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Desperate to get some games in before christmas, Martin picked the following bare 11 for our challenge against last years Achilles heel--Fromeside. Chris (GK), Craig (RB), Glenn (CB capt), Geoff (CB), Tony (LB), Danni (LM), Keith (CM), Rich (CM), Andy (RM), Steve (CF), Neil (CF), Martin (emergency sub).
Playing on this heavy pitch, Golden set off at a leisurely pace expecting a fairly easy ride. Fromeside soon challenged, however, winning the balls in midfield but failing to generate chances beyond them.
Golden seemed out of sorts, seeming unable to stand on the ball or pass it around for quite a while. Eventually, though, Golden began to get control and started feeding the wingbacks with the ball. Craig and Tony's efforts at crossing lacked the penetration to reach Steve's bonce, and the tight man-to-man marking with two sweepers kept Neil and Steve from gaining advantage with their feet.
Despite the many opportunities to push up to the penalty area, Golden lacked the finishing flair, even Jeff skying a few shots hopelessly high or wide. And so half time came and went….nil nil. Unfortunately, an ankle injury gained when he missed the ball put Tony out of the game and Martin came on as supersub.
Just after half time, a scramble in the Golden penalty area saw Glenn kicked off the ball and a toe punt seal a scrappy goal for Fromeside--appeals to the referee fell on deaf ears--and certain Golden players began what would be a continuous stream of complaints against the referee.
Affronted by the ability of Fromeside to score against us--Golden pushed forward. This strategy was soon rewarded through some strong challenges from the back and midfield when Jeff launched a ball into the area. Steve found himself free on goal and cooly tapped a low right footer into the bottom left of the net--1-1.
More abuse at the ref, however, saw a penalty awarded against Craig (his second in 8 games!)for an innoculous handball (shoulder?) when trying to clear. Shot, goal, 2-1 down.
Continued pressure from Golden saw them heap pressure on for the last 15 minutes, but with the ref giving every thing to Fromeside, Golden failed to generate the equaliser. No surprise when the ref got changed with opposition after the match !
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