2009/10 Pre season Match Reports

Sunday 16th August 2009

Friendly, Trenham Drive

Banter Central FC 1 - 6 AFC Hamsey
Tino (pen)
 

Team: Wuker; Boma (Hore, 70 mins), Tino, Vidic, L.Dancer; Jewish, Hughes, Adkins, Baird, Wilkes; Brownie

A shaky defensive display at Trenham Drive saw Banter lose against AFC Hamsey in what was the second meeting between the sides in preseason.

With some notable absentees it was a good chance to see how our squad would measure up against a side that has been promoted in their last two seasons, scoring heavily in the process. It proved a useful run out for both sides played in good spirit. Thanks to Hamsey for providing some stern and fair competition over both games.

12 man Banter had limited options. Luke returned between the sticks as Tino continued his partnership with Vidic at the heart of the defence. Boma and Jim took up the full back spots. Baird was tasked with anchoring the midfield (basically following Matt Gallafant) whilst Phil and Edd pushed on to support our lone striker, Brownie. Wilkes was pushed wide left, whilst Dean played wide right. Hore warmed the linesman’s flag. Don’t ask how.

Banter started brightly, playing some neat football without really threatening the Hamsey goal apart from a couple of crosses and 1 or 2 corners. After a positive start, a combination of a lack of communication, concentration and general rustiness contributed to a first half downfall from which we would never recover. The goals were so tame I cannot recall all 4, or which order they came in. I will have to take a guess. The first was from Andy Morris, who terrorised Boma all afternoon (that was fact, not guess. Sorry Bom, he is good though). Banter were caught on the break and Morris picked it up around the half way line. He was encouraged forward by his own men, and also by Banter failing to get back to support a stretched defence. Go forward he did as he ghosted through the defence unchallenged and found the bottom corner with Luke rooted to his line.

The second was created by the pace and anticipation of Hamseys second striker as he nipped in ahead of the centre backs and quickly found himself in a scoring position. Luke appeared to close down the angle well to give himself a chance, but this time he went to ground far too early. He found himself beaten by what can only be described as a ‘pee roller’ into the bottom right hand corner. He will be disappointed, but again the striker made it into a shooting position far too easily so he would also be right to feel somewhat disappointed in his defence.

The third came soon after. A snap shot from Hamsey was expertly saved by Luke who plucked it out of nowhere. As luck would have it, the spin on the ball took it back towards the goal and a despairing Tino could only fall over Luke into the goal as the ball trickled in. A 4th goal came and at half time Banter felt hard done by in what they felt was an even game attacking wise, but could have no argument with the scoreline after some lapses at the back.

A positive discussion at half time lead to an energetic start after the break. Baird was moved out wide, with Wilkes coming in field. Edd pushed up front to partner Brownie as Banter moved to a 4-4-2.

A bit more fight and composure was evident as Banter were able to put Hamsey on the back foot for once. Some good efforts by Brownie were particularly noteworthy, one stunning strike saved unbelievably by Owen. Adkins was coming into the game more as he tried to weave some magic up top, being crowded out on a few occasions before being able to pull the trigger. The one effort he did test Owen with wasn’t enough to find the net, but he was doing well to work the positions. Phil was dominating play in the middle of the park, getting play going on both wings and bringing others into play all the time. This led to Banter’s best chance as some lovely interplay with almost the whole front line involved. The ball eventually fell to Baird on the left but he couldn’t keep his strike down when off balance. It was really encouraging stuff with just the end product missing on the day. Baird had become a bit of an outlet on the wing and had a couple of chances before Hamsey found the net again. Some good interplay out wide by Hamsey led to Mike Chalmers finding himself free in the box and finishing superbly. It was another kick in the teeth as Hamsey were just taking their chances when they came. Hore eventually replaced Boma who retired with an injury to his right leg.

Banter’s goal came from a very generous penalty award. Tino swiftly had the ball in his grasp and headed towards the spot keen to make amends for losing the previous penalty shootout against our opponenets. Dispatch it he did as he smashed it down the middle and Banter got their first cheer of the day from Wommy’s G.

A final goal from Hamsey left Banter deflated and unable to muster a goal from open play as we whimpered to a 6-1 defeat.

Individual comments...

Wuker – Will be disappointed with a couple of the goals conceded, but all in all he commanded his area well and as always his kicking is second to none. Perhaps hold back a bit on the kicks! Encouraged to distribute the ball wide to full backs, and looked much more assured and confident once he had done so. For the first goal though you should have been rushing out and closing down the angle. Make the striker finish it and put him under pressure. If you are stuck on your line he will simply find the corner, as will others this year. There is no excuse for the way he ghosted through, but you could have made yourself a lot bigger to make it harder for him. Can always be more vocal.

Jim – Must stop getting annoyed with himself when he misplaces a pass. Showed for the ball off of Luke very well and got a lot of play going from the left side. Rarely got beaten down the line and covered well when Tino and Vidic ventured forward.

