A 12 man squad arrived at a very windy Victoria embankment to start the long awaited season. Spirits were high and the boys were full of chatter whilst pulling on their kits and boots. With warm-ups and team talks done, we lined up on the pitch eager to get started.
The game took some time to get going. A very narrow and solid pitch made it difficult to play how we wanted, and the game was very bitty for the first half an hour. A physical Meadows side used their size and the swirling wind to their advantage scoring on the half hour mark from a long throw. We did see a response from our lads after that who started to get the ball down and play some better football resulting in Gracethorne hitting the post on the stroke of half time, however we couldn’t make the pressure pay and half time arrived.
Frustrated with our first half performance, we came out in the second half showing more desire and fight. We started to work the ball better and our intensity was visibly raised. Unfortunately, Meadows latched onto a long ball we didn’t deal with and coolly finished for 2-0 just after 50 minutes. This prompted a change in system for our lads to a 4-3-3 in an attempt to increase the pressure on what was a stout Meadows defence. However, another good finish from the edge of the area following a corner made it 3-0 Meadows in the 65th minute.
All credit to our lads who never stopped in this one hitting the woodwork again and having a goal ruled out for offside. It was a match where we never fully got into our rhythm; a summer rustiness was evident on the bobbling, narrow pitch. Despite that, it was a solid defensive performance by Meadows that deserves credit. We return to the same location to face the same opposition in the cup next week with an instant opportunity to put the first week demons to bed.
Jesse Cook (1s Captain)
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