Gedling Town: 0 Keyworth
United Green: 9
Not quite the perfect ten
Two weeks ago,
after failing to win in four games, the mood in the Green
camp was more than a little blue - not any more! Two big
wins and suddenly everyone’s talkin’ about us. Not that
you’d have thought it in the first half of this match!
For much of that period, though territorially superior, we
were uncharacteristically disjointed, hurried and
profligate. In contrast, the second half brought a
devastating Keyworth blitz that simply destroyed Gedling
and saw us record another emphatic victory.
In truth, much of the first
half is best forgotten. Attacking downhill with the icy
breeze at their backs, Keyworth were always in the
ascendancy but time after time chose the wrong option and
struggled to find any cohesion. Perhaps I should have kept
my eyes shut - I can’t afford the hair-loss after all! -
but I doubt even that would have prevented my increasing
frustration. With too much going through the middle, Danny
and Ben, both having splendid games and linking superbly
down the right, offered our greatest threat, setting up
numerous chances between them, all of which came to
nothing. As the half wore on, Keyworth at last began to
play some decent football and nearly broke through twice in
quick succession.
First, a fine move between Danny and Tommo ended with Ben’s
angled shot flying just over. Minutes later, Luke, Danny
and Ben combined superbly before Ben’s firm cross was
driven inches over by the on-rushing Tommo. At the other
end, Keyworth nearly paid the price when a Gedling forward
broke free and fired over Sam, only to see his goalbound
effort held back by the wind before it could cross the
line, enabling Luke to get back well to clear. Just as it
looked like it was going to be one of those days, Keyworth
finally took the lead when Danny collected a loose ball on
the right of the area, looked up and with a contemptuous
look that said “I’ve had enough of this nonsense!” smashed
a shot over the keeper, high into the opposite corner of
the net - a classy strike!
On the stroke of half time, a hand ball in the home area
offered Keyworth the opportunity to double their lead, but
Danny’s miscued spot-kick was easily saved. That summed up
our first half perfectly!
Half time and we held a slender one goal advantage. A game
which, in my book at least, should have been a banker away
win was much closer than most expected and far too close
for comfort! Cue the re-shuffle, bringing the introduction
of Reece and Peter Matthews and the pairing of Marek and
Tommo in attack. What a winner that turned out to be! The
pacey pair were too hot for Gedling to handle! After strong
work from Jacob, Danny went on a trademark run into the box
and sneaked a pass to Tommo who deftly steered the ball
home to double our lead.
Seconds later, Marek’s blistering pace saw him outstrip a
static home defence and fire home with conviction. Almost
immediately, Peter Matthews played a delightful ball
through to Marek who again left the defence standing before
crashing home a magnificent effort so fiercely that the
home goalie caught pneumonia off the
draught! Ever-alert Pete then turned from goal-maker
to goal-scorer, nipping in as all around slept, to
emphatically drive home and cost his dad a fortune (this
little Peter went Wii, Wii, Wii all the way home!!)….talk
about Golden Goal!
There was no stopping the Greens now and with Reece and
Cian working well in midfield more goals were inevitable.
Sure enough, Marek headed across for a suspiciously offside
looking Peter Hennessy to tap in. Then Tommo fired in from
a half cleared cross before completing a second half
hat-trick with a moment of genius, fooling everyone with a
sublime dummy (which for all the world looked like a
mis-kick…. clever disguise that!) that bamboozled the
goalkeeper allowing him the simplest of tap ins. Not to be
outdone, Harry decided to get into the act, getting forward
for a corner and comfortably slotting home from eight
yards. Just before the end, Sam Machin excelled with two
quality saves to ensure Gedling were frozen out - in every
sense! - and our clean sheet preserved.
So, another
three points for the Jekyll and Hyde Greens. Although we
took a little time to get going, after a grim first half,
we carried on regardless to reap the rewards in the second.
Two big wins on the bounce sets us up nicely for a tough
run of games in February.
Are we up to the task? Well, if we can maintain our second
half performance, I think the answer’s yes!
