Tuxford 2 vs 5 Langold

The nerves inside Mr Hays’ car were palpable - we had 11 miles still to go, the fuel gauge said 0 miles left.

“We’re not going to make it!” worried Jayden, as he looked out of the window,

“Don’t be silly! Mr Hays is a teacher; he wouldn’t be stupid enough to set off on a long journey without any fuel!” replied Harrison. However, in Mr Hays’ head, the faith shown in him by the bespectacled striker was unfounded. After 18 minutes of crawling through the back of beyond the magic motor finally made it to a petrol station on the outskirts of Retford.

Anyway, nothing else went wrong after that apart from Mr Hays missed the junction for Tuxford, they couldn’t find the football pitch, and Ziggi and Logan were still somewhere else in Bassetlaw looking for the ground… oh and it was raining… HEAVILY!

However, the match started only 25 minutes late and it was Tuxford to kick off in the middle of the Somme battlefield.

BANG…

Harrison had broken through their defence and slotted home Langold’s first goal of the day in 7 seconds! What followed however was another game of header tennis (the second game in so many days!) where the taller Tuxford boys took advantage of their height difference and bossed the midfield. However, the solid defensive pair of Alec and Jayden managed to negate any attacks with minimal difficulty. The newly introduced midfielder Curtis buzzed around and got himself well and truly stuck into any of the Tuxford players.

But on the stroke of the 9^th minute a Tuxfordian goal kick travelled the length of the field to meet Ziggi’s heel. Sadly for Langold, the heel went behind the Y4 and beat his classmate in goal as well to give Tuxford a cheap goal. The sadness was then compounded when the home side struck again; this time from a corner, which evaded Will in the net and nestled into the corner.

Only a minute later, the referee blew the whistle for half time and Langold were trailing 2 – 1 going into the break.

A few inspiring words from Mr Hays and the appearance of the Tuxford cheerleaders inspired the boys into action and the second half began.

The lads in the orange bibs were out of the blocks like a shot, led by their captain Kieran and manfully supported by Ronnie and Ziggi… the press was on.

Joel won every loose ball, shipping the spoils out wide to Ziggi and Harrison to put the Langoldians on the front foot. However, no matter how hard we banged on the door, the Tuxford defence stood firm. With each long ball that sailed over the top of midfield, the Langold defence replied with gusto; Alec, Jayden and the newly introduced Warren looked to be calm at the back. Warren in particular played some fantastic through balls to our speedy wingers.

But no matter how much possession we had, the score remained 2 – 1 to Tuxford.

Enter Harrison.

A corner to Langold gave the chance that all the travelling supporters wished for. A goal-mouth scramble gave way to a volleyed effort from Harry, which found a home in the bottom corner of the Tuxford goal.

The comeback was on... 2 – 2

Somebody had to stand up in the team, somebody had to drag the team over the line… that somebody was Kieran. The skipper danced through the midfield, dodging tackles and opponents like Ronaldo crossed with Anton Du Bec! His shot was more of a toe-poke than he wanted, but nevertheless it found its way home and the score was now 3 – 2!

1 minute later…  a corner to Langold. Ronnie whipped in a delicious ball to be met by Kieran’s head and the score was now 4 – 2!

2 minutes after that… the cross from Ziggi shot across the outside of the box to Harrison who shimmied into space and let loose a curling beauty into the top corner of the net. 5 - 2

“You owe me a McDonalds Mr Hays!!” he screamed as he ran past the celebrating manager.

1 minute later… the final whistle was blown.

An incredible come back from the boys, probably the best performance that I’ve seen yet and a perfect way to answer their critics from yesterday’s match.

 

Match Ratings:

Will – 7/10 – Gathered any loose balls up without an issue. Was caught out on the corner because he was too busy looking over at his Mum!!!! But I’m sure that’s Mum’s fault not Will’s!

Alec – 7/10 – Yet another solid performance by one of the most consistent performers. He dealt with trouble well and looked strong when faced by bigger, stronger attackers.

Jayden – 7/10 – There’s a strong relationship building between the two boys at the back. They have a fantastic chemistry and Jayden’s reading of the game is something which he is developing more and more with each game.

Curtis – 7/10 – Tried out a new position in midfield and really gave it his all. He buzzed around like an angry bee and really got stuck in!

Kieran – 9/10 – Dragged the team by the scruff of the neck back into the game. His two goals were perfectly timed and much needed. He bossed the midfield today.

Joel – 8/10 – Was the first to every loose ball and never shirked out of the way of a tough challenge. Showed fantastic commitment.

Ziggi – 8/10 – Yet again showed his class, he always put their defenders on the back foot with his dribbling and speed. Was impressive even on a muddy surface which didn’t lend itself to his style of play.

Ronnie – 9/10 – Stood toe to toe with bigger, stronger year 6’s from Tuxford and came off better on the majority of occasions. His tenacity was superb and he never let a ball go.

Harrison – 10/10 – MAN OF THE MATCH – Stood out massively, he showed speed, skill and the ability to finish. He had the knack of finding space and putting a shot on goal to challenge their keeper.

Logan – 9/10 – Pulled off a stunning spinning save to keep the score at 2 – 2. His kicking from hands was also very impressive as it took all the pressure off the team.

Warren – 9/10 – Narrowly missed out on the man of the match award. He wanted every ball at his feet and when he had it, he distributed the ball brilliantly. Very encouraging performance from him.

Mr Hays