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mandrus · Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 20

Excellent game, played in the right spirit, with St. Paul's coming back from 3-1 down for the second time in the row, but this time completing the job. Both sides missing key players and I think the return game will be a bit tighter!

Dicky Dosh · Joined: 11 Oct 2007 Posts: 166

Well, this morning showed why you can have such a love hate relationship with football!! As Mandrus said in his previous post, despite missing a number of key players both put out good teams and served up a thrilling game! I don't think we have lost to Penketh before, so this morning was an even more bitter pill to swallow. Mind you, Penketh get better and better each time we play them.

With the overnight and intermittent rain during the game, the ball was zipping around quickly and spinning off the ground, making a hard and frustrating game at times with lots of mistakes cropping up.

The first half started quite evenly, both teams trying to get the ball forward early. We then started to impose ourselves more and enjoyed a spell of good possession. We created a number of chances and really should of done better with them. We either didn't trouble the keeper enough with the shots or put them over the bar (one agonisingly from within the 6 yard box!?!) From a corner there was a bit of head tennis before our striker got up and headed it back towards goal, looping over the keeper off a defender's head. The game then ebbed and flowed, Penketh had a couple of shots, our keeper pulled off a top save and we still didn't test their keeper enough despite generally dominating. With a minute till half time, we failed to clear the ball properly, it came in from outside the box and spun off the turf like a Shane Warne leg break, hitting a defenders arm. Penalty well taken, 1-1, and that was half time.

The second half started with us on top again and this soon led to a couple of goals for us. Balls through to our striker who tucked them away past the keeper, 3-1. At this point it should have been the points in the bag so to speak, but it wasn't! Fair play to Penketh for the way they kept battling, and playing with a good spirit, something we should of seen and counteracted. One of our key midfielders went off with a nasty injury (hope the hip is okay Mark!) and it seemed to affect us after a while. A free kick came in and our defence and keeper missed it, 3-2. Mistakes were creeping in now and another lead to 3-3. We had lost our composure and shape as a team to be honest and Penketh got a 4th after our keeper saved and we stood still allowing their striker to react quickest and tuck it away. The last 10 minutes was end to end. Penketh had a few chances through and then we piled forward, getting ball after ball into the box but just couldn't score, the bar even stopping us. The game finished 4-3 to Penketh.

They walked off delighted to have comeback and won the game, we walked off wondering how the heck we threw a game away when we were in such control at one point. I guess the answer is quite simple really. Penketh showed real spirit and hunger, never giving up despite the deficit, and with a combination of some good play, showed they wanted it more in the end. For us, a combination of not taking any of the many great chances we had when we were well on top, making numerous silly mistakes and then losing composure and that team ethic at the critical points was our undoing. To top it all off, after making a good sliding tackle early in the first half, which then had clearly been through some doggy doo, I had to then play the rest of the game smelling like a Cheryl Cole single!

In the past 2 seasons we have had a blip at Christmas. We need to make these last two games this season's blip and come back in two weeks time having learnt some lessons from today. All credit to Penketh who, as I said earlier, have improved a lot since they first joined the league. They have some good players and are clearly putting in the performances to be where they are in the table. We look forward to playing the return game later in the season when hopefully we can make amends!
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Going down the Wednesbury Road...to see the Walsall aces!!

mandrus · Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 20

I'll echo that, I can honestly say I've never seen so much crap on a football pitch, and I'm not referring to the players Shocked