Old Meads Back On Form

Amateur Football Combination Premier Division

Old Minchendenians 0 Old Meadonians 3

Back to their league programme after back to back defeats in two cup semi-finals, Old Meadonians set about staving off meltdown with a three nil drubbing of Old Minchendians at their north London eerie. Over the last ten years Minches can claim to be one of the foremost nearly teams of the Amateur Football Combination Premier Division with three runners up places and one championship tucked under their belt. However, Saturday was not to be their day as Meads h

ad some spleen to be rid of, no matter who was in the way. Meads’ management did have to shuffle the pack and with Jack Costello hoping to recuperate on the bench they put in Joe Harrison at right back; Lawrie Pointer came in at centre back for injured Aidan Chapman although this absence fortuitously ruled out unhealthy over-reliance on Chapman’s long throw, Ed Glover led the line in tandem with Craig Jones and Nick Wilson, back from injury patrolled the right.

Joe Beharie made up a nap hand of keepers used to understudy Gary Robinson who is still not off his crutches. Even though there was vociferous support from a healthy home crowd, it was the visitors who were out of the blocks first, harrying the hosts and creating a number of half chances, the most prominent of these being when Glover tamed loose ball on the edge of the and rifled in a superb shot only to have it cleared off the line.

The visitors were not to be denied and on twenty five minutes Wilson showed he had regained his confidence by cutting in from the right and firing a left foot shot into the far top corner. At this point Meads took a breather but although Minches took possession of the ball for the next fifteen minutes they failed to get at Beharie and Meads coasted to the break.

The half time message was of the ‘Once more unto the Breech’ ilk but since there wasn’t a breech to man Meads decided to let their hosts see the rabbit for ten minutes. Beharie put a stop to any gain from this by making three good saves look routine by which time Meads had gathered their wits to up the ante. With half an hour to go the decisive goal came when Ryan Bright picked up the ball on the halfway line, put Craig Jones in behind the defence and he steadied himself to lift the ball over the charging keeper.

Simon Richardson and Michael Richards came on for Bright and Glover and it was Richardson who sealed the three points by realising that the Minches’ keeper was hesitant, hunting him down and beating him to a through ball to toe end the ball past him. The back four were jointly made MoM for maintaining an iron curtain at the back.

Post match, manager Luke Graham praised the team for picking themselves up to renew their quest for the championship with added vigour.
Squad: Beharie, Harrison, Britner, Pointer, Cain, Shea, Gowers, Bright (Richards), C. Jones, Wilson, Glover (Richardson), sub not used Costello.

March 21, 2017