Quarter Finals of the Plate

Central City (1) 2 Sidmouth Vikings (1) 2

Central City 3 Sidmouth Vikings 2 After Extra Time

Central were missing four players for this match, Cameron, Pacey, Lucas and Onur and also had Zac and Charlie both carrying injuries.
City started the game sluggishly with the Vikings more determined in the challenges and picking up most of the loose passing.
Ten minutes into the tie and Sidmouth took a deserved lead. This is probably what Central needed as they woke up and started to created chances around the edge of the box, taking 5 or 6 shots from range. After 30 minutes with Zac needing to leave the pitch due to injury, Charlie moved to left back and Brandon came off the bench to play up front with Dylan.
Within two minutes Central were level with a great shot from Brandon into the bottom corner.
The match became an end to end encounter and Noah produced a superb save tipping over a dipping shot from outside the area.
They went into the break level and all to play for in the second half.
Only one half-time change with Tom D coming on for Joey on the wing.
The second half commenced and it wasn't long before Brandon grabbed his second of the game with another good finish. Before the game could restart Charlie went off injured, with Josh taking over at left back and Joey coming back on in the centre of midfield.
City were now 2-1 ahead but it was now Sidmouth who took control of the match, with City's play becoming very loose again. The Vikings were given numerous chances to score and eventually they got their equaliser and it was back to all square.
With City down to just 11 fit players, they did well to hold out and see the game into extra time. 7 minutes each way would follow a short break.
City shot out of the blocks in extra time and within a minute Dan's determined run into the area lead to Dylan sweeping home to put City 3-2 up. This time Sidmouth had nothing left to give.
Tired legs meant that opportunities were rare and Central saw out the remaining time to take themselves through to the semi-finals.
Well done to Brandon for his first two goals for the club.

Next few weeks

Hello everyone, A great training session last night and hope that you have all dried out lads!! I just wanted to confirm that there will be no match or training on Saturday 25th November. I am not quite sure if I had got mixed up or if the fixtures had been changed, however no match and no training for one Saturday if that is okay. Our next match is on Saturday 2nd December, a second round plate match against Sidmouth at KGV. We also have a match on Saturday 9th December also at home against Axminster. We thought it would be good to have a pre Christmas lunch after this match like we have done before so I have booked a big long table at The Stables in the Guildhall. The cost is £10 for pizza, wedges, onion rings, chocolate brownie and a drink (cider, mulled wine or soft drinks!) It would be really nice to get as many players and parents/fans to come along and share some time together away from the touchline! It is booked for 2pm. Could I ask that you text me (07876018577) if you are able to attend and the number in your party. Be really great if we could have a full squad and parents as well. Just to confirm that we also have a match on Saturday 23rd December against Alphington.....ho, ho, ho!! Regards Mark PS - Hello John hope your trip to Australia is going well, we thought of you last night as we were standing in the torrential rain, freezing it was!! G'day mate!

St Martins 3 (1) Central 0 (0)

Central's fourth league match of the season saw them face one of their toughest opponents of the campaign. City needed to be on their best form in order to get a result at St.Martins who are currently unbeaten so far this season.
Central started the match well and worked hard in containing the opposition, and with a full subs bench, everybody was playing for their place.
Despite having their fair share of possession for the first 15 minutes, City rarely looked like they were going to score the opening goal, despite the hard work up front from Dan and Joey.
As St. Martins slowly took control a wonder strike from 20 yards saw them take the lead. He just wasn't closed down quick enough and had time to pick out the top corner.
The final twenty minutes of the first half saw St Martins have the majority of possession, but City battled well to keep the game at 1-0 going into the break.
Half-time brought the arrival of a tired Dylan, following a morning of rugby training.
He was put up front at the start of the second half in order to try and create some goal scoring chances and Central started the half in a higher gear than the Saints.
City had the majority of possession but time after time the final cross or pass around the penalty area was lacking quality and accuracy. The work rate and commitment were great but the Saints keeper was rarely brought into action. As Dylan was removed from the pitch, City changed to three up front in order to try and salvage a point, but as they threw numbers forward St Martins scored two late goals to give the final scoreline an unfair look.
A 3-0 defeat and that is now only one goal scored in the last three league games.
Back to the drawing board for next weeks match against Axminster.

Plate Cup 1st Round

Central City 3 (3) Wonford Galaxy 1 (0)

Devon's version of the Europa league brought the visit of league two side Wonford Galaxy to KGV.
City started the match as clear favourites and anything less than a comfortable win would have been a disappointment.

