16 spirited Foxes emerged from their rain-battered dens to take on the full might of Rockleaze in a testing start to the season.
The Foxes were split into 2 squads to play 3 matches each at Stoke Lodge against one of our toughest opponents.
Squad 1: Brody, Eddie, Ewan, Jamie, Stanley, Josh, William L P, Matthew.
The first game was end to end with Rockleaze going one-up early. The Foxes quickly hit back. A lovely through-ball from Matthew allowing Stanley to find Josh perfectly positioned to tap in from close-range. A fantastic performance from Brody in goal kept the scores even going into half-time. The second half saw Rockleaze use the sloping pitch to their advantage adding to their score-line quickly. Stanley’s running and shooting game was rewarded only by resonating woodwork (or should that be plastic?) and a spectacular overhead kick from Josh was unlucky not to hit the back of the net. The Foxes were within snapping distance until the last few minutes when Rockleaze added two late goals. The 1-4 final score line not a true reflection of the game.
The second also game started brightly. Great defensive work by Jamie stopped some strong attacking moves by Rockleaze; Brody and Ewan combined well as they tried to get the ball up to our strikers, and Eddie’s superb diving save was not quite enough to stop a penalty. Our defence played with great resilience, but legs began to tire and the game finished 0-3.
The final game was a real tester as 3 matches on the trot started to take their toll. The Foxes played with great passion: Eddie and Ewan making some great runs down the wings; William LP coming alive to trouble the Rockleaze defence, and Matthew supplying pinpoint passes to Josh and Stanley, with Brody and Jamie keeping them out at the back. But once again, Rockleaze’s well-drilled attack and organised defence thwarted the Foxes. Final score 0-4. Despite the losses, these were 3 great performances on a large pitch against fresher opposition who had already had a fixture to get them into the groove.
Man of the Match - Brody for his brilliant performance in goal and his solid defending.
Squad 2: Rohan, William W, Jack, Billy, Tee-Jay, Henry, Harrison and Joseph
Match 1. The long, wet grass and large pitch took some time to get used to and the Foxes went a goal down before they really started to click. Jack, Billy and William then repelled the Rockleaze attack, marshaled by some great keeping by Tee-Jay. Soon our strike force got going with Henry and Rohan securing the middle of the park allowing Joseph and Harrison to terrify their defence. The pressure told. Harrison supplied the ball to Joseph whose skills bemused the opposition before he opened our account. Some half time tactical adjustments gave us better balance and soon Joseph supplied a sublime cross for Harrison to finish. A thoroughly deserved 2-1 win.
Match 2. On a sloping pitch, the team maintained their winning momentum. Close marking and some superb defending by Jack and William neutralized Rockleaze’s most dangerous players. Meanwhile, Billy and Rohan powered through the midfield and Joseph continued to terrify all in front of him. A fantastic performance by Henry included a cross for Tee-Jay to hammer home and a powerful strike after Harrison’s endless determination had won the ball in the tackle. A peerless 2-0 win that left the opposition looking shell-shocked.
Match 3. The efforts of the previous matches began to tell as the Foxes lost a little concentration and went behind to fresher opposition. The whole team upped its game with some brilliant tackles from Jack and tireless running by Harrison, and were always a danger up front. Concerted team pressure brought a thoroughly deserved equaliser from Henry before the Foxes gave away some soft goals. The third Rockleaze team adopted the little seen “let’s put a player on your goal-line” tactic. Without offside, this led to two scrambled goals. A brilliant run and cross by Joseph found 3 Foxes in front of goal, but sadly we could not finish it. Result: a 1-3 loss against the run of play.
Man of the Match – Henry for a fabulous midfield and attacking display including 2 great goals.
Overall, some tactical lessons to be learnt, but all-round a hugely impressive and encouraging first performance – strong, organized defence, determined midfield and a selfless and skillful attack to challenge any team. Foxes to be proud of. Well done all!!
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