Match Reports January 2009 [cont'd]

Sunday 25th January 2009

League, Duppas Hill 2

Banter Central FC 1 - 2 Portland
J.Stewart

Team: Jewish; Village (Wuker, 85 mins), Boma, Tino, Bushy (Shannon, 65 mins); L.Dancer, Adkins; Fintan, J.Stewart, Wommy, Cling

Another disappointing show against Portland, albeit a better display than in December. Banter started very poorly, extremely sluggish and in some cases just in auto-pilot, with the team playing with hope rather than determination. Portland kept possession well and waited patiently to create, whilst it was actually Banter who had the first chance, Cling's ball though to Wommy saw him strike a left foot shot well, skimming the top of the crossbar. It was a while before Banter carved out another good opening, with Portland dictating the play much better and having some long range efforts. It was Portland's better start that saw them rewarded, some sloppy play right through the spine of the team saw Portland's number 9 get in on goal from a wide angle, he finished well with a lob over Jewish in the Banter goal to make it 1-0. The blues barely responded until 25 minutes in when Adkins and LD began dictating play far better, spreading the ball wide to Cling and Rod on many occasions. There were a few corners with which Banter came close, a cross by Jon Stewart saw Bushy put in a good diving header for the goalkeeper to parry away. Village was having a solid game down his side, he brought the first half entertainment in the form of his fence jumping skills. Like Alan Partridge, many believed he might pierce his foot on a spike. Portland's winger had a run from deep which saw him easily beat many lethargic players wearing blue, Tino's lunge and foul saw him rightly booked as a result. J.Stewart had a couple of half chances to equalise, one through ball saw him just mis-control and show the goalkeeper the ball a bit much, after a fantastic darting run into the area. Deano remained reasonably untroubled in goal and the score at half time remained 1-0 to Portland.

The second half was dominated far more by Banter Central, even if Portland were gifted another goal. The away side had a couple of sniffs on goal and from a corner found themselves 2 ahead when a free header was converted at the near post. The build-up and goal itself sparked a war of words between Rod and Adkins, but both bounced into life quickly for Banter to equalise instantly. The ball was moved wide left for Cling, who clipped a ball over the top of the defence for Rod to get onto, his control was horrible but he got a shot off which was parried for his brother Jon to tap in and pull a goal back. 2-1. From there it was only half chances for long spells for either side, the boggy pitch began to play its part and Banter's best chances came from set-pieces into the area. Shannon replaced Bushy with 25 minutes to go and quickly got involved when Cling slid him into the area, only for him to fall over and have half the pitch shout "penalty!" and the other half "dive!". Given it was neither, play went on and Banter's best chance of the half should have been rewarded with an equaliser. Adkins' delightful chip over the top saw Cling get in on goal, he lobbed the rushing goalkeeper only to see a Portland defender steam in and clear the ball around the post. With Jon right there too, it seemed the ball had to go in somehow, but just wouldn't. After some more good pressure, Banter hit a shot toward goal which was blocked using full and blatant use of the arm to steer the ball around the post. A penalty seemed a sure-thing, but it was not to be. Deano continued to make some brave claims rushing out of his goal and made one excellent save in particular in a one-on-one block which he parried away well. Wuker came on in place of Village for the last few minutes in order to create a nuisance of himself as Banter threw everything forward, but after a penalty area scramble, Portland remained resilient and held on to take away 3 deserved points.

The ratings...

Jewish - 8 - Very steady, communicated with his defence well and was reliable when called upon. Could do nothing about the goals.

Village - 7 - A solid display from someone who hasn't played in quite some time. He stuck to his task well and made few errors. His throw-in which landed a metre in front of him and climbing skills kept the FAGs entertained, too.

Tino - 8 - Man of the match. Won plenty in the area, was vocal as usual and in the second half in particular came out of defence with the ball well. Booked.

Boma - 7 - Started very slowly with communication issues being the biggest problem. Had a decent 60-70 minutes thereafter, big in the air and broke down some potential danger when Portland countered.

Bushy - 5 - For someone who just didn't turn up the week before, nor been training yet this year, he didn't try all that hard. Had some decent runs down the left second half but was quiet, lazy and considering he had a similar job to do like the one against Carlton where he was so excellent, didn't appear on task too much. A one-off, a blip.

L.Dancer - 8 - Worked hard again, got stuck into the midfield tussle and stuck to his task well. His response to not being selected 2 weeks ago is exactly the attitude and response required for this team.

Adkins - 6 - Another to start slowly but worked his way into the game well and distributed the ball with purpose. Clipped in some nice passes for the forwards which weren't convered. "I don't want to play if he's gonna be like this", was a massive low point.

Fintan - 6 - Worked very hard and was one of the few in the early periods that did, but even he knows his passing was a bit off today and I don't recall a shot being registered on goal. Not bad, just not Rod of the last few weeks which has admittedly been excellent.

J.Stewart - 7 - A handful again and takes up some good positions, even if he was getting aggravated with himself for not taking more chances. As with last week, right place, right time for the goal. Communication excellent throughout, nice to have another voice out there.

Wommy - 7 - Not set free the way he was last week and was forced on numerous occasions to get the ball himself from the oppositon. Worked hard and went close early on, but it's difficult to remember any other real chances he had.

Cling - 7 - Set-piece delivery far better and played a good part in the goal. Unlucky not to score.

Shannon - 6 - Had time to make an impact but it was just one of those frustrating days where nothing really fell right for him or anyone.

Wuker - 5 - Thrown on as a make-shift centre forward, but in fairness I think he only touched the ball for a throw-in. Not that it was his fault, mind.

That wasn't a total shambles, it was just one to forget and was frustrating given the work that was put into last weeks result. The first 20 minutes wasn't just unimpressive, it bordered on arrogance based on a win last week. It was sloppy and could've been more costly, although it was ultimately enough to see us lose.
We play Santos next week and that will be a difficult game. They've just dealt out a 10-1 thrashing so will be on a high and we know the problems their forwards can cause us, as well as their aerial dominance in midfield. They'll be up for it after the last time we played them, where we won because everything went right for us and we performed to a level which hasn't been exceeded this season - although perhaps matched. We can play that way again, so it's better to go in knowing that.
Training Thursday, I hope for good attendance particularly as it's been enjoyable these past couple of weeks.
Finally, regarding arrival times on Sunday - can we ensure we all meet at 9:45am as discussed. People were arriving well after 10 today, not ready and Portland had warmed up by the time our last few arrived. The ref wanted to get the cards done before we'd even stretched out and it could be a big reason why we were so slow to get going. Sorry to piss and moan, it's only cos I love you.

Right, onwards and upwards, I hope for a good reply next week. Safe.