City took control of the match within the first few minutes and after tiring out the linesman's arm with numerous offsides, it was left to Dan to coolly slot past the keeper after receiving the ball from a throw in. 
The match was played mainly in the Wonford half and Lucas was unlucky to see his shot tipped onto the crossbar by the keeper. 

This was followed closely by a fierce low shot from Will that struck the base of the post.
It was all City and they eventually doubled their lead with a headed effort from Dan, to give him his second of the match.

A Wonford mix up lead to a quick third from Tom D and the half closed with the job done.

The second half was a much more even affair as Central lost their way and the standard of football dropped to a level usually only seen in the lower divisions.

With limited options on the bench Dan was eventually pushed up front in a bid to secure his hatrick, but chances were at a premium.

As the game fizzled out Wonford managed to nick a last minute consolation goal but it was City who went through to the second round.

Availability

Hi everyone,

Am just getting a bit anxious that attendance at both training and on match days is falling again to a level where we are struggling to raise a team.

We only had 6 players at training last night, and whilst I understand that we have a number of players with injuries or are poorly, can I ask that you text me (07876018577) just to keep me updated if you/your son cannot attend.  John and I put considerable thought into the training sessions and this will only work if we know who will be attending.

This Saturday (4th Nov) we are at home against Wonford Galaxy in the Plate Cup.  It is a later kick off (11.30am) due to pitch congestion!  At this time we only have the basic 11 players (Brandon, Tom O, Tom D, Cameron, Sam P, Onur, Lucas, Dan, Will P, Pacey and Josh) 

We hope to welcome Noah and Charlie back next week to training after they had recovered from injury.

The lack of a goalkeeper will be another problem on Saturday but we can cross that on the day!!

Regards

Mark

Central City 1 (1) Central United 1 (1)

This game produced all the commitment and passion you would hope from a local derby and it was Josh who got the team fired up by retaliating with an early strong challenge.

This set the tone of the game and City more than matched their neighbours.

It was also another game with stand-in keepers which meant that the defence had to put in another solid performance to protect both Tom D and Brandon.

The match flew into action and in the 6th minute Cameron played a superb pass over the United defence for Dylan to steer a close range header past the goalie.

1-0 ahead and just the start the Managers had asked for.

The match continued with challenges flying in, and was only when United were given too much time on the edge of the box that the opponents equalised with a bit of ball juggling and a firm shot past Tom D.

1-1 at half time and a solid first half performance.

The second half kicked off with Tom D moving upfront and Brandon going between the posts. Lucas also dropped back into midfield to replace Josh who went off with a neck injury.

City's energy levels remained high for the whole of the second half and although both teams fought hard to take all 3 points there were very few opportunities for either side to grab a winner. Most shots were from distance and both keepers had very little to do.

The final action of the game was when Will P went down with cramp with ten minutes to go which epitomised the work the team had put it.

The game finished 1-1 and well done to all the players.

Central 0 (0) v Colyton 1 (0)

A mild October day brought the visit of Colyton to KGV.

With Central still missing Noah in goal, Joey and Max shared the duty this week.

The additional loss of Sam Plumer meant Cameron had to resume his old position in the heart of the defence.
Central started the game brightly playing up the slope and an early chance for Dylan saw his shot blocked by the goalkeepers legs. It was clear that a well weighted pass through the Colyton defence would see Dylan out power his marker. Unfortunately despite good possession for the first thirty minutes only one further clear chance came when Dylan's shot was turned around the post. Central could not find that killer pass.

A very good energetic half an hour saw no goals for Central, and the opposition would gain encouragement by still being on level terms.

The last ten minutes of the first half saw Colyton start to gain some possession and just before half time they had a dipping effort that struck the inside of the post and was cleared away to safety. It was 0-0 at half time, but on the balance of play Central really should have been in front.

The half time talk was a simple message of 'keep it going'.

The second half kicked off and despite spurning a good opportunity early on, Central's command of the game had deserted them. The balance to the team was lost and Colyton looked the better team.

Ten minutes in and Central fell behind to a close range shot in the box.

Several tweaks to the line up didn't help and the next twenty minutes saw Central limited to a couple half chances from distance, with Colyton remaining the team most likely to score.

At 1-0 down and ten minutes to go, at last, Central started to look up and find their passes. Probably playing their best football of the season so far, they cut open the Colyton defence on 3 or 4 occasions. With accurate through balls releasing Charlie on the wing, nobody could apply the defining touch as he whipped several good balls across the six yard box.

The final whistle blew and Central had suffered their first league defeat of the season.

The games will get harder than this, so we need to start maintaining a higher level of performance for the full 80 minutes. Unfortunately playing well for half the match will not win many games.