September 2009 Match Reports

Sunday 27th September 2009

League, Trenham Drive

Banter Central FC 3 - 1 Woodmansterne Hyde
Ridders, Adkins, Baird

Team: Wuker; L.Dancer (Tino, 65 mins), Doc, Vidic, Cling; Ridders, Hughes, Adkins, Wilkes (J.Dot, 70 mins); Wommy, Baird (Brownie, 70 mins)

Everything about the day was impressive. Let’s begin with the sunshine. Chris Davis had his shorts on and sunglasses to hand whilst the host of ladies soaked up the glorious weather, too. The all white kit was on show and unless your name is Marie I think everyone agrees it looks smashing. We turned up with an army where players are concerned and put in a performance that backed it.

Boma continued his long standing record of never playing on the opening day of the season; he pulled out with a back problem after the warm-up. The XI that started was therefore the team that was present when Boma left the field of play the week previous against Croydon Postal.

Banter began well and though didn’t give the Woodmansterne goalkeeper many problems, were working well as a unit. The firm ground was causing the Banter backline a few problems, the bounce at times was stronger than we even expected – and we’d anticipated it would be big. So some big bounces aside - from the typical Sunday league long ball tactic – it was going just fine. Wommy and Baird were working the channels up front as well as dropping off to come and get the ball and Adkins and Hughes were dominating in midfield, each trying their luck from long range as well.

Around 15 minutes in, Legend Dancer seemed to apologise for his challenge before even putting it in when he brought down his marker 30 yards from goal. The resulting free kick on the Woodmansterne left side was well struck and hung up in the air but appeared a routine save for Wuker when he called “Keepers!” but as it dropped down he struggled to make the claim as it fell below the crossbar and into the net. Banter were 1-0 down but it seemed rather harsh. To the home side’s credit, heads did not drop and the boys pushed on and tried harder for an equalising goal. A long ball through the middle could’ve put Woodmansterne two-up though and Wuker was required to kick away to safety.

There were some well worked moves in the midfield and Adkins was spraying passes short and long in order to find an opening. The equalising goal came when the ball was worked across the middle from Hughes into Adkins, who shrugged off his marker well and played the ball into Cling at left-back, who with time and space moved forward before checking his run and then ghosting past his marker to byline, where a left foot cross was met expertly by Ridders in the middle to head in and level the scores. It had been coming and the talk on the sidelines was that it was fully deserved. A Woodmansterne corner almost brought a Banter goal though soon after. When the all whites cleared their lines, the break was on with Wommy pushing the ball wide to Ridders, who was supported in numbers when he fled down the right and swept in a cross to the back post, which Baird fired narrowly wide. 1-1 it was at half time.

Hard work, patience and a more calm attitude on the ball were to be key to either side taking the initiative in the second half. Woodmansterne had one sub to bring on, whilst Banter were not short of options on their bench in any position. The away side slung in a couple of dangerous long balls into the penalty area, one of which went untouched and flew right past Wuker’s post. Woodmansterne’s goalkeeper was not particularly troubled by the long range efforts of Adkins or Wilkes, but struggled with a Ridley cross which neither Baird or Wommy quite got on the end of after a couple of bounces.

Banter continued to press and found the goal they’d been looking for. Wilkes made a charge into the penalty area down the left and eventually passed to Wommy, who turned out and laid the ball off to Adkins, 25 yards from goal and whilst a little wider than he might have liked, the number 8 drove his shot and saw it fly past the goalkeeper’s left arm and into the net. Adkins seems pretty happy with himself and held up the badge, everyone else just jumped on him.

The away team brought on their only substitute with about half an hour to play and it was clear that he could be a threat both aerially and physically difficult to shrug off the ball if Banter allowed it. The counter move was to introduce Tino, who had temporarily been nicknamed Lino, he came on in place of Legend Dancer, having putting in a solid shift at right-back. Doc moved into LD’s position and Tino took up his more familiar central spot and so eager to make his mark he put in a few hefty challenges from the word go. Sometimes he played the ball, too.

