FC North Wiltshire 2 - 8 Bradford Renegades
10 November 2013. Kicked off at 10:45 AM.

Home cup match played on 10 November 2013.
Kicked off at 10:45 AM

After our impeccably observed minute silence that all players bar Steve stood still for, the game kicked off full of enthusiasm and confidence. Our formation, so left field it does not even exist on Teamstats as an option, set us up in a way that actually allowed us to play at time some good football.

Granted, Bradford toyed with us at times, but they were always going to win this. What was encouraging was actually how players like Sam bought others into the game, spotting opportunities for us to actually play some football. Our formation allowed both full backs to get forward, more so than many a game, and it showed how a little bit of confidence goes a long way.  I certainly got dizzy a few times, whipping a few crosses in like a young Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Their eight goals were mainly from corners; we were naive at times, and a team like Bradford were going to punish us for that. But we kept one of the league’s top players, Sam Jordan, quiet from open play. We defended deep, but on the while the communication at the back was great, and we had cover a lot of the time to stop them breaking through. Steve made a cracking couple of saves, especially in the first half, and was as keen as mustard to come out off his line. A few deft quick passes out to full backs too allowed us to keep a good tempo.

Gareth had a great impact off the bench; he is certainly looking like a cup specialist, bashing throw tired legs like a bowling ball taking down the pins. Stu battled hard, could have scored a few, but they were headers so it was always going to be difficult! That said, he was in the right place, and the crosses were good too.

Will tore up their back three in the first half, chasing down hard. We said before the game we were going to concede possession, but Will still did his best to put necessary pressure on them. And Bammers did his usual bum control; in this game, I was happy to let that go!

A big well done to Deacon too; he looked as if he had his mojo back, really flying into them, and he was rewarded with two great goals, showing great strength and composure for both.

Next up is North Stat ‘B’, a game that if we win will we will move off the foot of the table.