It wasn't that we were bad, they were just bigger and faster and generally a bit better. As well as beating us that morning Donington's left winger managed to get through to the next round of the X Factor, a great day all round for em'.
So where does this leave us. Same place. We're a good team, but we have been given a ridiculous set of fixtures to start the season. 2 back to back league games and a cup match against current table toppers Toton, 3 matches against 3rd placed and very strong Denby and 2 matches against the very strong Castle Donington. Our next 4 matches are all away, including 2 trips to Denby. We will travel further than any team this season, much further but with that I have no doubt that by the end of the season we will be the most improved team. We did not do ourselves justice against Toton but we can address that in the Cup on the 7th Novermber. We got an unexpected but deserved victory against Denby, one which we will hope to repeat this saturday. Fine, Castle Donington were a class above but then let's really think back to the match...
They scored 3 early goals, we started slow. However, they forgot their kit, had us waiting round for half an hour and that affected us more than them. We recovered well though and held them out for much of the 1st half, missing a penalty and 1 very clear cut chance also. So we defended well for the majority and created chances. The second half was much the same with another couple of chances missed and a good defensive display against a strong attack. We conceded three goals late on when tired legs and minds and a cavalier attitude saw Donington make the scoreline look more one sided but I don't believe it was. We battled and fought and it is perhaps summed up best by the tussle between Jubed and the 6 foot 5 X Factor finalist on the left wing. We fought for every ball, came up short but really deserved to be proud of our effort. We can do better against Donington and give them more problems than we did on Saturday but we must learn a few lessons first. Communicate, trust each other and do not show any signs of weakness. We can win the battles together but not apart.
The tough run of fixtures can help us because when we finally get round to playing someone other than Toton, Denby or Donington then the games will seem different, the effort will have made us stronger and the team galvanised. Remember, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
Special mentions to Adam and Isaac. Adam for a superb second half display in goal when he really came through for the team and showed balls of steel and Isaac who once again got kicked around a bit but never cracked or reacted and led the team with dignity and determination. Well done guys.
Goals: erm...pass
Man of the Match: Adam "The Rock" Richardson
The Squad: Rob, Sam, Isaac, Taku, Noddy, Adam, John, Jabed, Mike, Patryk,
Luke, Bish, Dan, Jubed, Joe, Mo, Jordan
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