Amateur Football Combination Premier Division

Old Meadonians 3 Old Minchendenians 0

Old Meadonians put the kitten among the squabs with a stirring win against league leaders Old Minchendenians who are defending their title for the third time, at Riverside Lands on Saturday, by keeping a clean slate against the visitors’ strike force which has scored an average of 2.5 goals per league game this season and thus gave themselves an outside chance of upsetting the applecart as, with the top three all having four games to play, Meads are now four points below second placed Old Hamptonians and six adrift of Minches.

The word ‘massive’ was used by both Rory Vermeulen and Paul Rumley to describe this result, with Rumley praising the players’ attitude in particular for the way in which they competed with the champions who, although they started well, were only allowed to play in their own territory and were harried whenever they stepped over the Rubicon. Meads’ squad was given a boost by the return of youngsters, Jeusy Da Cruz and Matt Allen from injury and Nick Wilson and Jake Gowers from the reserves as from the whistle Minches’ keeper was put under constant pressure from a continuous flow of accurate in-swinging corners from Misha Mantel and Gowers.

On twenty minutes, under pressure from a good climb from Ed Glover, he could only punch out Mantel’s flag-kick from the right for Gowers to take the ball on the bounce and head into the vacant net from twelve yards. With the breeze behind them on the restart Meads took up residency around the visitors’ area and once more their keeper came under pressure, this time from a Gowers’ corner, conceding a penalty ten minutes in with an obvious bear-hug on John Shea. Ed Glover obliged from the spot. Meads iced the cake with ten minutes to go when centre back Ali McCombe headed in from yet another Gowers’ corner. John Shea was named MoM.

Squad: Robinson, Pointer, McCombe, O’Sullivan, Allen, Gerrish, Shea, Gowers, Mantel, Glover, Wilson, Da Cruz, Quinn, Makoukou.

April 16, 2014