Banter weathered some attacks from the opposition, without Wuker being forced into doing too much and went and found the all important 3rd goal. Wilkes had tried his best with his Paul Gascoigne effort down the left, but it arrived from the right when Wommy held the ball up and played a cutting pass in behind the defence for Ridders to latch onto, pass across to Hughes, who if he was any good would’ve finished. As it was, the ball found Baird who tapped in from close range to score his first goal since April 2008. His comeback had been a long time coming when he came back in the last game of 2008/09, but this capped off the comeback after a terrific contribution all morning. He, along with Wilkes, who put in an excellent shift down the left where he really found some freedom second half, were replaced by Jon Stewart and Brownie immediately following the goal. The two substitutes wasted no time and got stuck in immediately, J-Dot hitting the crossbar with a deflected shot and Brown getting behind the defence on more than one occasion to send in a cross and have a go on goal himself.

With the pressure off and perhaps Woodmansterne a little deflated, Banter had chance to go and score more. Hughes had the chance to convert a one on one but let the ball get away from him before being dispossessed and after a one-two with J-Dot and then Wommy, Cling got into the are only to scuff a shot which a defender cleared. Adkins saw an effort clear the crossbar by mere inches, all this whilst Baird goaded his teammates and Wilkes told everyone who’d listen that Wommy was beating his marker because he’s been watching “Dan Wilkes’ Soccer Skills” on DVD and possibly even reading the book.

The game was seen off and Banter secured a deserving 3-1 victory. Banter’s first ever on the opening day of the season. It could be one full of records broken if we want it to be, the main thing is we keep playing as we have done for the past couple of weeks as it’s been terrific. Everyone appears to really be enjoying it as well, so another week and another game against Kurdish to come, bring it on.

Man of the match: Edd Adkins. Terrific from start to finish, with plenty of energy, mixing short passes with long, offering himself to every available ball and not afraid to open his mouth either. His fantastic goal capped off an all round dominant display in central midfield.

Sunday 20th September 2009
Friendly, Trenham Drive

Banter Central FC 4 - 3 Croydon Postal A
Wommy (2), o.g., Hughes
 

Team: Wuker; L.Dancer (Doc, 46 mins), Boma (LD, 75), Vidic, Cling; Ridley, J.Stewart (Adkins, 30 mins), Hughes (J.S, 80), Baird; Wommy, Brownie (Wilkes, 30 mins)

Banter's final preparations for the 2009/10 season appeared to be going pear-shaped until a second half surge which saw four goals.

Two friendly matches against AFC Hamsey had brought mixed success and at worst some lessons learnt in the case of the second encounter. The 5-a-side tournament shortly after allowed a few of the team to gel a bit more closely, with the A side narrowly losing out in the semi-finals. Another stern test here and whilst Banter hadn't played together in a few weeks, Croydon Postal - a side who beat the blues 4-0 and 2-3 last season - would offer the kind of marker that was needed going into the new season.

In the new 2nd strip of white, the boys made a decent enough start, keeping hold of the ball well but being a bit sloppy in the final 3rd and not always communicating as well as is expected. The calls for 'time' or 'man on' were shy at first, but got better as the game progressed. Hughes was dictating play in the middle of the pitch, whilst Cling and Baird linked up nicely down the left to create a couple of openings, both had crosses that were cut out and cleared as they made the penalty area. Banter's best chance of the half fell to Wommy, who rose tremendously well from a Cling corner to head a shot goalward, the keeper making a smart reflex save.

Postal got their noses in front when a pass over the top was not properly dealt with, which saw Vidic chase back and get a toe onto the ball ahead of the attacker, who continued to race toward goal but appeared second best to Wuker - but the big man opted to slide and kick the ball instead of get down and use his hands, seeing it bounce straight back off the attacker's chest, over and into the net. It's been a common mistake, but it cannot continue to happen. A very cheap goal to concede on everyone's part.

