Amateur Football Alliance Middlesex & Essex Senior Cup

Mayfield Athletic 2 Old Meadonians 6

Old Meadonians cruised into the next round of the A.F. A. Middlesex & Essex senior cup, after clinically dismantling Mayfield Athletic from two divisions below, in the second half, at Firs Farm North London on Saturday. With leading scorer Craig Jones nursing a niggling injury on the bench Meads made heavy weather of the first half. Although the pitch was little help to intricate play, Meads only had themselves to blame as they reduced the level of their input to that of the hosts and, after a bright fifteen minute start, shipped a goal against the run of play from a ball over the top of a square defence.

Instantly the tide turned against the visitors briefly as Mayfield turned on a mini-blitz with Meads being saved from further punishment by a header off the line and, on twenty-five minutes, an excellent full stretch by in form keeper, Gary Robinson. By now play became end to end and a Meads’ corner was partially cleared to the edge of the area whence, this time, Ed Glover’s snap-shot was headed off the line.

Soon the visitors were back in control and, following a quick break from a Mayfield corner, Jack Costello came from nowhere to score, only for the referee to dubiously disallow what looked a perfectly legal equaliser. Instantly Ryan Bright skimmed the bar from the edge of the area but Meads were not to be denied as, five minutes from the break, Matt Allen and Jake Gowers worked a tight one two for Allen to slip the ball past the keeper.

Jones was on from the restart and his rapier-like thrusts were to be decisive against leaden legs. However, Meads took the lead five minutes in through a different source although instigated by the usual suspects. A volley of wall passes at speed involving Costello and Gowers set Glover free to cross to Jones and, when his shot was parried by the advancing keeper, John Shea who had made a lung bursting thirty yard anticipatory sprint from deep was on hand to knock in the rebound.

By now the visitors had mastered the conditions and were about to turn on a dazzling displayed of penetrative football interspersed with regular goals. Next came two from Jones, the first from a jinking run from just outside the box which left him in a one on one with the keeper and the second when Glover, put through by Costello, this time on the left, unselfishly pulled the ball back for a tap in. At 4-1 the hosts were donated a second consolation with a free header from a free-kick but it did little to staunch the terminal flow of blood the other end as, first Bright was the beneficiary of another pull-back to score from ten yards and finally Jones left his best to last to complete a stunning hat-trick. Receiving the ball facing his own goal twenty-five yards out, he turned and fired the ball into the top corner. Jones shared the MoM award with keeper Gary Robinson who had iced the cake of his overall mastery of the area with his superb fingertip save.

Squad: Robinson, Costello, O’Sullivan, Pointer, Mantel, Gerrish, Shea, Gowers, Glover, Bright, Allen,

C. Jones, Grahame, Mace.

November 7, 2013