Heanor arrived at Derby Road with an impressive record of played 10, won 9, lost 1, and with 67 goals scored and only 18 conceded. They look on course to win the league being only 4 points behind Donington at the start of play and having 3 games in hand. This is relevant to us because in that context Heanor represented a very tough test, perhaps they are the strongest team in the league and with players accustomed to Division 1 it was going to be intersting to see how we performed against them.
The game started with an early chance for Heanor after a strong forward run from the gigantic number 4 resulted in a foul and a free kick in a dangerous area. The ball ended up tamely in Vishal's hands then 30 seconds later it was nestling in the back of the Heanor net. A solid clearance, a flick from Ballie and then a powerful run from Patryk ended with him finishing superbly across the keeper. 1-0. Great start. The remainder of the half was end to end with us playing some superb football at times in the Heanor half but unfortunately being somewhat careless in our own. A few touches to many, sliced clearances and ball watching saw Heanor net 3 times before the break and all three goals were easily avoidable. Heanor didn't need to be creative, they had gifts from us, but Christmas is long over.
At half time we discussed these mistakes and despite the 1-3 scoreline we were confident there was something in the game for us and we came very close to getting it. In the second half Emmanuel put the pressure on in the Heanor half and created some good opportunities. There was some very good play in wide areas with Keezy providing the threat down the left and Berbajohn, on for the second half, showing his ability at bringing others into play and holding up the ball superbly. A second Emmanuel goal was coming and it was great to see it come in such brilliant fashion when some good work down the left flank saw Keezy put in a sublime cross to be back post. Like a ginger salmon up jumped Captain Isaac to net with a towering header. 2-3 and game back on. Emmanuel continued to push forward whilst still looking a little kamikaze at the back but within 30 seconds of Sam entering the pitch, his presence obviously lifted everybody, the equaliser hit the back of the Heanor net, Captain Isaac latching onto a through ball and slotting it past the diving keeper. 3-3. Could it be? Sadly not with Heanor eventually benefitting from a couple of errors as Emmanuel pushed for the win. Final score 3-5.
Conclusions: There are many positives to take from the game. Our attacking play was a constant threat to Heanor and we created more chances through passing and teamwork than the opposition. Considering this was a team who boast the 5th best defensive record across both Divisions then that is something with which to take great encouragement. Scoring three goals against such a strong team, and it could easily have been more, should provide us with enough belief that we can win the re-match next week. We tested them, they wobbled. Other positives from the game were the return to scoring form for Captain Isaac, who despite being half fit today, looked like he is finding his mojo again. A strong game from Rhys also caught the eye and his running and commitment were superb today, as was Trebski's, although his temper must remain under control. Keezy was always a threat down the left and team Rob at the back did very well against the gigantic number 4. Another valuable contribution from Joe and some safe handling from Vishal provided Emmanuel with plenty of reasons to be happy and not too dissapointed.
As I said earlier, Heanor are a strong team. However, in my opinion, although obviously biased, we matched them throughout today. This game looked like two top teams going head to head. The team that lost would be team that made more mistakes. That was us today. It was us who scored three lovely goals and had the better passages of play and possession, it was us who dominated the second half. Heanor defended very well. Where we let ourselves down was simply through our failure to react quickly enough and our failure to communicate effectively with each other. Better communication would add so much more to our game, save us conceding some stupid goals and win us more matches against the stronger teams. We have some lessons to learn and we must learn them quickly. Heanor return to Derby Road next week. And I would like to show them that they were lucky this time, but that the generosity has ended.
Well Done lads.
Goals: Timson 2, Trebski
Man of the Match: Rhys
Squad: Vishal, Joe, Dan, Jabed, Jubed, Rob B, Rob G, Taku, Sam, Patryk, Isaac, Kieron, Rhys, Noddy, Jack, John
1 comment:
well played every1 :)
we will beat them next time, and as luke said, we need to pass the ball quicker, and we need communicate boys, cuz i didnt hear any1 talkin on the pitch yesterday, we will neva win matches if we wont communicate!
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