Two for the price of one!

Mixed fortunes as league games continue. April 2016 

Two match reports for the price of one as City continued their league campaign with a midweek Wednesday evening fixture at home to Sidmouth followed by a conventional Saturday morning encounter away vs West Exe.

Wednesday evening, dry and pleasant, saw City 0-4 down at half time to a well organised, quick and physical Sidmouth side. The pattern of the game was set out early when Tom D needed to execute a goal line clearance and Cameron put in a telling tackle in order to keep the away side at bay. Despite City putting a few passes together and a notable Will P screamer just going wide, the visitors opened the scoring with a rapid left wing break.

City capitulated in the 5 minutes before half time when Sidmouth netted a further 3 goals and a deflated home team needed a rousing team talk from the manager and coach over the orange slices.

What followed was a completely different second half as City stepped up several gears to more than match their opponents. Despite only scoring once, a great effort from Alfie from the left hand side over the competant goalkeeper, there were plenty of goalmouth scrambles where City could have added to their tally another day. A fine Josh free kick near the end was well saved.

City continued in this fine spirit at Barton Fields against West Exe on Saturday morning. Despite the perceived handicap of exactly eleven players available for selection, this if anything, acted as a catalyst for the performance of the season so far ( confirmed in the post match de-brief by coach John B).

On level dry ground City passed the ball with accuracy and confidence, playing a variable 3-5-2 formation where everyone stayed true to their position. Their reward was a hatful of goals starting with a brace from Alfie, Dan making it 3 when he ran on from a Cameron free kick. Alfie completed his hat trick just before half time following tenacious midfield play by Will P with a calm finish. 

The second half saw City complete the rout 0-5, a fourth for Man of the Match Alfie following midfield trickery by fellow Man of the Match, Dan. But all the players stepped up to the plate and were exceptional, particularly in the footsteps of Wednesdays disappointment.           

Bright start in loss to Bideford

Despite starting a second fixture without regular goalkeeper Noah,City were in a good state of mind following a win last time at home to Copplestone.

This game it was Sam who filled in between the posts before Josh took over for the last half hour.Both did well and had no chance with any of the five goals the home side put away,as the elite did not panic and stuck well to a game plan.

The first ten minutes were memorable though as City were three to the good without reply.The first two were through balls that Alfie ran on to with a confident finish each time.The third was a Cameron special from a direct freekick,dispatched with both accuracy and power.Even at halftime it was possible to believe that an upset was on the cards as City went in a goal to the good at 2-3.

Everyone played well in the rainy and wet,slippery conditions.The academists were physical and strong but were often matched with some slick passing moves and beating of the offside trap.Defensively City were no nonsense,clearing the lines with the minimum of fuss but in the end seemed almost to be worn down.Final score 5-3 with Man of the Match Dylan typifying the competitive nature of the City side. 

Saturday 2nd April......to Bideford we go!!

Hello everyone,

Hope that you have all had a good bank holiday weekend.

Just wanted to mention the match at the weekend, we are away against Bideford Blues on Saturday 2nd April.

I know that a couple of you had mentioned asking them to travel to us and invoking a rule drawn up when Bideford joined the league.  I have discussed this with the Bideford manager and he is not aware if any such ruling so I am sorry but we will have to try and make the journey up North!!

To make things easier, I am happy to hire and drive a minibus as we have done the last couple of years, £3 per seat first come first served.

We might only need then to take 1, perhaps 2 cars.  I know that many of you will be going to the Plymouth v Exeter match which starts at 3pm so I can assure you we wont be hanging around after the match.

I will also drop everyone a text.  I know that we are without Noah and Ewan for this match so it will be a test of our resolve and commitment as always against this tough team.

Kind regards

Mark

Dates for your diaries!

Hello everyone,

It was good to back to winning ways on Saturday, it was a tight match but you all held your nerves and we got to the end with a valuable 3 points, well done it was a good team performance.

I thought I would just give some information for the next month or so, with so many matches still to play it will be a busy time.  Some key dates are as follows:

30^th March – no training as it is Easter holidays

2^nd April – away at Bideford.  I am aware that many of you will be going to the Exeter City v Plymouth match on this day so I will ask Bideford to come to us, I cannot promise that this will happen but I will try.

6^th April – No training as Isca is closed due to school holidays.

9^th April – We were due to play Sidmouth however they have most of their team away on a rugby tour and so have been given permission to rearrange.  I am trying to arrange a fixture here so watch this space.

13^th April – training will be at King George V from now until the end of the season.

16^th April – away to West Exe.

20^th April – training at KGV

23^rd April – away to Copplestone (please note 12noon kick off)

24^th April – Central FC have organised a bubble football day!  I think our slot is at 11am to 12noon but will confirm nearer the time.  Looks like a lot of fun, the newest craze!

7^th May – the end of season award ceremony will be held again at Exeter City’s ground in the marquee.  As always it will be a nice chance for everyone to celebrate the club and the season.

There will be a few midweek matches as well, as far as possible these are on a Wednesday evening.

Thanks as always for everyone’s support, and encouragement for the squad, it has been a funny old season, but let’s hope for a few fine weeks and some great football.

Mark

Welcome return to winning ways

It was a positive start from City in this home fixture against Copplestone United on a cold morning at KGV.The well attended fixture by supporters of both sides was played on freshly mown drying ground and saw some competitive football plus one or two points of law for the purists to discuss.

