EAST PECKHAM JUNIORS

15th April 2008 - Malgo 3rds 2 - 3 East Peckham Juniors

Starting Lineup

				Nichols
	Tom Revell		Meager		Philpott(2)		Ryder
	Matthews		Lardner	Jennings (1)	Scott		Willett
				Howell

Substitutes Used

Tony Revell > Callum Matthews, Dean Hayes > Brett Howell, Matt Jagelman > Liam Jennings

Report

Juniors made the trip to Maidstone to face Malgo 3rds in the Semi Final of the Tunbridge Wells Charity Cup with around 40 supporters.  With a couple of players ineligible, Juniors began the match largely unchanged, with Philpott returning to captain the side at the expense of Tony Revell, and Ryder moving to left back to accommodate Philpott in the middle.

Malgo started well and were clearly fielding a number of players who should have been playing at a higher level.  From the outset it was clear that they favoured the long ball and on 3 occasions within the first 5 minutes, a number of these long balls were easily claimed by Nichols.  On 10 minutes, another such ball led to the home side taking the lead, on this occasion the ball stopped short of the area and poor communication between Nichols and Ryder led to the later heading the ball firmly goal wards and despite getting a full hand to the ball, the former could not stop it from crossing the line as the onrushing striker poked it home.

Malgo had a couple of lively strikers who put the Juniors back line under pressure throughout and they had already been unlucky not to receive a penalty after the ball struck Ryder on the arm with the defender knowing nothing about it.

Juniors began to come into the game more and a vast difference in styles became apparent, with Juniors passing the ball all over the pitch with Malgo simply lumping it forward again and again.  Juniors began to apply pressure and around 25 minutes into the match the pressure paid.  Matthews delivered a fine in swinging corner, and Philpott rose like the proverbial salmon at the far post to head Juniors level.

As the half progressed the crunching challenges began to flow from Malgo as they looked to impose themselves on the game. 

One nasty tackle around 10 minutes from the end of the half led to the Malgo player talking himself into a booking and giving Juniors a free kick just outside the box.  Matthews had already curled a kick from a similar position over the bar, so Jennings took it upon himself to line this one up.  He whipped the ball in at goal with pace and the keeper failed to make contact with the shot, 2-1 to Juniors and the away side were becoming more confident.

Malgo’s attacks became sporadic, and their only chance of note towards the end of the half was a flick on from a long throw that Nichols pushed onto the bar.

The second half started with Lardner and Scott dominating the midfield, and without Malgo having any real chances of any note.  10 minutes into the half, Juniors extended their lead, another free kick was lined up by Jennings who whipped it in and Phipott again rose highest to get the decisive touch on the ball. 3 – 1.

Juniors made changes, with Howell, Matthews and Jennings making way for Jagelman, Tony Revell and Hayes. 

The two goal cushion Juniors had earnt looked likely to be decisive, and with Malgo pushing on for goals, Willett, Hayes and Jalgelman all had good chances to wrap the game up for Juniors but nothing came of them.

With around 10 minutes of the game to play, Malgo found a way back into the tie through a poor decision from the officials.  The tricky striker broke free of Juniors back line after another long ball, and as he closed in on goal, Nichols managed to get enough on the initial shot to send it wide of the target, but there was a Malgo player standing about a foot from the goal line and to the side of the goal, and he tapped the ball in.  Meager was Juniors nearest defender and he was behind the striker when the initial shot was played.  Philpott approached the linesman to ask why the goal was given but had to stop as he risked being booked after not receiving an answer.  Luckily for the officials, there mistake didn’t change the result, as Juniors forgot about playing fancy football and cleared everything whenever Malgo approached.  The final whistle was blown and Juniors celebrated reaching the final and the possibility of a league and cup double in their first season.  EPFC!

OO TO OO TO BE OO TO BE A JUNIOR!