Langold Dyscarr 1 – 2 Ramsden

11/10/16

On a showery October afternoon, the boys football team assembled in their blue tracksuits ready to rumble with local rivals; Ramsden. Mr Hays had sent out emergency messages to all parents to beg for someone to come and referee, and to his relief Tom popped up from Portland and lent his services very well.

After a stirring team talk from Mr Hays, Mark and Alan, the team began to warm up as final preparations were made to the nets (someone had to fix the size of the holes!) Ramsden had arrived with a short bench and a team that looked ready to compete. However, the Langoldians were keen to impress the vast number of home supporters who had flocked to see the team after word of their 2 – 1 victory over Cuckney had spread.

The match kicked off with what seemed to be a 20 minute game of header-tennis! Alec, Ziggi, Harrison and Kieran all challenged manfully and won their battles in the air, but the game never seemed to settle down. Some excellently timed challenges from Jayden and Warren at the back prevented Ramsden from getting too close to Will’s goal.

But it was Langold who struck the first attempt on goal as Joel picked up the ball from outside the box and let a hard shot go onto the Ramsden keeper, who mishandled at first but then recovered. A second promising attack was then stopped by the impressive Ramsden defence and they broke quickly on the counter. However, Ronnie tracked back (as he did all game long) and ushered the ball into Will’s grateful grasp! A nervy kick almost led to Ramsden’s first shot on goal but Warren recovered and sent the ball the full distance of the pitch for Harrison to try and link onto. The diminutive striker got the better of the defender in a rare slip-up and was one on one with the keeper. But just as the home supporters were about to start celebrating, his shot was again stopped by the excellent keeper in the opposition net.

As the half time whistle was blown (and plenty of jaffa cakes were munched) the score stood at honours even…

0 – 0

The second half started with Mr Hays making a substitution by bringing off Will and replacing him with Logan. Ramsden set the ball rolling and the game restarted. It wasn’t long however until Langold had their first corner of the match. Ziggi had broke down the wing and his attempted cross was blocked. The same man then took the corner, swinging in a delicious ball over the keepers head and straight onto the forehead of Captain Kieran who….

…just headed over the bar!

But the second half was all Langold, Ronnie had swapped with Harrison and had taken root up front with great success. A pass from Jayden at the back to Joel allowed time for a tasty looking through ball for Ronnie who slotted home the shot off the post to bring the blues their first goal!

A change was then made to bring off Jayden and replace him with Curtis in defence, and then Joel was substituted for Kurt (a player making his school team debut). The blues then showed great energy without finding that killer second goal. Ramsden replied with a breakaway chance, but Logan stopped them in their tracks by challenging bravely and clearing the ball. However, a scramble on the edge of the box from the ensuing throw-in lead to Ramsden finding the back of the net.

The bad news was then made worse when, with only 4 minutes to go, the impressive centre back took a long range shot for Ramsden and found the top corner (of the full sized nets!) just out of reach of Logan. The game then fizzled away with Langold having just one chance at the very end of the game, where the ball was shot wide.

The game ended with Langold falling just short at 2 – 1.

Player Ratings:

Will – 7/10 – Collected the ball very well when a dangerous attack looked on the cards. Also attempted to kick the ball out of his hands quickly to move Langold onto the attack.

Warren – 7/10 – Got rid of the ball and any consequent danger with his long range clearances. Also jumped up to head the ball at any given opportunity and won the majority of challenges.

Jayden – 8/10 – Read the game very well, he saw the danger coming before the pass was played and made sure it didn’t come to anything. Looked composed at the back and very confident.

Alec – 7/10 – A quiet game overall, but he played the ball into good areas and was keen to show off his throw-in skills! Wasn’t afraid to get stuck into a tackle.

Kieran – 7/10 – Made several surging runs forward, but found a dead-end each time. Had a good effort on goal with his head but just missed out.

Joel – 8/10 – Looked to play the striker in at all times, which created lots of space for him to play. His long shooting also looked very threatening and he was unlucky not to get a goal.

Ziggi – 8/10 – Won every header he went for and looked strong on the wing. His crossing ability provided a constant threat on the Ramsden net as well.

Ronnie – 9/10 – MAN OF THE MATCH – Constantly ran backwards and forwards into his own half to help out at the back. He challenged hard and won the majority of his tackles and when his time came to shoot on the Ramsden net, he did so with deadly accuracy.

Harrison – 8/10 – Looked busy on the ball as always and especially strong when in the midfield. May have just found himself a new position on the pitch, especially if he plays as well as that!

Logan – 8/10 – Was brave and controlled when dealing with the one on one, missed out on his clean sheet with two goals, one of them an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the net.

Curtis – 7/10 – Showed excellent sportsmanship in helping the opposition to their feet when they were down. Looked busy in defence and wasn’t afraid to throw his body around.

Kurt – 7/10 – A good debut, he showed lots of energy and rushed the Ramsden defence into mistakes on a few occasions. Looked to play the vital flick into Ziggi’s path which could have tied the match.

All in all, a good effort from the boys today, they played hard and probably deserved a draw against a team which was built on a very strong defence. We have the chance to rectify the result tomorrow against Tuxford,

Mr Hays