City played towards the car park in the first half and the chances were at halftime that they might rue the missed goal opportunities.With a couple of players unavailable the team relied upon a roll on substitution system and had Alfie,new gloves sported,between the sticks.City played so well though that it was fully 15 minutes in before he was forced to make a save.

It did seem one way traffic for much of the half as City pressed and effort after effort went close.Tom D rifled in what was to be the only official goal of the game after about 10 minutes play following closely on from a Tom O chance.Dan,Will A,Dylan and Will P all had shots agonisingly close to increasing the goal tally,as was a Cameron freekick.Just before the half ended the crowd were treated to the optical illusion of the ball passing through the City net and 20 yards behind it as a Copplestone player hit an up and under: or over,when the trick was revealed by Penn and Teller.

The second half was always going to see more Copplestone pressure and to some extent it did.But City held on,refusing to be caught on the break with the  defenders keeping Alfie cold and away from the ball.Josh cleared off the line to avert the biggest scare of equalisation.

City were able to get into their opponents half though,goal drop kicks being seized upon by the midfield for passing and  distribution and Charlie finding right side space and Sam left side.When Oner started a move,the ball broke free and a City shot rattled in off a defender for an own goal,dissallowed for offside.This was a decision that John explained the academics off to all after the game,and one which would have exercised the minds of the Match of the Day panel well into the night.

Man of the Match,for relentless running,tackling,shrugging off harsh tackles and exemplifying the spirit of the team,was Ewan.

Lawyers,experts,interested parties,uninterested parties.....

There are some good learning points on this,especially on the PDF.

http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/laws/football-11-11/law-11---offside.aspx

Point 14,on the PDF of this,perhaps demonstrates the source of major misunderstanding,and shows why flagging as soon as a player is in an offside position but not guilty of the offside offence,frustrates our expert coach the most.

Four goals each in Okehampton fixture

A second consecutive away fixture,this time as far west as Colyton was East.The relatively familiar surroundings of Simmonds Park,only the exact pitch location differs as the age group rises.It also gets farther and farther away from the carpark,but in the shadow of the moor though,this means drier,better footballing conditions.So City kicked off on another cold day on a flat decent enough pitch.

It was a positive start from City who just had the one sub,Tom O,on the bench necessitating a roll on system with Joe and Will A as the match progressed.As seems so often the case,Noah was called twice into early action and continued this throughout the game with excellent handling and kicking.A first City corner after 10 minutes saw the away side go close,but Okehampton Argyle were ahead just seconds later when City switched off to allow an easy run through onto goal.

This was a game that would see City fall behind on three occasions,level it twice and lead at one point,although it did not necessarily have the feel of end to end football.Argyle had a well drilled offside trap and there was a mixture of City falling foul of this plus some close calls and some downright incorrect decisions.City levelled at 1-1when Tom D remained calm,seizing on a throughball by Cam that beat the offside trap to outsmart the keeper.

In a textbook corner,the homeside quickly restored their lead with a powerful,unchallenged header.Relief followed when eventual Man of the Match Tom D,stuck in a great volley/semi overhead from great work down the right wing by Charlie.Shortly afterwards Will P whipped in a cross which agonisingly just needed that elusive touch but that all changed soon afterwards as Sam bundled in by following up Alfies’long range effort.City went into the half time break leading 3-2.

The second half saw three more goals and honours even.Argyle levelled by charging down a clearance that had the suspicion of handball about it, quickly took the lead again 4-3,and as the time ticked slowly down,Alfie put Charlie through and with the defence standing still looking for offside,Charlie had beaten it and calmly scored.

The away support outnumbered the home end,and the team continues to reward them in great spirit. 

Draw for the New Year: Part 2

Finally,a seeming end to the constant falling rain leading to postponements this season.A welcome dry cold day saw City play their return away league fixture against Colyton.The location,a flat flood plain like rural outlook,was perfectly level but reportedly bumpy.City did not have a bumpy ride as such but there was to be no repeat of the home 7-1 thrashing.

City were a goal down almost immediately following a little early spell of Colyton pressure.A decent punch out by Noah fell to a red strikers feet and City fell behind.As the home side took up a defensive position to protect their lead,a pattern repeated throughout the match,City players could be forgiven for getting confused looking at a magic puzzle,such was the illusion created by the red and white blend of the six amassed Colyton players lining up at the back (copyright S Tapp).

20 minutes in and City were level.Cameron dispatched a freekick goalwards from 25 yards out and Will P deflected it to the right corner.It provided impetus for the away side and they started to enjoy more of the play.As the tables turned again though,despite two excellent Noah saves,the home team restored their lead with a decent strike.

The second half saw many chances go begging at either end,numerically more to City,who at times frustratingly abandoned their passing game as the minutes ticked and they looked to level or steal the points.Given Colytons defensive stance,a numerical offense may have paid more dividends as single players couldn’t run through them all.It was a relief when Alfie cleanly hit an equaliser and a relief when the City defence held their nerve on the rare Colyton breaks.A snatched shot at the end demonstrated how close City were to losing on another day.

The Managers’ Men of the Match were Oner and the returning from a long spell on the sidelines Dylan whose presence made the full squad available for the first time in a long time.With much more football left this season,that squad number will prove key.