Match Reports October 2010

Sunday 10th October 2010

Friendly, Trenham Drive

Banter Central FC 5 - 2 AFC Warlingham
Hughes (3), Wilkes, Brownie

Banter: Tyler; Boma, Tino (Vidic, 46), L.Dancer; Ridders (Cling, 46), Gillardino, Fintan, Wilkes, Baird; Hughes, Brownie (Ridders, 70)

A confident and rather straightforward victory for Banter saw the home side run out 5-2 winners in this early season friendly.

With the game’s referee kindly offered to Croydon Postal for their league clash, it meant Cling stepped in to officiate the first half and Warlingham to take control of the second. It was not a fussy game, credit to both sides for their conduct throughout.

Banter began brightly, Hughes trapped a cross inside the box quickly and drove in a shot to make it 1-0 with only a couple of minutes gone. He added a second by showing some fantastic centre-forward play, nodding down a long ball to Wilkes and then running on to the return pass to rifle past the goalkeeper again. Provider soon turned scorer and scorer turning provider, which is an elaborate way of saying that Wilkes scored the third goal, with Hughes assisting him in a role reversal. A neat move down the left allowed Hughes to cross in and Wilkes to get his body in front of his marker and head in at the near post to make it 3-0.

Tyler made a smart save into the top corner of his near post when a defensive clearance went wrong. Some said he was showing off for the cameras, but he’s entitled to a bit of that every now and then, it was a good reaction save.

Banter might have had a penalty late in the half when friend of Banter, Jon Hill, collided with Baird in the penalty area. The big man himself said he’d wiped the kid clean out, though I doubt he’d have been quite so honest so soon after the event had the referee not been more familiar to him. That incident could be deemed the only controversy, as 45 minutes of football was played without a single foul being awarded to either side.

Vidic replaced Tino at the break, with Cling coming on in midfield in place of Ridley. The first half was a clear demonstration of one side who have played together for some years, are well practiced, well organised and quick in possession against a team that looked a little more rough around the edges. But in the second half it was less clear which side was which. Banter passed the ball confidently in spells, but a couple of brain freezes allowed more openings for Warlingham, who grew in confidence and performed far better.

But going forward, Banter continued to look ruthless and Hughes completed a deserved hattrick when he let the ball run across his body inside the area, throwing his marker off balance he tucked the ball into the far post.

Brownie got in on the act to make it 5-0 when Hughes found his partner in the area and the #44 took a neat touch past his marker and a second to finish with his right foot past the goalkeeper.

Banter could’ve scored a lot more goals, too, but much to the disappointment of the supporting crowd they took their foot off the gas and one Warlingham goal followed another within a couple of minutes of each other. The first came through sloppy play in midfield as AFC’s forward was unmarked at the back post, he was found and slotted in from close range; the second a similar incident that was well finished from more centrally.

Brownie made way for Ridders midway through the second half, with Baird moving up front with Hughes. Both had plenty more chances to score, the former from numerous one v one’s with the goalkeeper, the latter with a chance from the penalty spot. Having been brought down himself, Hughes confidently spotted the ball in search of his fourth goal, but fired his shot over the crossbar. We’ll never learn.

5-2 is how it finished, a comfortable victory and impressive performance from the home side.

Man of the match: Phil Hughes. More below.

How the squad has shaped up since August…

Tyler – Started his Banter career very well, adjusted to 11 aside fantastically and quite naturally he fits in with the team, as you would expect. Saved our backsides on more than one occasion and his distribution is first class. Could use the six yard box more and make the area his own by being more assertive on crosses; I can’t recall any mishaps having tried thus far.

Boma – This lad’s progression is so alarming, that, if he’d played and trained every week from the age of five, you wonder if he’d have a contract with Arsenal by now. OK, that’s b*llocks, even despite his beloved team’s questionable centre-halves, but Bom has been steady and assured all this season so far and before it. He can dive in a little cheaply sometimes, but his recovery to make amends for himself or help a teammate out is one of his best qualities.

Tino – A seemingly new attitude to training and though he’s always given 100% when he’s out on the pitch, looks to be taking even more authority on team talks, making suggestions and encouraging his peers. Good as ever and looking fit too, his off day was against Woodmansterne but even then he had a hand in a goal and created the chance to win Banter a penalty.

L.D. – A confident and solid display against Warlingham, particularly given his time off. A good attitude too, sticking to the task after a couple of games where, due to others commitment; it was difficult to get him involved. His lunges into challenges could see another couple of bookings if he’s not careful, so a more conservative approach to shunt his man out might be needed, but he’s taken his chance from the recently friendly well and he slotted into defence very nicely.

Vidic – Passionate as ever and has looked happy to play anywhere across the backline in pre-season and beyond. Perhaps some questions over his sharpness in comparison to last season, but I’d really need to look him up and down in the showers, naked, to know for sure how he shapes up. Needs to make sure he remains confident, vocal and committed, as these are his best qualities.

Doc – A noticeable increase in effort for training has brought out the best in Banter’s oldest. An excellent pre-season – particularly against Postal – was only slightly hindered by his holidaying, but he followed that up with a couple of decent performances. Suffered a problem with his neck recently, hopefully he recovers quickly as his leadership is so important to us.

