the match before.  So 3 points from two very competitive and even games - net net better than two draws! On we go to the cup at the weekend, before Harwell again.

There were a few contenders for POTW.  As a reluctant LB, Doddy is playing brilliantly.  Will, a slightly less reluctant CB, was also very strong and but for a bit of bad luck could have won us the game.  However, for not only scoring, but also for a combination of threatening attack play and feisty defensive play, POTW went to Alex.