Kidlington Roasted

After the near miss against Oxford Irish, Cumnor were keen to continue our great run of form and finish the league programme on a high. Kidlington however, would be a tough challenge. Recent games have been incredibly close and our opposition were confident after pushing Ducklington all the way in both the cup and the league. They also had a two man advantage. In temperatures in the the mid to high 20s, Cumnor’s 11 available players had all the odds stacked against us.

We set up with a 4-1-4-1 formation with Will in at centre-half and Tom the lone striker.  From kick off Cumnor seemed confident and in control, using the width of the pitch and great movement to dominate the early exchanges. Ben and Joe linked nicely through the middle and spread play cleverly to bring in Finlay, Nathan and Adam ahead of them. Charlie held his flank well and Harry S (or, wrong pitch Harry) overlapped on the left flank. Rory and Will marshalled the play from the back, winning headers and playing out with some lovely clipped passes. Tom had the thankless task of keeping Abu occupied up front and proved an excellent focal point in the brutal heat.

The deserved breakthrough came when Adam swept a corner in for Will to leap high and smash a header in. Cumnor then went into overdrive, playing quick intricate football and creating chance after chance. Joe won a ball, fed Ben who linked sweetly with Finlay before finding Nathan, sneaking through the middle to flick the ball over the keeper. 2-0. His second goal was even better. Harry and Finlay outfoxed Kidlington on the flank with a little bit of showboating before Nathan again, found himself through on goal. He spun, pirrouetted around the ball and finished brilliantly. It was Zola-sque in execution according to Tim (sorry, it’s been so long since Man U scored a goal of any real quality it’s difficult to find a comparison.) With a few minutes left we were awarded a free-kick 25 yards out on the left. There was no doubt what Adam would do but he still did it, curling a superb shot into the top corner. 4-0.

The half-time chat wasn’t needed, just conserve energy and relax. We made a positional switch with Tom and Will and Will soon started tormenting the defence almost scoring a superb solo goal after a long, twisting run. Kidlington came back hard in the second-half but on balance of play, we could have scored more. Kidlington should have scored but for a wonderful full length diving save from Harry tipping the ball onto the top of the bar and over. The whistle went, the win secured. Kidlington could yet finish above us in the league but we’ve won two out three league matches against them this season so bragging rights are ours.

Player of the Week: each boy contributed so a collective award to all. Well done.

Cumnor Coming Good

The good form continues with two sparkling April displays against Pennar FC and our nemesis team, Ducklington.

Seeing the first snow of the season was a bit of a shocker as we welcomed Pennar from West Wales. It’s always a test playing an unknown team and with Pennar effectively the football quota of Pembroke RFC we expected a tough physical test. But this feels like a different Cumnor now, a Cumnor willing to dig in and get stuck in. We started crisply, moving the ball forward with real accuracy and urgency. Tom was given the task of taking the physical threat to the opposition which he did with gusto. His reward, a crisp finish from Nathan’s smartly headed assist(?). 

Everything remained up for grabs in the second-half but Cumnor moved up through the gears to produce a very accomplished all round display. Joe thumped home a penalty and Fyn grabbed a rapid-fire hat-trick, the pick a lovely leap and header from Charlie’s inch perfect corner. He could have scored another after a scything move using the length of the pitch saw Fyn’s shot halted by a puddle of standing water. Kyle got in on the  scoring to grab a 6th and continue his recent sparkling form.

The luxury of being quite a few goals to the good meant we could play around with positions so Alex and Michael had a run up front and Toby saw some left-wing action. In all, a great game in filthy conditions. It was played in a terrific spirit too with Pennar players and parents being excellent tourists. 6-0.

Player of the Week: From solid right-back to assist king, Charlie

Three days later we lined up at Carterton FC against Ducklington under lights. With a practically full squad to choose from (except an ill Harry S) we decided to try and play an intense and aggressive game against the team we traditionally have no luck with. The team smarting from an 8-1 defeat to Oxford Irish. With a starting line up of Harry D, Charlie, Alex, Rory, Michael, Joseph, Fyn, Adam, Kyle, Finlay and Tom we knew we had the intensity – and the bench – to get right in the Ducky faces. As usual, plans go awry and an early injury to Michael saw Toby move into left-back. 

Cumnor pressed and created a good chance for Adam who unfortunately missed the target. With Will, Ben, Nath and Fyn on after 20 we added a little more fresh bite in the tackle. Fyn was happily winding up the centre-halves and Will  enjoying the freedom to orchestrate play from central midfield. Ducklington threatened a little more and scored the opener just before half-time after somehow squeezing between centre-half and full-back.

With rotation very much part of the game plan, Cumnor went three at the back to put an extra body into midfield, which helped wrestle some much-needed possession. After some good work down the right flank, we were given a free-kick. It was the perfect side for Will but Adam grabbed the ball. The defence lined up to deal with the cross but Adam had other plans and absolutely smashed the ball into the net inside the near post. It was a wonder strike and Ducklington didn’t know what had hit them. 2-1.

Typical Cumnor, we switched off in relief and moments later the ball went racing past Harry’s outstretched hand to restore the Ducklington lead. The boys were gutted but unlike other Ducky pastings, they weren’t prepared to roll over. Fyn attacked out wide and was bundled over. Free kick. Every player, everyone in the crowd knew what Adam would do. But he still did it, this time from the left. Smack, back of the net. 2-2.

We were in unchartered waters against Ducky and when the excellent Alex strained his calf, we went four at the back drafting in Fyn and Joseph. A 2-2 draw seemed like a good result. It was.