Ridley – The game against Sanderstead at Greenacres was as good as he’s ever played for us and he rarely lets his quality drop below a very high standard. A hard worker and creative as anything, he’s already on the scoresheet and been involved in most of Banter’s goals. Positionally, he could track back a little quicker on occasion and his communicating can always be better, but he’s been another bright spark out wide so far this term.

Baird – Left or right side, he is always a threat. His commitment has remained first class and he always works hard. Against Woodmansterne he put it in a hell of a shift and looked ever dangerous against Warlingham, too. For a player with his attributes, he should perhaps score more goals. Quick, two footed, good in the air and a genuinely good finisher most of the time, 10 goals a season is not beyond him. Penalties might help that tally.
 
Cling – Manager, coach, captain, secretary, referee; you actually cannot fault him. Well, not for putting his hand up and volunteering, anyway.

Gillardino – Having played a half during pre-season against Sanderstead and shown his potential, his performance against Warlingham for the full game was 2008/09 all over again. Fantastic. He’s as good at starting the attacks and moves in midfield as he is breaking up the oppositions play. If he trains regularly and makes himself available for 20 games a season, that’s where Banter will get the best out of him and where we never really have in the past.

Fintan – Defensive midfield? Attacking midfield? Ron’s got the quality and experience to do either and alongside Jonny he’s as comfortable as anything given their playing time together in the past. He might be asked to break up play more often than get us a goal, but his performances against Selsdon and Warlingham show he can do either. He could fall over a lot less and also never give up until the whistle has gone or the ball is out of play, particularly if he’s given the ball away because he becomes his own worst critic once he thinks he’s made a mistake. Rob can really make a difference this term, his commitment and versatility have always been important since this club began so a return to fitness is great.

Wilkes – Similar to above, from a positional sense. Could play either attacking or defensive midfield and played superbly in a more advanced role against Warlingham. He could play out wide or at the back too, if we needed it. With a fantastic drive and energy, he remains one of the most important players in the squad. He could hold his position a bit more when he gives a pass (from a deeper role), rather than always venturing forward, but when he does give the ball easy, we’d all like to see him talk and instruct his teammates as much as he talks in the pub afterwards. His goal against Warlingham demonstrated his aerially ability as well, so he’s another who I think we’ll see score more often.

Adkins – He was top of the training table before injury. That doesn’t mean he was any good, but I can tell you for nothing that he was. Looking as fit as ever and causing his opponents problems going forward, he keeps a togetherness in midfield and links that area to attack better than perhaps anybody else we have. He was superb against Croydon Postal even without his two goals and had a good game against Woodmansterne on the opening day, too. His Achilles heel could well be injuries, but on the playing side he should beat last season’s total of five goals if he is fit.

Hughes – Is further up the field where the most damage is done? Based on 3 goals and 2 assists against Warlingham, the argument would be in favour of yes on this particular occasion. Would we miss him in midfield? Well we could be here all day about where we miss him being. I miss him when I curl up in bed at night, but that’s not really the point. Seeing him skin the last man rather than the forth or fifth from last man in midfield brought end product galore, it’s certainly harder to do from midfield though I would always encourage more shots on goal and runs into the box whatever position he plays. So often he controls the game, but doesn’t kill it off in a way he capably could. MOTM on this occasion, this was a fantastic performance. He won’t be taking another penalty for some while though.

Brownie – “What’s the most consecutive games someone has scored in for Banter, including friendlies?” – The size of your ego and the size of your skull are different things though; otherwise he’d have scored more goals with his head. The answer to the above question will, I’m sure, feature in a Weekend Preview coming soon. He’s on a terrific goalscoring run and there is an undoubted improvement in effort and fitness on the back end of last season, as well. He could bully and commit defenders more by running at them, whilst I’d like to see more movement in and out of defenders when he waits for a cross, he could score plenty of tap-ins to go with his more spectacular efforts, if he times things right. Waiting rather than anticipating sometimes, his lethal finishing deserves more than that.

Wommy – Made a good start to the season and bagged a hattrick on the opening league game to add to his terrorising of Sanderstead the week previous. His pace and fitness are always a problem, but not for us. He showed a bit of a masterclass in finishing from close range and distance at training recently and it’s at Croydon High on a Thursday that we’d all like to see him more. I would also encourage some more Ronnie Rockets from range when he gets a chance, an early shot can catch a keeper napping. It’s also nice to claim assists for shouting ‘shoot’ when he’s outside the area, too.

J-Dot – The ever hard worker and another player with good positional sense and versatility. He scored a typical poachers goal against Sanderstead in pre-season and he’s a player that seems to find space and get into those positions wonderfully well. For this reason, he could also score more goals. His energy and desire are a nightmare to play against. His wife rules his diary way too much as well, but he’d be the first to admit that.

Overall, a pleasing performance but it would’ve been nice to have kept a clean sheet – which was most definitely not beyond us. It has been a stop-start season so far with the fixtures, but we hopefully have a consistent run of games coming up which will shape our season. With what looks like only 12 league games this term (if Kurdish remain absent), we can’t really afford to drop many more points; whilst fewer games means the cup matches (Addiscombe in League Cup and AFC Surrey in Surrey Cup) are games that are important to win because it gives us some more competitive matches. Apart from anything else, the League Cup could be a competition we can do really well in anyway.

Santos this weekend, with their bright start to the season it will be a tough game; lets make sure we’re on top of ours and bounce back from the Selsdon loss with a win.