Old Meads Exit Second Successive Cup Campaign

London Old Boys Senior Cup Semi-final Old Wokingians 1 Old Meadonians 0

Another week saw Old Meadonians’ exit a second successive cup campaign, the London Old Boys’ Senior Cup, again at the semi-final stage and, although not quite as juddering as last week’s defeat, not exactly expected. This time the ushers who gave Meads yet another wake up call were Old Wokingians, newly promoted to the premier division of the Amateur Football Combination and lying third in the table. This week, as opposed to their loss to a superior Polytechnic the Saturday before, Meads more than edged possession, avoided over-reliance on Aidan Chapman’s long throw and got the ball to the feet of their strikers.

However, the hosts kept a rock solid defence which frustrated the visitors’ attack and when that failed, their keeper pulled off some fabulous saves. The highlight of these came on twenty minutes when striker Craig Jones picked up the ball on the left and, with his favourite move, cut across the edge of the area to hit a signature dipper into the far top corner, only to have to watch in disbelief as Wokingians’ soaring keeper tipped the ball over.

Half-time advice was that the team was doing the right thing and only had to keep up the intensity for goals to come. From the restart chances did come but went with regularity. However, on the hour Sod’s Law struck: the hosts’ striker hit a shot from fifteen yards which Meads’ keeper Simon Greening had covered. Unfortunately the ball took a deflection onto the post, came back onto Greening’s head and into the net. Ten minutes later Ryan Bright escaped down the left and crossed to the far post. There Ed Glover rose above the defence but his downward header clipped the top of the bar as it went over. Then with fifteen minutes to go Glover headed the ball on for Simon Richardson to divert it to Jones on the right. The speed of this move left the defence flat footed and gave Jones the chance to give Bright the ball eight yards out but his normally lethal right foot shot was toe-ended away to safety. Even in the last ten minutes Meads spurned more half chances to equalise in a vain effort to redeem themselves. They now have to gather their wits and concentrate on the league.

Squad; Greening, Costello, Chapman, Britner, Cain, Shea, Gowers, Bright, Harrison, Richardson, Richards, Jones, Glover, McKenna.

March 15, 2017