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.