THE VIEW 1 vs 2 Hobgoblin FC

<p>Thanks to the bipolar weather, two halves of football were played in one half of the pitch, but the desire to play good football lasted the full 90mins. <p>Faced with a biblical downpour and fighting against wind that is normally saved for a Formula One test tunnel, Hobgoblin played out from the back to create every meaningful attack throughout the game. <p>A positive first half created an opening within the first few minutes. The benefits of warming up properly have led to two goals in two games in the opening 5mins. Today's first was the first piece of fortune that has come our way in recent weeks, as a corner was taken that dropped right in the danger zone, falling to Dale to steal an early lead. 0-1 <p>Even though we had the wind behind us, at no point did we resort to "long ball' tactics, and the passing was as crisp and controlled as a training session. The composure that were are so often searching for had definitely arrived. After regaining possession, we looked to spread the ball wide, start again from the back, play it through the middle... The amount of options we were providing to each other was great to see.&nbsp; <p>A lovely team move led to our second of the game. A period of Hobgoblin controlling the ball for a few minutes eventually led to a fast break as Dale picked up the ball and played it through to Bemi, who carried it forward and crossed it with the outside of his left wide to Matt Watts, who cut back inside once, then twice, to shoot low to the 'keepers right. Good finish. 0-2 <p>We were experiencing the majority of possession, but were just unable to fashion any meaningful chances by way of the final ball being caught up in the wind just a few yards too far ahead.&nbsp;We were unlucky not to increase our lead a number of times, however, most notably with an excellent long range free-kick from Charlie Bingham, which the 'keeper managed to just tip onto the crossbar. <p>In the 36th minute we were extremely unlucky, as a backpass back to Wes took an awkward bounce, causing a slice, and the first to react was their centre forward, who rolled the ball into an empty net. <p>&nbsp; <p>Let me make one point very clear here...; This kind of misfortune has happened to everyone before, and if you think that it hasn't, trust me, it will. Goalkeepers are more exposed than outfield players, and everyone should know this. We all have a job to support our team-mates, and that means celebrating the best things about football; scoring goals, winning games, getting assists, getting that crucial last ditch tackle..., but also backing up your team-mate if they've mistimed a tackle, given away a penalty, misplaced a pass, thrown a foul-throw. &nbsp;Football is hard enough playing against 11 players so let's ensure we stay together... <p>&nbsp; <p>The second half was all about concentration. The wind blew a gale, and the rain hammered it down, but we stuck to our jobs. The midfield were protecting the defence, the defence were winning every single header, and the forwards were providing an outlet as often as possible. It's a clich&eacute;, but it is games like this that win championships... We didn't play brilliantly, but we came away better than the opposition, and we definitely deserved to take home the 3 points. <p>&nbsp; <p>The 'Goblins march onwards... <p>&nbsp; <p>Up the 'Gob!