Match report
This game had been keenly awaited by both managers, players and parents alike and although the weather and quality of the pitch put paid to a spectacle of good football, the match was a fairly even encounter that the scoreline gives an inaccurate reflection of. The Colts went into it with a 4-5-1 line up of: KEEPER, Couch, Asare, Hill and Ilesanmi: Borg, Gridley, Oakley, Winters and Sarapong, with Howell up front. The quest of the Colts was to be in with a shout winning come the last 15 minutes and they were. We faced a first half onslaught, playing uhill and into the wind but the boys battled bravely. AFC had the bulk of possession but did very little with it, KEEPER was forced into a couple of good saves and the leagues top scorer missed an open goal after he rounded KEEPER, opting for power rather than placement. The Colts midfield worked tirelessly to thwart AFC's play and Asare and Hill were doing an excellent job in keeping AFC's front two off the scoresheet, Asare in particular was outstanding. Howell was fighting a lone foray up front but The Colts did have their chances, Wellman and Labinjo, both of whom started on the bench had a chance each, Wellman with an acute shot that flew just wide and Labinjo who flew past his marker to go 1 on 1 on their keeper but his effort was saved. Then on the stroke of half time, AFC forced a corner and took the lead, it was a bitter pill for The Colts to swallow, KEEPER felt he had been fouled and to be fair he did appear to have a good case for a free kick but the referee gave the goal. Winters was also upset and voiced his displeasure at the decision. HT 1-0
The Colts were told to maintain the superb level of determination that they had put in so far, they were a goal down to The Prem Elite leaders and a dubious goal at that! The second half saw AFC have a couple of chances, aside that the play was all about tackles and it was mainly played in the middle third. The Colts achieved their pre match goal, they were a goal down with an hour played and still in with a shout. Asare had had the leagues top scorer in his pocket up till now. We promised the boys that if they were still in it at this point, we would let them go 4-3-3 as they had proved an equal opponent to AFC. Howell, Labinjo and Wellman were released up front in an attempt to equalise. Unfortunately after conceding another free kick we fell 2-0 down, it appeared that the referee would award decisions to whoever shouted the loudest. Still the boys battled away and pulled one back with 7 minutes to go, Labinjo bent a ball around the keeper, it looked for all the world that it would go wide but it hit the post and Howell reacted fasted to slide the ball into the far corner. We were then forcing into their box but the ball wouldn't break cleanly for anyone, it bobbled around, Howell and Wellman were blocked, it was half cleared to Gridley, whose shot went over. It had been a massive effort from the Colts and they were forcing higher up the pitch and leaving huge gaps, AFC broke with a long ball and 3-1 it was. The Colts had given their all. 2 more goals from AFC in the final couple of minutes gave the scoreline a harsh reflection and AFC knew they had been given a game. Everyone involved with The Colts were fully proud of the team, the boys as expected were a little downbeat but they should be holding their heads high at training. In an outstanding show of team character, everyone played their part today and left everything on the pitch, there was however no doubt who took man of the match, Godfrey Asare, magnificent! |
