Strength In Depth Key To Cumnor Win
Two excellent performances against a well-drilled Tower Hill saw Cumnor emerge deserved victors. For the first time this season, the Cumnor teams were mixed up and the results proved what the coaches long suspected; we have a very strong squad on our hands.
Match One
In the first game, Toby started in goal with Joe and Adam W in defence, Will, Ben C, Louis and skipper Adam M in midfield and Binky up front (yes, we did play 8-a-side). Tower Hill pressed from the start going close with an early effort. Joe and Adam had to maintain concentration to snuff out the opposition attacks. Cumnor soon got into the game, keeping their shape and passing the ball extremely well. Louis and Ben C were strong in central midfield with Will and Adam M raiding down the flanks. Cumnor took the lead when the ball broke through to Binky who calmly slotted it home. 1-0. From the re-start, Adam M made another storming run and crashed the ball against the post with Will just failing to latch onto the rebound. Minutes later, a smart piece of defending by Joe saw Louis take the ball, look up and thread a sublime pass through to Binky. Bouyed by his earlier goal, Binky kept his nerve and finished brilliantly. 2-0. Cumnor kept pushing and Will went down heavily in the box under a clumsy challenge (c'mon ref!) leaving Ben to force a save from the keeper.
In the second-half, two goal hero Binky went in goal and Toby replaced him up front. Cumnor were well on top now, controlling the game from midfield. Adam W tried to carry on bravely with an injured leg but had to make way for Rory. More Cumnor pressure saw Toby go close. Louis and Will linked up well leaving Will's cross to be smacked home by Ben C. 3-0. It would have been easy for Cumnor to ease off at this point but energetic bursts from Adam M and solid tackling by Ben, Will and Rory kept the impetus firmly with the home side. But Tower Hill kept fighting and a ball Cumnor felt was going out for a corner, hit the flag and stayed in play. We were too slow to react and a hopeful cross/shot just crept in past Binky's near post. 3-1. Cumnor kept pushing forward but with seconds left (3 according to the ref), Tower Hill broke free and scored another goal. 3-2. With the final whistle blown at kick-off, Cumnor breathed a collective sigh of relief to emerge winners: 3-2. Phew.
Match Two was even closer with Cumnor fielding Fyn, Rory, Laurie, James E, debutant James S, Ben Mc, Ollie and Henry. Cumnor started brightly with Ollie and James E driving forward from midfield. Cumnor had an early corner which Tower Hill just scrambled away. James went close with a smart shot and the ball bobbled around in the Tower Hill box. But Tower Hill soon got into their stride and strong tackling by Rory the Rock managed to keep them at bay. With both teams well matched the game started to get scrappy with all players fighting for the ball. Henry was charging around keen to be part of the action and put some excellent tackles in. Yet, for all the effort, Cumnor would have gone into half-time 2-0 down if it wasn't for two superb saves by Fyn; the first, a flying dive to his left and the second a smart block on the ground. His dad was heard to take the credit for son's goalkeeping prowess!
Cumnor re-organized in the second-half with James S volunteering (yes, volunteering!) to go in goal. With Henry desperate to be in the thick of everything he went to the back to partner Rory. Fyn leapt straight into the action up front but just over-ran the ball before he could strike. No matter, the next attack saw more good work by James E, putting a very solid tackle in before setting Fyn up to score the first goal. 1-0. As in previous matches, we needed a goal to spur us on and soon Ollie was through forcing a good save from the busy Tower Hill keeper. A second goal seemed increasingly likely and of course, it came from Fyn... calmly going through to claim his second of the match and his sixth in the last two games. Seconds later he could have had his hat-trick but for another good save. Tower Hill fought back with some dangerous attacks drawing some excellent defensive work from Henry and Rory. Ben Mc and Laurie were also getting stuck in, marauding through the midfield, breaking up attacks with some great interception play. With minutes left, a good Tower Hill attack saw the ball emerge in the Cumnor area. Despite the best efforts from James S, the ball hit a retreating Ollie and flew into the net. Don't worry Ollie, it won't count in your Golden Goal tally! The last attack of the game saw Fyn go close again but the whistle blew signalling an excellent 2-1 win. Fantastic!
Both matches prove that we have a versatile and talented squad. Tower Hill have had an excellent season and they certainly tested us to the limit. But we kept our heads, tackled, passed and held our shape. We didn't have that many chances but the ones we did, we took. Well done everyone... a great display!
Thanks also to Steve, Dave and James for helping out.
Player of the Week: arguably, the closest decision yet but we went with Binky for his superbly taken goals
Next week: Summertown All-Stars away. Details to follow.
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