After last weeks defeat by the Uni, a good result was badly needed. However, past results against Dyslexic have been anything but good, so the management was somewhat nervous about this fixture. Having said that, we owed them one, especially after last years cup final on a Wednesday and everyone was very determined to have revenge.(Well, everyone being me that is - Pikey for those of you who can't tell from the fluent prose.)

Straight from the kick off we went at them; first to every challenge and knocking it about with a purpose that we hadn't displayed so far this year. Then, not even five minutes in, Adam Bell was released down the right, he knocked it back across the box when he got to the touchline, only to miss all his own players, but picking out their centre mid, who ran in and hit it like a bullet into the bottom corner.
For the remainder of the first half it became obvious that their players were more proficient at scoring in their net than we were. A hatful of chances were missed. First a mix up in the box allowed the ball to drop to Efan only 8 yards out, but with Adam Bell in close proximity he tried to pass instead of hitting it into an almost empty net and the chance was gone.(Just noticed the link between our own Efan and a certain Mr Ekoku. Name and shooting ability.)

Efan had another chance after beating the offside trap. Well, when I say beating the offside trap I mean he was 6 yards offside, but as their captain was refereeing without linesmen he allowed play to go on, only for their keeper to pull off an excellent save.(good time to put in a word of praise for the stand-in ref's efforts- he was very fair and to be honest I felt he gave decisions more in our favour than theirs.) The keeper pulled off another good save when, after good battling from Efan, the ball got pulled back to myself, only for him to block my shot.
All this went on without them really threatening us- The two Toms (Brough and Ingham- now known as 'Big Tom' and 'Bigger Tom') were having excellent debuts, clearing up any potential attacks with a swagger of confidence that brought pride to their manager. Whilst at the same time Fryer and Nelson in centre midfield were doing a great job of beating Dyslexic at their own game, i.e throwing themselves into tackles, breaking up the play and kicking lumps out of them at the same time.
Half time came with the score still only 1-0, much to our disbelief. Matt Smith had to come off with an injury, so Al Hindle came into centre midfield to add a bit of flair, and Chris Nelson moved to left back.

The second half saw us start brightly, once again dominating the play and not allowing them to settle on the ball. However, Dyslexic did begin to have more of the ball in the attacking third of the pitch, forcing a few corners, but still not seeming that dangerous. We continued to play well, but weren't creating any more real chances, which was of worry at the time.
Then came a 10 minute period that left me in a state of disbelief. Firstly, Jochen rolled a ball out to Nelson which left him slightly under pressure. He tried to play a ball to Fryer, but it got cut out and the next thing we knew it was 1-1 with almost their first shot of the game. This goal led to some sustained pressure from them for the first time in the match and when their left winger got down the line his cross was cleared only to fall to one of their lads who blasted it into the top corner from 20 yards. We were 2-1 down and I was reliving that cup final defeat all over again.
I decided to make a change, taking off Efan and bringing on Duncan who had been dropped due to attempting wrestling moves on the opposition last week. He moved into centre midfield, Al moved out left and I went to join Adam Bell up front. To say it was a managerial masterstroke was an understatement- well, it's my report so I can say what I like.

Suddenly we were playing again and most importantly creating chances. An excellent cross from Perry was met by me on the edge of the box, only for my glancing header to go wide. Their annoyance at me winning the ball in the air at this point was merely a prelude to what would happen later.
An excellent one-two between Bell and myself on the edge of the box put him through, but with a slight angle making the chance more difficult, the keeper pulled off another excellent save.
Then a moment to savour. After telling people for weeks that I could head a ball despite my diminutive size my chance to prove it came. A cross came into the box, over their defenders head and I looped a header into the top corner and past the keeper from just past the penalty spot.
Our jubilation turned into determination and we went for the win. Perry beat a man and cut in only to fire over- had we not won in the end I might have had a word about not squaring it to me, unmarked and only six yards out! Then a quick free kick found Al all on his own and just outside the six yard box. He decided to go for the diving header and probably now wishes he hadn't as it turned out to be a somewhat embarrassing effort that didn't even get close to the goal. However it wasn't long before we claimed the winner. The ball broke out from a corner and Nelson put it back into the box. Perry and his marker challenged for it and it dropped to me 6 yards out and I lashed it home.
That was how it ended and I can only sing the praises of all my players for a great performance. The defence was strong and refused to let them pass, the midfield battled hard all game and the strikers ran their hearts out- especially Bell who never stopped. All in all a very good day, especially when you consider we had players missing - they will now find it hard to get back in the team.

Team: J.Zengler, D.Ward, M.Smith (A.Hindle), T.Brough (= MoM), T.Ingham, C.Nelson, T.Perry, M.Fryer (= MoM) Adam Bell, W.Etan (G.Duncan), J.Pike © 2