Away league match played on 06 October 2012.
Kicked off at 3:00 PM

(Report by Dan Kavanagh)

 The Sheffield Academicals travelled to Bistro Old Boys based out at Wickersley and took on a side with 2 wins under their belts and a narrow defeat to Tibshelf. The Old Boys had one or two recognisably good players on the field and it looked to be a much sterner test than the Masons provided the week before.

They were not a bad side in truth but the Accies flew out of the blocks all over the park. It was obvious from the first whistle which side had more desire to win this match. Bistro were not allowed to settle on the ball at all and were being closed down really well and crowded out by Accies players on all sides. This led to several steals and breaks forward in the opening ten minutes. Brian had a good run at the defence early on after Jamie had pinched the ball from a central midfielder, Dan Kav was running riot down the left with the full back and midfielder doubling up on him quite quickly; he should have hit the target after a great run leaving 4 players in his wake but a nasty bobble saw his shot fly well over. ;-) Jamie also had a couple of good strikes from distance (the one that came down with snow on it obviously bobbled as well) but it was only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken. It duly arrived after a cross from Hodgy caused havoc in the Bistro defence, failing to clear it on two occasions it rebounded up into the air and Jamie watched it all the way onto his foot and finished with a great volley on the spin to find the bottom corner.

The Accies players continued to press all over the park, Bistro were getting frustrated and demoralised. Big Si was plowing through tackles like they weren’t there, Hodgy was sprinting past his full-back time and time again, ably supported by his flying wing-back Trev. The ref was giving some weird decisions against the Accies which continued throughout the game, a foul against Jamie simply for shielding the ball was noticeably harsh and a similar one against Si could have reduced the Accies to moaning but the attitude was spot on and every player just got on with it.

On 20 minutes Jamie stamped his authority on the game with a terrific winning header in midfield, the ball fell to Hodgy who found Jamie with a great return pass. The latter strode into the box and shaped to square it but dinked a delightful lob over the keeper and into the far corner. 2 – 0 to the Accies and Bistro had no answer. Indeed, 10 minutes later after more chances and threat their left full back played a woefully short ball to their keeper which Bri ran onto and slotted it calmly past the stranded goal keeper and into the net. The defence looked solid again. Stan had been on several forays down the left, Tony was mopping everything up, Batts looked good despite the hangover and Trev was positively rampaging down the right; Hodgy must have felt like he was at Heathrow airport.

Half Time – 3-0.

Second half resumed and the next goal was important. The Old Boys were looking to rally and brought on an extra midfielder to try and contend with Jamie and Si, the right back looked a relieved man now he had been taken off, the sight of number 13 now figuring in his nightmares for weeks to come. It took 15 minutes or so for the Accies to get a hold back on the game as a passage of play passed with no real chances or possession for either team. A free kick from deep changed things as Jamie’s perfect delivery into the corridor of uncertainty found Simon rising like a salmon to guide a firm header back across the keeper and into the far corner.

It was a killer blow for Bistro but to be fair to them they continued to try and press forward; this was leaving big gaps though which Hodgy and Dan Kav duly exploited. Hodgy showed presence of mind and took a quick free kick just outside the Accies box with many Bistro players committed forward, Dan Kav turned away and carried the ball into the opposition half, committing the full back before playing a ball out wide left to Bri; he took a touch then delivered an inch perfect cross for the arriving Daz to bullet a header into the top corner. Great move and summarised the way Accies had approached the game in terms of flowing football. 5-0 now to the Accies.

The hard working Trev made way for Ryan and the Accies continued to press. On a rare forward move their striker half turned Batts who looked to be favourite but pulled up with a hamstring injury allowing the forward to run unchallenged into the box, he fluffed his cross actually but Stan was under sufficient pressure to slice a clearance agonisingly past Godders and into the net for an own goal. It was their only shot on goal of note, Stan showing a lovely cushioned touch in the box....

Accies with no subs were now playing with 10 men but it made no difference.  A carbon copy free kick saw another quality delivery from Jamie find Simon at the back stick this time and he guided a great header past the keeper again. Impossible to defend against. A good, solid performance with lots of contribution from everyone produced another great win. 6-1 the final score.

 

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