A morning of confusion, late and missing players did little to upset the Smithfield promotion Juggernaut as they convincingly beat Lambourne for the second time in two weeks.
Technical Director Tony Craig reverted to a 3-4-2 formation with Damien Askey given a free role to influence the game as required. A fully fit squad also allowed the luxury of an unchanged team which lined up as follows
I Stanway
Clark Bagnall Roberts
Craig McLean - Askey Maskery Jones
Seymour Evans
Subs Hickin, Fordham, M Stanway
Lambournes rent-a-pitch at Blurton High School was a little heavy underfoot and did little to inspire with large bald patches in the goals and many foreign objects littering the playing areas. Despite this the game started very nervously as both teams were keen to sound out each other in a similar manner to the recent game at Smithfield Arena. Lambourne were keen to break from deep and Smithfield were happy to soak up this pressure and disrupted the attacks quite efficiently through sterling work from the back 3 and Sweeper-Keeper Ian Stanway. This defensive effort and the determination not to concede were displayed in two fine examples in the art of defending. On 18 minutes Tony Bagnall rose to athletically volley a ball away and caught a Lambourne attacker with a trailing lace which resulted in him leaving the field for a Mr Men plaster on a small graze above his left eye. Just 5 minutes later the defensive rock that is Matt Roberts put the ball out for a throw in to Lambourne on the edge of his own area but in doing so committed common assault against an unknown attacker which would have resulted in a prison sentence or ASBO had it occurred on CCTV.
This aggressive approach to the game and defending in particular soon resulted in the sting being taken out of the Lambourne attack and reduced them to long range and frustrating efforts. These efforts were not helped on 25 minutes when Lambournes No.7 dislocated his own shoulder in a bizzare and apparent repeat of the injury two weeks previous.
As the game progressed it was evident that Smithfields free role player Damien Askey was pulling the strings both in attack and defence. Key, raking passes to Kevin Jones and Matty Craig on the left and right wings respectively allowed Smithfield to exert continual pressure on the Lambourne goal with little to show for it in the shots column as strikers Rob Evans headed wide from 5 yards and Paul Seymour appeared to be having an off day.
Half Time Score
Lambourne 0 0 Smithfield Firestarters
Technical Director Tony Craig and Director of Football Tom Plant held an important team talk at half time and praised the team effort so far but demanded a step up in gears in order to punish a lacklustre opposition.
With an inspired spirit and work ethic, Smithfield came racing out of the blocks once the second half commenced. Good creative play, again from the wings allowed Smithfield to pick up their first corner of the game which created an excellent chance for Bagnall who headed over from 10 yards. As Smithfield picked up their dominance the frustration on the faces of the Lambourne players became more evident and the game ceased to flow as a high number of rash challenges and a couple of bookings meant the game stopped and started on a more frequent basis.
Not to be denied though Smithfield duly took the lead on 66 thanks to midfield dynamo Matt Maskery as a defensive header from Bagnall fell to Evans who caught the Lambourne defence flat footed with an excellent slide rule pass which allowed Maskery to run through and hit a superb drive from fully twenty five yards past the despairing dive of the Lambourne keeper. It was clear how much this meant to the Smithfield team as they mobbed the rejoicing Maskery in the centre circle. A shell shocked Lambourne redoubled their efforts in attack and looked to be on the verge of notching an equalizer as they forced 3 quick corners in succession, however, strong defensive duties and an excellent punched clearance from Stanway soon resulted in open play.
It was from this punch that Smithfield nearly extended their lead as the ball broke to Jones who released Evans on a solo run to goal and his long range drive cruelly hit the post and rebounded to safety with the Lambourne keeper stranded. It did not take too long however for Smithfield to double their advantage. On 73 minutes as a quick break down the Lambourne right and smart interplay between Jones and Roberts allowed the ball to be played smartly to Seymour who with a defender closing him down flicked the ball up with his left foot and hit a sublime lob over the keeper and into the top right hand corner from the edge of the 18 yard box. A beautiful goal that had quality written all over it and was clearly too good for Lambournes keeper, who could only say oh sh*t as the ball sailed over him.
With a commanding 2-0 lead and only 15 minutes to play, Smithfield adopted a more measured approach to their play and were content to play the long ball game into the corners and allow the strikers to hold the ball up as best they could. A tactic that was paying dividends and succeeding in riling the opposition, both on the pitch and their management on the sidelines. Lambournes frustration boiled over on 88 minutes when their linesman decided to chase winger Craig who was letting the ball run out for a throw in near to their corner flag.
As seconds remained Lambourne threw caution to the wind and changed to a 1-4-5 formation and pinched a goal with a bit of sublime skill. An attack on the right wing allowed their No. 9 to cut in and retain possession before jinking past Roberts to slot the ball into the net. As Smithfield kicked off the referee immediately blew the full time whistle to bring a tactical masterclass to a close and record Smithfield FC as victors.
Final Score
Lambourne 1 - 2 Smithfield Firestarters
Smithfield Echo Man of the Match
Damien Askey Easily his best display this season and showed why Management have high hopes for him in his free role position. He was commanding at the back, vocal to team mates and quick to start attacks with his keen eye for a pass
Team-man of the Day
Matt Maskery Can he play Lambourne every week? It seems to bring the best out of him and 3 goals against them in 2 games is testament to his hard work and commitment. Unluckily pipped by Askey to MOTM
Donkey of the Day
James McLean On an excellent team performance was desperately unlucky to pick up this award. Despite his workrate was let down a little by his passing and lack of vision
Unsung Hero
A trio pick up this award with it going to the substitutes. Hickin, Fordham and M Stanway must surely be frustrated at not coming on for the second game in a row but did not let this get in the way of supporting their team mates for the full 90 minutes
Post Match Thoughts:
Will Technical Director Tony Craig make changes to a winning side?
Will Evans play himself back into form?
Will keeper Stanway keep his lucky top on loan from Seymour?
Will the subs get a game ever again?
Is it too early to think about promotion?
As ever your comments and discussion on the match are welcome.
Yours in Sport
Clark Kent
In a continuation of our successful photographic feature we are proud to present the following "GAME-ACTION"
Roberts defends like a tiger
Maskery and Clark agonize over another blown chance
Craig evades another angry Lambourne Linesman