Every player played their part: Harry was unflustered under the high balls. Toby and Charlie played with calmness and determination at full-back. Michael was unlucky to be crocked so early. Rory was his ever dependent languid self, keeping the busy Ducky 5 in his pocket. Alex at centre-half was what Alex is: superb. Joseph did his bit breaking up attacks and keeping a steady dialogue going with the ref. Will enjoyed the open space and firm surface so he could play a multi-facetted midfield game. Ben scrapped and looked to unlock the defence with some very smart attacking play. As did Kyle who stayed calm and in control, showing common sense, skill and maturity. Finlay was a genuine threat out wide and always looked to get in behind. Nathan ran the hard yards up front and showed his wonderful touch and 

creativity in the hole. Fyn and Tom were both physical beasts up front and at the back. And, our Player of the Week, Adam: matchwinner, hammer, making a fiendishly difficult dead ball skill look very, very easy.

Spring update

Apologies for the lack of updates recently but we are delighted to report an upturn in our on the pitch fortunes. Since our penalty defeat in the cup to Kidlington, we’ve taken 7 out of 9 league points with a win and a draw against Oxford City (1-0 and 2-2) and a 3-1 win against Kidlington. The two wins came on the road and we’ve been especially impressed with the increased tempo and aggression shown by the boys. We’ve even picked up a couple of yellow cards! The last league match against Kidlington was a superb all round performance with great goals from Will, Tom and Kyle…plus a belter of an own goal from Charlie. Players of the week were Will, Alex and Tom respectively.  

We have a tour match coming up and a league fixture against Ducklington. Let’s keep the momentum going and finish the season on a real high.

Cumnor Sink in Mudbath

Another disappointing display in appalling conditions. We struggled to play football or impose ourselves on a very spirited and savvy Harwell, conceding soft goals in the first-half due to our lack of desire to get stuck in and win or control the ball. After a half-time rollicking the boys were faced with a simple choice: fight or look stupid. They fought and in fairness, they fought hard. We made some positional changes with Tom adding some physicality at the back and Michael and Adam linking well where there was some grass, on the flank. Fyn making a foray up front also added a different dimension to our forward play and reminded us of his origins as a striker. The wind also helped and a very soft goal gave us a mountain (well, a slurry hill) to climb. Adam scored a lovely looping goal and delivered terrific corners. Nathan scrambled home a second but with injuries and cramp taking a toll, time and opportunities started running out. Adam threw one more cross in with Will inches away from securing an unlikely draw. Final score 3-2 Harwell.

These are tough times. We need boys who are prepared to be physical, confident and vocal. We can’t wait for the weather to turn to see an improvement in our match performances.

Player of the Week: Michael and Tom played well at the back, Fyn made his presence felt up front and Harry saved brilliantly from penalty (yes, Joe, it was). It was hard in the mud but Adam showed resilience, determination and no shortage of skill of win POTW.

Irish Eyes Are Smiling

We’ve seen some strange things over the years watching Cumnor Minors. Dazzling goals, mazy footwork, wild challenges, tantrums, tears, joyous celebrations, near misses, outrageous decisions, flukey chances and nail biting  last minute escapes. What we haven’t seen is a performance from a keeper like we saw in our 6-1 defeat against Oxford Irish. A crushing defeat where we actually played well in filthy, foul conditions. Where we moved the ball wide, unlocked the opposition and set up chances time and time again. And yes, a couple went over the bar, but the majority were hit with force and accuracy, hit towards the bottom corner, hit towards the roof of the net, but the sheer size speed and anticipation of the keeper, thwarted us. It was reminiscent of Big Neville Southall in his pomp (and that’s just the moustache) and it was superb. Should we have done better? Yes. But any other day, any other keeper (who is heading to Oxford) and we would have walked away with a bag full of goals rather than Adam’s solitary header… which was a very nicely worked team goal.

Yet, we did concede 6. And we are conceding a lot of goals. Ox Irish kept exploiting us down the left, utilising their immensely physical and fast no.11, who bagged a hat trick. Mistakes were made, conditions blamed but the simple truth is: they took their chances and we didn’t. We cannot fault our boys’ creativity but we can question their desire to do the rough stuff, to close down, to tackle hard, to work the ref, to impose themselves on the opposition. We are ‘nice Cumnor’ and we play ‘nice football’. Unfortunately, we play teams who play tough football. And at this time of year, we play on terrible pitches where ‘nice football’ just doesn’t seem to work.

We need to fight our way out of this rut. Positions are up for grabs. Now is the time for scrappers. Let’s start the comeback at training.

Ducked Off

Beautiful Winter’s day, no gale, nice pitch and the chance to finally show Ducklington what we are all about. And we very nearly did. Joseph and Will were paired in central midfield and told, in no uncertain terms, to impose themselves on proceedings. And they did. They crunched and blocked and bullied. They ended up being spoken to by the ref and Joseph (don’t worry Joe, as a one-off we’ll pay the fine) even ‘took one for the team’. And for an hour, it worked. Our increased fervour and bite put Ducky on the back foot as we worked two exceptional team goals. Twice the ball was played wide from an inspired Nathan into the path of Adam who finished superbly. All was good until just before half-time when we conceded a soft goal from a set play and all our fears kicked in.

Ducklington are an excellent team but they also know how to manage and control a situation. From taking a little bit longer at half-time to working the ref. Decisions seemed to go against us much to the obvious disgust of our onlookers. A few jeers, a few comments and the ref was right on our case. In truth, the boys didn’t need this added grief as, in the second-half, the superior fitness, movement and technique of the opposition won through. We fought them, we scared them, but we lost 4 – 2.

Player of the Week: Special mention to Will and Joe in central midfield but the final POW 2015 went to Adam for an all-round barnstorming performance including two very well taken goal.