Banter didn't allow their heads to drop and for the most part, the football remained the same - short passes to feet along the deck, feeding the channels where possible. Brownie, Wommy and Ridley were finding it particularly difficult to get involved, their best chance of success was to shut down the Postal backline high up the pitch. Some more questionable defending saw Postal get a second, when Cling slid a tackle back to Vidic , his clearance was only as far as his teammate who upon returning to his feet saw the ball cannon back off his knee and onto a Croydon player, who slipped in his teammate to score a goal from a tight angle very similar to the one he scored one year ago to make it 2-0. He did the same again and Banter could feel hard done by.

Adkins and Wilkes replaced Jon Stewart and Brownie on the half hour mark, Baird moving up front to join Wommy as Wilkes came to the left side of midfield. Banter continued to press in the final 15 minutes of the half but despite the possession, the goalkeeper wasn't tested any further. 2-0 to Croydon Postal at the break.

Doc came in at right-back to to replace Legend Dancer for the second half and the white and blues began confidently, defending high up the pitch and spraying passes around well. It was once again dealt a blow though, when a ball over the top saw two Postal players race clear and somehow find themselves behind the defence, but with one nodding the ball on to the other, offside was a certainty, right? Wrong. Pasty keeps up with play as much as he keeps up with the scoreline - he probably thought Banter were 4-0 up. The Postal forward raced on and with Wuker refusing to come off his line, he gave him little chance with a shot into the corner. 3-0 and a thrashing was brewing, if not beginning to be dealt.

The response is perhaps the best I have ever seen Banter respond to being behind, let alone behind by more than 2 goals. It demonstrates that no game is over until the final whistle and that one goal pulled back can shift the initiative of the game as quickly as you can say: 'Hore looks like Howard Webb'. Banter pressed throughout the remaining 30-35 minutes and a goal came when Wommy spun in the area and without evening catching it particularly well, shot and found the bottom corner to make it 3-1. From that point on, everyone became more vocal, the challenges were firmer, the passes were crisper, the movement was faster and everyone looked more determined. It's long been a pet hate of mine and though it's positive to see everyone react to us scoring, it should be this kind of attitude from the first whistle. Just last season at 7-1 down in the Surrey Cup we began to play better and pass the ball with more fluidity when we pulled a goal back at 7-2. What difference that goal made I don't know, but for some reason it does. Whatever the mental block is that needs opening, it seems to work, perhaps just a shame we weren't as vocal and organised from the first minute. No matter, since with the time left on the clock, Banter had not left it too late. Doc was offering up every pass out wide that he could, Hughes and Adkins were taking passes long and short and linking with Wommy and Baird superbly, whilst Wilkes and Ridley really gave the full-backs the run around. A Ridley corner from the right was headed straight in off a Postal head and gave Banter a second goal to make it 3-2.

A superbly worked equaliser saw Cling charge down the left and play a pass inside to Adkins, he found Baird out on the left wing, who controlled and whipped a cross in on his left foot as good as you're likely to see and when Wommy jumped this time, he made no mistake, thundering the ball back across goal and into the corner of the net. 3-3. Postal were beginning to fall apart and Banter took advantage by hitting a 4th goal when Ridley and Wommy linked up fantastically down the right, Wommy ran on and pulled in a low cross into the box which Adkins and Hughes charged in on, the latter met it and drove the ball into the net to complete the comeback.

There were more chances still though as Wilkes had a cheeky go at the near post, trying to catch the keeper off guard but seeing his shot saved as the goalkeeper scrambled it clear. Baird's miss was one that only Banter seem to miss against Croydon Postal. From about 8 yards with no pressure he managed to boot the ball sky high and past the post having cut inside the defender to set himself. It was a spectactular miss and just like he did when he set up Wommy's header, he merely laid flat on the turf only this time rueing the chance to kill the game off. But 4-3 it finished and as good a second half performance as I can remember from Banter Central.

A very positive way to go into the new season, lets take that win and go and get another next week at home to Woodmansterne Hyde.

One more thing - a shower (not compulsory, but I'd prefer it) and at least one drink in the bar after the game please from everyone. We have a nice clubhouse, lets be sociable and use it. Safe.