Boma – Struggled against a Morris, but kept at it before coming off with injury. If RB is to be his second position he needs some game time there so this would have helped as he won’t play against players that good every week. Offered Luke the option out wide from goal kicks and drop kicks. Needs to open his mouth and shout at people. I don’t care what he says.

Vidic – Dominant in the air, made some great interceptions and challenges. Perhaps caught out for one goal by someone who was simply quicker, but otherwise imperious.

Tino – The voice was working well, 110% effort as always, and always giving an option to his midfield and full backs. Good performance capped off with a nice pen.

Deano – Struggled slightly with the pace of the game and couldn’t find his passing range. Began to come into the game playing simple balls and keeping play ticking over nicely. Too defensive, must get forward Dean!

Wilkes – Looked much more effective once he moved inside at half time, and his interplay with Brownie is brilliant. Settled in nicely. Another that could be much more vocal on the pitch.

Baird – An energetic display. Didn’t give Matty much of a sniff in the first half, and moved out wide to give something different. Had an excellent game overall, perhaps he works too hard because he always gets bloody cramp! I prefer him out wide as I think he can bring us goals from there, but I think Phil loved having him in the middle because he was making challenges everywhere.

Phil – Very vocal, always moving and looking to create things. An all action display from Phil who I also saw fighting hard for his defence on many occasions, particularly when Baird was having a rest. Dominated in the second half.

Adkins – Looked more dangerous closer to Brownie and the goal. The last time I saw him with boots on he was writhing in pain with a possible broken ankle, so its good to see him back so soon. Needs some shooting practice to finish off all his hard work.

Brownie – Threatened on many occasions, and was hard work for the Hamsey defence. A few snap shots could have easily been goals. Excellent link up play out wide, always looked dangerous. The goals will come I’m sure.

Hore – 7.

Overall, a good run out. We do need to work for each other a bit more though. A number of times there was a massive gap between the defence and the attack which meant we got torn apart in the middle. It comes down to the basics of organisation and talking to each other.

With some notable absentees we performed well. Defensively we were shaky, which hasn’t been the case as much recently, but there were plenty of positive signs. In particular its good to see Baird back and fit, but also some of the football we played was really very good. With the players we had missing, I don’t envy Richard trying to pick a team. Let's take the positives, learn from any silly mistakes, put it down to pre season rust and move on.

Sunday 26th July 2009
Friendly, Trenham Drive

Banter Central FC 2 - 2 AFC Hamsey   (Hamsey won 5-4 on penalties)
Euro, Gillardino
 

Starting XI: Doc; Boma, Tino, Vidic, Pasty; Wommy, Wilkes, L.Dancer, Cling; J.Stewart, Hore

Line-up 20 mins: Doc; Boma, Tino, Vidic, Pasty; Ridley, Wilkes, Gillardino, Cling; Euro, Wommy

Line-up 46 mins: Doc; Boma, Tino, Vidic, L.Dancer; Gillardino, Hore, Wilkes; J.Stewart, Euro, Ridley

Line-up 65 mins: Doc; Cling, Tino, Vidic, L.Dancer; Gillardino, Hore, J.Stewart; Euro, Wommy, Ridley (Wilkes, 75 mins)

An excellent warm-up match and one very different from the game 2 years ago between the 2 clubs. Banter started slowly, inviting Hamsey through the midfield a lot, as well as allowing a bit too much time and space in possession. Hamsey were largely reduced to long range efforts, but they certainly had the upper hand as their goalkeeper had a quiet opening 20 minutes. They had a goal disallowed for offside too - which somehow Wuker failed to spot - but Banter made it through unscathed before making changes. Gillardino, Euro and Ridley came on in place of L.Dancer, Hore and Jon Stewart, with Wommy pushing up top to partner Euro. Whether the changes sparked life or the personnel change did, but the entire team began to click and already there were some neat one-two's and some shots on the Hamsey goal. Cling saw two efforts clear the crossbar, whilst Wommy had a shot saved and Jonny got forward and came close. The best chance of the game (or season, or history of football??) arrived when a long ball forward saw Doc arrive from goal to clear, but as he swung and missed the Hamsey right winger went through towards and empty net but somehow managed to pass the ball wide, as Tino cheered it on past the post. Euro put the ball into the back of the net initially but was honest enough to admit that he'd handled it in the build-up, but there was absolutely no mistaking his goal once it came. The ball was threaded through to Tom Ridley, who charged down the right with Euro and Cling in support, he fired across a searching pass onto the edge of the area, which Euro controlled and smashed in with his left foot into the bottom right corner. It had been deserved for the last few attacks, but Hamsey could think themselves hard done by having dominated the opening quarter. 1-0 at half time.

