The Vale got their 2012/13 season underway with a superb 2-2 draw against Wolverley Social this morning. The Vale absolutely bossed the first half, and had enough chances during the full 90 minutes to win the game comfortably. But despite going 2-0 down, they fought back to get a point which their performance more than merited.
The game kicked off with the Vale doing exactly as asked by the manager in his Churchillian prematch teamtalk, stroking the ball around with confidence (even though the pitch was shite). Jason, Gerry and Gaylo in particular were always willing to have the ball in sticky situations and try and play our way out. The guys up front and out wide worked tirelessly to create spaces and we constantly looked dangerous when we got the ball in the final third. The only complaint was that we didn't take one of our chances, and we were punished for it late on in the first half as a couple of players switched off when the ball should have been cleared from midfield and the opposition played their striker through. He scuffed it in, and Wolverley had a pretty (well very actually) undeserved lead.
Halftime then, and one goal down, the Vale boys had a breather, got some water down them and had some words of inspiration....they then promptly let in a second goal almost immediately after the second half kicked off! I can't remember if it was anyone's fault in particular, I think it was just fairly well worked by Wolverley. So 2-0 down, the Vale boys had a ropey 5/10 minutes at the start of the half, however they hung on and started to find their passes again. We applied pressure and finally got just reward when Sam scored the first Vale goal of the season. I think it was a great ball from Jason (I'm not 100% sure!) and Sam twisted the defender before finishing clinically. Kieron and Cookie came on for Ry and Ragsy, and both settled quickly. In fact both played a part in the equalizing goal, as Cookie started the move which was finished brilliantly by Kieron with his left foot. First Bridgwater to score a goal this season! I'm sure he won't constantly mention this to Luke for the next 10 odd years! The Vale had a few more chances, though Wolverley had a couple in the second half too, but it wasn't to be a winning start for the new-look Vale.
Brilliant stuff from the boys in red today. Most importantly, despite going two goals down, nobody dropped their head and everybody constantly looked for the ball. A couple of areas we need to work on...obviously finishing our chances, perhaps looking for a pass around the box a little more rather than dribbling, general fitness levels etc. But it's very hard to criticize anyone for todays game. It's also created a nightmare scenario for the manager who is going to have to rest a couple of players next week to give others a game, when no-one deserves to be left out after that performance.
Misc Notes
- Luke got absolutely smashed by a disgraceful tackle which somehow the ref only gave a yellow card for. Slightly concerned that Luke might have had a kick back at him but luckily he was too dazed to do that!
- Everyone (I think) paid! A first for Abberley Vale, at least in recent history!
- Cheers to Chuff and Rosco for doing the managers job during the game whilst he was busy wheezing at leftback!
Player Writeups....
Bomo -Not at fault for either goal. Pulled off a stunning one-handed stop in the second half. Did accidentally throw the ball out for a corner.
Ragsy -Asked to play rightback, put in a real shift. Always looked comfortable with the ball. Worked really hard and didn't get flustered. Was so good he might find himself playing rightback a few more times this season....which I'm sure he'd be delighted with!
Gaylo -Bossed it. Unlucky to not get man of the match. Even screamed his name when going for headers. Did miss a few of them tho! Always wanted the ball, lead by example. Quality display.
Logie -Rolled back the years. Won headers, got stuck in and generally did what we always expect from him. Paced himself well, wasn't even too fucked at the end!
Dave Delivers - Weakest player on the pitch for the Vale. But didn't score any own goals! Showed decent fitness and pace for an old bastard.
Ryan - Worked his socks off. Helped out Ragsy on the right hand side. Got in some good positions out wide. Did trip over his own feet when clean through tho!
Gerry - Part of a midfield two that worked tirelessly to both protect and create. Couple of passes went awry but was pretty flawless with the ball apart from that.
Jason - Man of the match. With Gerry he worked his balls off to try and run the game. Played it simple when needed and tried some quality long passes too. Hit a stunning freekick that came off the post. Probably deserves to get first dibs for the next one! Excellent league debut. Probably deserves a 9 out of 10 but I like leaving a bit of room for improvement!
Lukey -Worked his bollocks off and caused the opposition plenty of problems. Possibly the team could have helped him by releasing it a bit quicker to him as he had the beating of the fullback all day. Got absolutely smashed with a disgraceful tackle that nearly knocked him out. Still kept on going tho!
Sam (Suarez) - Great competitive debut. The opposition defence couldn't get hold of him all game. Maybe once or twice held onto the ball a little too long, but that's just nitpicking. Took his goal very well, finishing into the corner. Excellent stuff.
Jim - Ran his bollocks off. Constantly showed for the ball. Display probably deserved a goal. Tracked back too. Great stuff Jim lad!
Subs
Kie - Supersub! Came on for Ry and put a shift in on the right wing. Took his goal brilliantly when the ball dropped to him. Slotting it in with his left foot. Almost got a winner late on with another good effort on his left. The latest Bridgwater footballer off the production line. Yes Kie!
Cookie - Came on at rightback and was quality as usual. Got stuck in and was always available to have the ball. Played a role in the equaliser too.
Billy - Came on for Jim. Put himself about, won a couple of headers and then injured himself! Kept going despite his injury to help us to the final whistle.
Managers Rating - 7/10 Got all 14 players to turn up, didn't put 12 players on the pitch at any point, didn't make any obvious fuck ups. Happy days!
