Hobgoblin FC 5 vs 3 PEACEHAVEN ACADEMICALS II

<p>A decisive, commanding performance against an excellent footballing team has laid the foundations to mount a surge for the league summit. <p>&nbsp; <p>In what was probably the best display of passing, positive football this team has ever produced, the first 20 mins of the game was all about the 'Goblin. Clever, confident passes, supportive defensive work and excellent attitude meant that we rarely lost possession and dominated the early shooting stats. We were unfortunate not to be 4 or 5 up withing 15mins... <p>We set up differently this game with a 4-4-2, and the two strikers had a number of opportunities, but it fell to our right winger Hobbie to break the deadlock. Some good passing in the middle and the ball was moved forward to Bemi, who reverse-flicked it onto the run of Hobbie with time to settle and spank it with power passed their 'keeper. 1-0 <p>Somehow the second goal didn't materialise as no matter how many attempts we had, it remained 1-0 for another 30mins. We were playing quality opposition, who matched us for technique for a large portion of the game, and whether they admitted it or not, it was clear to see that they had a number of first team players playing. But their equaliser only came about from a defensive mistake. The otherwise outstanding Paul Cooper - who won everything in the air for the entire 90 minutes - slide-tackled their forward, but didn't push the ball out of play. By the time he managed to get up, their player had fired low to Wesley's near side post. A good finish. Very unlucky. 1-1 <p>At half-time a few technical points were pointed out; closing the space between the midfield and defensive, filling in for team mates when out of position etc. But the most part was to remind the team how impressive they were over the opening 20mins. <p>An excellent attitude was taken on to the pitch for the second half and the positive spirit was obvious. It didn't take long for us to regain our rhythm, and we went ahead after 50mins once more. Another assist from Bemi, who moved the ball forward to Dale, who out-muscled the defender and fired hard into the bottom sorner. Great finish. 2-1 <p>Perhaps we rested to much on our laurels, but they came back within 10mins, as a shout from Wes to collect a long free-kick was misheard, and after a bit of head-tennis in the area, it bounced onto one of their forwards' heads, and bounced into the net. 2-2 <p>5 mins later, the 'Gob went behind for the first time, as a well worked team goal found the net again. 2-3 <p>2 goals in 5mins would have had us all shouting at each other in games before this, but a desire to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and grab the game back again was an absolute delight to see. <p>The response couldn't have been better, and the moment came that swung the pendulum back over to us from Sonny, with a text-book Sonny Ball finish. Collecting a clearance on the edge of the box, moving the ball from left to right foot, and forsaking power for placement aimed for the bottom corner. The net bulged. 3-3 <p>After a few scares, and a good stop by Wesley to deny them an opportunity, Dale's second came not too long after with another well crafted finish to keep him at the summit of the league's top-scorers table. 4-3 <p>We were cutting off their air-supply, and the pressure was kept high up the pitch. Some good possession in advanced positions and eventually we managed to put daylight between us and them, as Kyle Carnochan was felled in the box. Dale stepped up and collected his hat-trick. 5-3 <p>&nbsp; <p>Overall, an extremely encouraging performance that puts us in a position to remind the other teams in our league that we mean business. There were moments when our concentration wavered again, and some poor decision making could have had more severe consequences. All of which still needs to be worked on. Our target is to keep improving, and this performance shows we're heading in the right direction. <p>&nbsp; <p>Up the 'Gob! <p>&nbsp;