The second half was up and down for both sides with 5 minutes here and there of complacency from those in blue. Jon Stewart, Hore and LD rejoined the action as Pasty, Cling and Wommy took a breather. Reverting to a 4-3-3, Ridley pushed up top with Jon and Euro, whilst Hore moved into midfield and LD came in at left back. Hore's hussling and energy in the middle was causing problems, at one point he got so excited by the crowd response to his harrassing that he threw in a slide tackle that didn't really seem to get ball or man. It looked good though. There gradually became a rhythm and swagger about Banter's play and a second goal followed when Jonny managed to curl the ball in direct from a corner. It was just a freaky as his long free kick against Oakfield last season, I'm not sure how it went in untouched. 2-0 to the blues and for a time, in absolute control. Hamsey bounced back well and hit Banter when a ball from the left was cut across and peppered in from the edge of the penalty area, beating Doc low into the bottom corner. This of course, is the goal Pasty not just missed but didn't even hear about. He doesn't know what he was doing, where he was or why he didn't know it happened. So much so that he thought Banter won the game 2-1. Bizarre, though it's fortunate he wasn't on the pitch at the time, that could've been even more embarrassing. Wommy and Cling came back on for Wilkes and Boma, though the former would rejoin soon after when Ridley had to come off with... Actually I don't know why he came off. But he just did. With some desperate defending and constant pressure from Hamsey, they eventually got in and won a penalty. Jim attempted a bicycle kick in the area, missed it and Tino came clattering down on his opponent to concede. The penalty was confidently tucked away by Matt Gallafant. The end appeared to fizzle out slightly as both teams tried counter-attacks but had no luck. Having made two fantastic finger tip saves either side of half time, Doc was called upon again for a one on one and punched the ball clear as Hamsey presed with a late corner. 2-2 it finished, though penalties were played because they're fun.

Hamsey scored all 5 of their penalties as L.Dancer, Vidic, Euro and Gillardino also found the net, whilst stand-in captain Tino whacked a horrible kick over the crossbar. For shame.

An excellent game, nice to have it early in pre-season and learn a few things as well as keep the fitness up and get a run around. I thought we napped at points a bit much, the communication was sometimes off as a result of that and we could've started better. But we played excellently for long spells, some neat football, good off the ball running and some committed challenges began to fly in, too. We lost our shape slightly in the second half, perhaps the 4-3-3 needs to be a safer 4-5-1 so that the wingers can push on, rather than sometimes come back. 4-4-2 seemed to work and we were very comfortable last season with 3-5-2, so we have options in the system as well as personnel, which is great. The main thing is that we didn't lose (sort of) and it was very enjoyable. Nice to get up to the new ground, too.

A few comments on individuals:

Doc - I warned everyone of his talents and he had a superb game. The swing and miss was hilarious, but he made 4-5 really solid saves. Good communication as always.
Boma - Picked up where he left off last season, really. Playing a different position at full back, he probably picked up the ball in wide areas and was expected to do a bit more in possession than he's used to, but that'll come with time if he is to play there more. No mistakes, very steady.
Tino - Standard. Mopped up superbly, organised well, gave away and penalty and missed one when the pressure was on. Adkins is going to be all over those like a rash come September. I'll enjoy the fight.
Vidic - Even his nightmares are scared of him. A fantastic debut marked with a man of the match award by his fellow teammates. Fantastic in the air, made some crunching challenges and distributed the ball excellently.
Pasty - Like Bom, hadn't played at full-back for some time due to the system change but coped well, had plenty of communication going on and kept it simple where possible. But if you're not playing, watch the fucking game. 2-1... Dear me.
Wommy - A constant threat with or without the ball and probably had a better time of it up front, where he was so heavily relied upon last season. With competition for places it was worth him getting back at wide, but he appeared more dangerous when he didn't have to do as much tracking back.
Wilkes - Excellent debut #2, worked probably harder than anybody getting up and down the pitch, played the ball easy and simple whilst always being a threat in the air too. Like most, he was only removed due to the rotation thing.
L.Dancer - Quiet start and really got involved second half at full-back, where he tracked his marker well and distributed the ball nicely. You are not playing sweeper though, ever. However, you are free to get involved in that tussle on penalties, even if Tino does tell you to "fook off".
Cling - The usual up and down business, sprayed some nice one-two's with Jonny and Euro first half, too. A bit wayward at full back, but did enough.
J.Stewart - Found it difficult getting into the game to begin with like almost everyone and therefore had a better second half with his shutting down and neat passes. His pass into the penalty area to Euro which was cut out could've been a sweet move and goal.
Hore - His first start since October should be seen as a very positive one. Seemed to really enjoy the midfield battle as he charged down everything from high up the pitch. Calling your sock a 'fuck' though is just plainly ridiculous. For those unaware, the line was: "Alright, let me put my other fucking fuck on, yeah?"
Euro - Gave his marker a complete roasting to be fair and tucked his goal away expertly. Guernsey? Fuck off, mate.
Gillardino - Came in and did his usual job of distributing the ball well and getting play going from deep. You know what you'll get from him and it usually goes sideways. Someone steal his passport, please.
Ridley - And another cracking debut. Found a lot of space down the right in the first half particularly, used it very well with a couple of dangerous crosses into the area. Set Euro up well for the first goal and worked hard off the ball when he had to as well.

Well done all. Keep the training up, keep the banter up, keep your penalties down.