Tanber V Clifton FC
On another windy Saturday, but a decent pitch for once, Clifton's travelling 12 put last week's sickener behind them with a well deserved 2-0 win at 2nd place Tanber, and to leapfrog them on the league. Playing up the hill and into the wind We stayed compact and organised in the first half, largely restricting the lively Tanber outfit to set pieces and shots from distance. Reevesy wasn't over-exercised and we looked sharp and threatening on the break. Chances came and went, with Marco's great opportunity springing most readily to mind. 15 yards out in loads of space he seemed caught in two minds over whether to shoot or to gently pass it back to the keeper, and sadly plumped for the latter. We repeatedly got round the back of Tanber's creaky defence, with Clifton's front 6 clicking into 'slick & threatening' mode. Lendog almost embarrassed their keeper with a piece of long distance opportunism, which surely would have come off if it hadn't been into the strong wind. The other notable incident was Tanber's obese and aggressive number 4 failing to break Dunc's leg despite giving it everything he had with an old school two-footed, over the ball coward's tackle. Dunc's 10 inch scrape all the way up his shin told the story but the ref didn't have a good view so we didn't even get a free kick. Dunc was thankfully able to play on while number 4's card was marked for later. Goalless at half time, we were happy with that, while Tanber clearly knew they'd be up against it in the second half. They were right. The second period was open and full of action. While Tanber remained dangerous on the break, the Clifton boys forced them back, creating shooting opportunities and winning attacking set-pieces. 55 minutes in and after a good move down the left Stotty slipped it inside to Lendog, who perfectly teed up SuperHoops to burst through the defence, finishing hard and low, too strong for the keeper's left hand. 1-0 and well deserved." Tanber made a flurry of substitutions and went on the attack. Clifton's defence held and we continued to be the more dangerous team. On 67 minutes the acting skipper launched a long clearance into the corner, just outside the area. The Tanber keeper came out and dallied recklessly, with Stotty bearing down on him. One blocked clearance later and Stotty, my MOM, was keen and more than happy to run the ball along the byline and pass it into the empty net, 2-0. The game was nearly put to bed shortly afterwards when Hoops smashed a screamer across a packed 6 yard box and Lendog couldn't get enough of his head on the ball to divert it in from close range. The last 15 minutes saw Tanber throw bodies forward in a frantic attempt to claw something back but thanks to some solid and sometimes desperate last ditch defending, and a touch of luck at times, we kept our richly deserved clean sheet. Everyone enjoyed Hoops taking out number 4 near the corner flag before the end. He limped off holding his back, not to return. Cunt. And that was that. 3 points and back to winning ways. Clean sheet, back up to 2nd place and a great way to end 2015 for the mighty orange machine. Tutu was between the winner Ricky (I think for making bad decisions in promising positions while wearing those boots) and Reevesy (For a spot of comedy juggling which resulted in a throw in rather than a goal). Well played everyone. Everyone played well. Nadolig llawen pawb.
