| Perry Street do it again |
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2010-03-07 Writtle minors vs Perry Street (0:1) |
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| So, three months into 2010 and Perry Street play only their third game of the new decade. Manager Ian Gray made two changes with Charlie replacing Matthew on the left of midfield and Tommy coming on as an Anelka style deep lying forward. Otherwise the team had a familiar look with Safe Hands in goal, Jack at left Back, Chris on the right and Eddie and Tommy in the centre. In central midfield were James and Mitch with Jamie playing on the right hand side of mid-field and Elliot as the lone front man. Watching from the side-line was Harry Gould, though still out injured; the good news is that he is expected to start light training next week. Everybody was buoyed by the news that last years player of the year is on his way back, although it will inevitably stiffen competition for places and mean more work for the players trying to keep him out. Todays opponents, Writtle Juniors were four points ahead of Perry Street going into todays game and would have been full of confidence having beaten our boys comprehensively at Barleylands lat year. The opening phase of the game was pretty even with both sides showing attacking intent. Elliot chased a number of through balls and gave Writtle a scare with his pace, but generally it was hard work with at least two defenders marking him. At the other end Writtle played with two forwards and their number nine pulling all the strings just behind them. As the half wore on the tricky mid-fielder became more influential not only getting passes away to the forwards but also inviting other mid-fielders to run on and attack the ball. His free role made him difficult to pick up and although the back four were coping well Perry Street were struggling to keep their shape. Writtle continued to increase the pressure attacking on both flanks and through |
the centre. As a result, Jack, Chris, Eddie and Tommy were forced to give away a succession of corners. Time and again, the Perry Street boys managed to clear the danger, but with Tommy and Elliot unable to get hold of the ball and James and Mitch dropping deep Writtle looked certain to score. However, James and Mitch managed to work the ball out of mid-field with some neat passing, and the ball came wide to Charlie who pushed a ball down the line to Elliot. Suddenly the penny dropped and the boys realised that they needed to practice those training ground movements and regain their shape. With the supporters to encourage them the midfield trio started to get back into the game and Perry Street managed to get in a couple of attacks themselves One late cross from Elliot just out landed just out of reach of Jamie as he rushed in to convert. At half time, the manager encouraged James, Tommy and Mitch to get the ball out to the flanks rather than going straight down the middle. This paid immediate dividends with Jamie and Charlie getting much mote of the ball. Both players began to stretch the Writtle defence and the game became much more even. Nevertheless, Writtle continued to press for a winner. Under pressure Jack failed to control a high ball and the excellent number nine broke forward. Tommy got to the ball but the following midfielder pushed into the box. With Safe Hands committed, the ball went past him towards the goal only for Eddie to whack it away and save the day. Time and again, Writtle attacked down their left hand side but Chris was in inspired form and made a number of telling tackles. The battle in mid-field got even fiercer with tackles coming in from all sides. Mitch continued to break up the opposition play and James was quick to get to the loose ba |
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| l. Another great interpass of play set Jamie up on the right and an excellent cross was snapped up by the Writtle goalkeeper. As Perry Street pushed for a winner, Tommy came up from defence to take a corner. After a huge battle on the Writtle penalty area, a long ball forward saw one of the Writtle strikers break free from Eddie but this time it was Jacks turn to save the day. Running from the left hand side towards the centre he outpaced the on-rushing striker to clear the ball before he could shoot. As the crowd started looking at their watches, another quality pass to Jamie saw the winger cut inside to deliver a cross to the on-rushing Elliot and Tommy. Although plainly off-side Elliot did not actually touch the ball but the confused goal-keeper lifted his head at just the wrong moment and lost control of the ball which rolled into the back of the net. Although the linesman flagged furiously, the Referee over-ruled his assistant and Perry Street were in the lead. Totally dispirited, |
Writtle were unable to come back form such a devastating blow. Although a draw would certainly have been a fair result, Perry Street showed character in buckets. The back five were very solid with Safe Hands rarely troubled. James and Mitch worked non-stop in the centre with a huge number of tackles and Charlie and Jamie were very effective in the second half especially. Credit to Tommy, without his hard work James and Mitch would have been out-gunned eventually and well done to Elliot for keeping the defenders busy. Manager, Ian Gray awarded the man of the match award to Chris for an outstanding contribution at right back. In most matches the main attacking threat tends come on our left, but today Writtle had an excellent player who spent the majority of his time on Writtles left flank. In the second half particularly Chris managed to keep him quiet and made some outstanding tackles. Well done Chris and well done to the rest of the team for another display of grit and determination. |
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