07 Nov 2010 - Stratton Juniors 'A' (A)

The match was best summed up by their manager and assistant at the end. “Are you in division 3” I was asked. When I said “yes”, they both said “you won't be in there long playing like that!”

So once again the cup draw was not kind to us. Last season we played Swindon Rangers A and lost 10 – 0. The most disappointing thing that time was the tactics of SR. It was all about shoving us around and to be frank – playing dirty. I had no idea how Stratton would play. I told the lads to expect a physical match, and we prepared for that. I was pleased to see that Stratton have gotten to where they are by playing football, and though they were physical at times, it was on the whole within the laws of the match. On the odd occasion when it wasn't, the ref did a great job.

So at the warm-up, I said that this was like Swindon away to Man United. 3rd division against 2nd top of the top division. I said that no one expected us to win, so we shouldn't let our heads drop if we let in goals. I said all I wanted from them after the match was for them to be able to look back on their performance with some pride. And boy can they do that now!

We were under a lot of pressure early on, as Stratton had many corners. After a while, we got in to the game more, and had many attacks on their goal. Harry was unlucky to shoot narrowly over the bar on the best of those attacks. We were looking dangerous a lot of the time, with superb defending, and passing. George and Ben were getting past their men more often than not, and Harry didn't give their defence a moment to think about what they would do with the ball.

Then a change for the 2nd half. I thought this level of play couldn't be sustained by us, but I was wrong. We were perhaps more dangerous than the first half over all. Beefy doing what he does best and not giving any thought to his smaller size as he threw himself in to tackle after tackle. Pugs was holding the ball up well allowing the midfield them to catch up. It was looking good.....

And then the heartbreak. We were pushing up, and found ourselves with three on to 1 at the back. The ball got passed to the forward, and Cade tried to clear it. The ball looked to be going clear, but had too much spin on it and spun inside the post. I was concerned about Cade for a bit as he looked crestfallen. However, within a few minutes he was back up and fighting for the ball again, and putting in some good blocks and tackles.

I went in to the game fearing a thumping. I was worried that this could affect the lads confidence. After the game I was almost in tears I was so proud of them all. And those comments from Stratton management were echoed by others. The Stratton B team were up after me. Their manager also asked if we were in division 3. He said he watched the 2nd half and thought we looked like we would win it. Then I saw the ref in the car park. He got back out of his car and said how well we had played, and how we were unlucky to lose.

Though we lost to an unlucky goal, I am so very pleased with the way they played. The performance was far better than I could have hoped for. We pretty well matched Stratton for a lot of the match, and they are a very good footballing side. Well played Stratton though – they played a great and fair game. Best of luck to them as the cup progresses.

But to our team - WELL DONE ALL!

Last modified on Monday 22nd June 2015 at 23:39