The Boys Take Control

A friendly is a good time to experiment and our old friends at Ducklington always provide stiff opposition. Saturday was time to let the boys decide what to do and when to do it. With little vocal support from the sidelines (except the occasional yelp of excitement) both Cumnor teams proved they could think for themselves.

We took time to settle down and in the first half of the first match, Ducklington made most of the running. We were second in the tackle and a little ponderous in our decision making but the more the match wore on, the more we applied ourselves. With a solid base of Ollie, Toby and Rory busy at the back... Cumnor got the breakthrough. Will plucked the ball down, spun and hit a long-range speculative shot which eluded the keeper. Ducklington dug in and forced Ollie to make a good save. More Cumnor pressure saw Will take a quick throw in to Fyn who slid the ball home. 2-0.

Changes were made at half time with Ben playing the holding role and Adam pushing forward in a midfield diamond. Suddenly, we found our shape and our edge. The boys were challenged to out tackle one another and set about their task with relish. Will tormented the Ducklington defence, Adam always ready to break and Fyn back to his poaching best. Ben collected a loose ball, found Fyn who played Adam in to score. Minutes later, Fyn benefitted from more good Adam and Will interplay to race onto the ball and claim his second. 4-0.

Ducklington got two late consolation goals but overall, we were good value for the win.

In the second game, Cumnor played with a real sense of togetherness. Henry was unbeatable in goal and had the Ducklington coach purring in admiration. James S was a revelation at the back, coming forward with the confidence and style of a young Alan Hansen (ask your dad!). Matt was a willing worker, hassling and tackling his heart out. In midfield, Ollie, Binky and Henry S stroked the ball about and James E made a superb target man up front.

We opened the scoring through James S' wonderful solo effort, beating two players on the edge of the box before finding the top corner. There was lots of pressure from Cumnor and really positive decision making too. James E hit a low shot which the goalie parried to the feet of Henry S who nabbed our second.

In the second-half, Matt came into midfield and made a real nuisance of himself. It was a timely change because Matt managed to thwart the advancing Ducklington. In fact, they got a goal back and put us on our guard. It took something special to wrestle the initiative back and it came from James E who scored a beauty with the outside of his foot. James E got his second and our 4th before the opposition scored a second. Another well deserved win: 4-2.

Well done to everyone. The boys held their nerve and played for one another. Special mentions to our goalies Ollie and Henry M, Ben who played the unglamorous anchor role and James S for doing so well orchestrating everthing from the back. But the player of the week goes to Matt who has made an impressive start to his Cumnor career.