29th March 2008 - East Peckham Juniors 4 - 0 Frant
Starting Lineup
Nichols |
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Tom Revell |
Meager |
Philpott |
Ryder |
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Vince |
Scott |
Lardner (1) |
Matthews |
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Jennings (1) |
Blundell (1) |
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Substitutes Used
Brett Howell (1) > Callum Matthews, Jordon Willett > Rob Vince, Tony Revell > Dave Blundell
Report
Juniors faced Frant in tricky conditions but with practically a full squad to choose from, as Philpott once again took the arm band.
Juniors started the quicker of the two teams, and within 5 minutes the deadlock was broken by the home side, Blundell was played in behind the Frant defence, and he rounded the advancing goalkeeper before finishing well from a tight angle. Playing into an incredibly strong wind in the first half, Juniors knew that keeping the ball on the ground would be the key to earning their 17th league victory of the season.
For the majority of the first half Juniors were the stronger side, stringing together flowing passing moves from one end of the pitch to the other, but were unable to apply the finishing touches to the moves. As the half progressed, the hard working Frant team began to come into the game more, and were beginning to use the conditions to their advantage, long punts up field from their keeper being cut out at the last by the strong Juniors defence.
Frant’s first real chance came with 40 minutes on the clock, once again it originated from a long kick up field, and the strong winds caused the Juniors defence to misjudge the flight of the ball, the Frant striker was left one on one with Nichols, but his rushed shot from the edge of the box went harmlessly over the bar. As the half neared its climax, the winds grew stronger and again the Juniors defence found it tricky to judge the flight of the ball, leaving the same striker one on one with Nichols for a second time, this time Nichols got down well to his left to put the shot wide.
The teams went in at half time with Juniors one goal to the good, considering the strength of the wind in Frant’s favour, a very acceptable score line.
As the teams came out for the second half, Juniors made a change, Howell coming on up front to replace Matthews, with Blundell dropping back to left wing. Having scored a hat trick in Juniors last outing, Howell got in on the act again 10 minutes into the second half, Philpott’s free kick was spilled by the keeper and Howell snaffled up the rebound having beaten both the keeper and defender to the ball. Throughout the second half, with the wind in their favour, Juniors grew stronger and stronger with Frant struggling to penetrate the Juniors back line. With the game already won, Juniors made two more changes, with Willett replacing Vince, and Tony Revell replacing Blundell.
Juniors were passing the ball incredibly well considering the condition of the pitch and were looking likely to extend their lead.
On 65 minutes, they did just that, as the hard working Jennings picked the ball up on the left hand side of the box and using his weaker foot riffled a shot low into the far corner. Both teams knew the game was as good as over, with Juniors the only team likely to increase the number of goals, and they did just that with 5 minutes to play. Frant defended resolutely, blocking a number of chances in one Juniors attack before the ball fell to Lardner who volleyed home left footed. EPFC!