Matches Off

Both the SAINTS match at Guildford City and the BLUES match at Claygate this Sunday have been postponed due to waterlogged pitches.

Guildford Saints 3 Mayford Athletic Oaks 2

They say that it's a sign of a good team when you can play badly yet still win the crucial games... well on Sunday the Saints must have been a fantastic team - because they played awfully and yet still won!!! Kevin's match report follows;

"The first half saw a really dismal display from the Saints midfield and defence. Admittedly we were missing Martin and so we started with Ben and Matt at central defence with Chris and Ross wide. The midfield line up was Alex M, Connor, Jamie, Julien and Mike - but together they produced an inept display and it was really no surprise when we failed to clear our lines and eventually fell behind midway through a forgettable first half. Although we had a couple of attempts on goal we lacked any movement and ideas and struggled to get any cohesion to our game - if it had not been for Josh in goal we could have found ourselves even further behind and for us half time could not come quickly enough. Seb had come on for Jamie but we failed to utilise his pace.

The second half started but still we did not seem to lift ourselves to the required pace although we were defending better when Alex M moved into the back after Ben suffered an injury. Nathan had come on to anchor the midfield but Mayford were still winning the second ball. Ollie replaced Chris and Joe replaced Seb and then suddenly we sparked into life. We played ourselves in to the box and the 'keeper could only parry a shot on to Julien's head which he comfortably dispatched into the back of the net. What happened next was just a calamity and a show of errors!! A harmless ball was punted through our defence. Josh came out to clear but sliced his kick. However we looked safe as the ball fell to our defence but they inexplicably slashed at it as well and Mayford were able to roll the ball into an empty net. We reverted to a 4-4-2 (although Joe was making it a 4-3-3 at times!!) and eventually we equalised again when Tom R shot in on the angle. With just minutes to play Tom R won us the match when sent through by a fine ball from Mike which he coolly slotted home.

Saints saw out the remaining time in a hail of rain to prove that good sides sometimes win even when they are not playing well. Guildford City next week and another vital game which could help keep the pressure on Staines Town at the top.

We must be more fully focused before the game starts and must compete all over the pitch throughout the 80 minutes and be solid in our tackles. The last half hour was a good display but we cannot leave it this late in crucial games."

Man of the Match - Tom Richards

Upcoming Matches

Sunday 21st February 2010

Prem Div - SAINTS v Mayford Athletic Oaks (11.30am KO)

Div 3 - Staines Town Colts v BLUES (11.45am KO)

No training this Thursday (Half Term)

Guildford Saints 1 Fleet Town Colts 1 - Fleet win 4-2 on penalties

Plate heartbreak for lack lustre Saints this weekend as they lost to Fleet in a penalty shoot out. This was Kevin's take on the game;

"Saints lost this quarter final after a totally inept first half display against a Fleet side who put a lot more effort into their game. Legs were being slashed at the ball, headers not watched and possession wasted. It was just a horrible display! Yes we had chances which we didn’t take but, overall, Fleet deserved to take the lead as once again we failed to clear and a Fleet player put the ball home off the post. A big half time talk was needed and delivered.

In fact, the second half didn’t really take off until Connor took to the field and almost immediately we scored when the ball was played wide left, Tom R crossed and Mike powered home a shot. We were camped in their area for most of the second half but just could not find a way through a packed defence. However, we nearly won it when Ben was free at the back post but the 'keeper saved. Josh pulled off a great save near the end too but 1-1 final score and in to extra time. We only played 5 minutes each way at the insistence of the Fleet manager but the only real chance was thwarted by the Fleet linesman!

This time the penalty shoot out didn’t go our way with Josh getting nowhere near their penalties and both Tom and Martin failing to convert after Alex M and Matt had scored with theirs."

Man of the Match - Connor Duke

Feltham Blues 2 Guildford Saints Blues 0

The omens for our progress in this season's Cup competition did not look good when we lost our goalkeeper and captain 24 hours before kick off. To then lose our best defender and vice-captain two hours before kick off as well left me feeling very depressed about the impending game against the previously unbeaten Division Four leaders. To our credit though the boys started very well and we were the dominant team in the first half, controlling possession and creating a number of very good chances for Ellis, Scott & Ed. However the Feltham goalkeeper was in good form and their goal led a charmed life.

In the second half it was hugely disappointing to see our performance drop away so dramatically. Although clearly still the better footballing side we look very tired and sluggish - quite often second to the challenge and allowing our opponents far too much time to control the ball and turn. Despite having discussed the need to keep the game in front of our defenders, Feltham were quite regularly able to turn us by playing a long ball over the top and it was almost inevitable that the otherwise excellent stand in 'keeper Alex O would eventually get beaten when a breakaway run and shot could only be parried straight onto the feet of an oncoming Feltham team mate who couldn't miss with the goal at his mercy. We struggled to match Feltham's effort after this and, although Jack scraped a shot just wide late on, we never really looked like scoring in the second half. When Feltham got their second with 10 minutes left - another ball over the top that left our defence standing - then there was no way back for the Saints Blues.

Despite this being an all round "bad day at the office" for the Blues I was truly alarmed by the apparent poor fitness and stamina of the players today. Our midfield were absolutely woeful in the second half after being excellent in the first... making me think that the two Mike's and Ed, in particular, need to realise that they must work on their stamina training more. As such important players to the team they must last 80 minutes not just 40! My big thanks to Alex though today for again stepping in to the breach left by the injury prone Nathan, and performing so well in goal. And to brother Tom who was the only player that could truly come of the pitch yesterday saying that he had given everything he had for the team - a colossal captains performance!

Man of the Match - Tom Oldland

Burpham 0 Guildford Saints 1

Saints took local bragging rights on Sunday with a hard earned victory over local rivals Burpham. Here is Kevin's match report;

"Another league game against our local rivals and, with the last result against Burpham still fresh in our minds, this was always going to be a big game!

Saints were focused and committed from the start - although this was no classic by any means. Burpham were full of hard work themselves, but we "bossed" the midfield with Alex M, Connor and Nathan all having fine games but, despite all our possession, we could not find the net in the early stages when a little more composure in front of goal would have seen us establish an early lead. We lost Joe R after 15 minutes as he was feeling unwell and Seb took his place. Connor then took a knock and was replaced by Mike D who came on to face his former club - he too was right on the pace. Josh was having little to do other than to see off a few long range efforts. Ben, Chris, Martin and Matt were superb in defence and Matt, in particular, marked his potentially dangerous opponent out of the game.

Eventually our dominance was rewarded when Tom R opened the scoring latching on to a through ball and nodding the ball around the defender before racing on to dispatch his shot across the 'keeper. 0-1 Saints

The second half was all about doing the ugly things and working hard - which is what we did with real discipline. Alex M stepped up his game and was all over the field urging his team mates on and they responded. Jamie came on for Nathan and played very well in front of the back four. Chances were limited but we did have some... Matt with a breakaway, Tom R with a couple of shots and Seb went close also. Other than at the end, when Matt got to the Burpham forward just as he shot and the ball deflected onto the bar, we were not really troubled defensively.

This was a really great battling performance against opposition who were always going to up their game today playing against their mates. A good 3 points won. Well done lads."

Men of the Match: Matt Burton & Alex Mattock