Dukes Head vs NLCFC Sunday 21 March 2004

Score: 0 - 4 (T. Wakeford, B. Ward (x2) and J. Howard)

 GK R. Hall

DR J. Russell

DL S. Ali

 DC C. Gaffney

DC [Rich's mate?]

 MR S. O'Hagan [?]

 MC J. Robinson [?]

 MC A. Hale [?]

 ML T. Wakeford

 FC B. Ward FC

B. Wakeford

sub J. Howard

 The Crickets managed to assemble a ramshackle side minutes before the kick off of this vital league match after calling on a number of NLCC's more gullible members, the poor unfortunates falling for Ben's tales of a gentle Sunday morning stroll around the park in a genial, collegiate atmosphere. On paper, the new recruits would provide a welcome injection of youth and provide the legs to complement the older, wiser heads of the established pros. However, appearances can be deceptive and, with Howard and Russell providing a single pair of working legs between them, Ward having not played since January and the Tuffnell Park pitch being ridiculously long, the skipper's gamble was in danger of back firing. The first half, playing down the slope but mainly into a swirling wind, saw the Crickets start strongly. The defence, featuring two debutants gelled quickly into a solid unit under the watchful eyes of the experienced Gaffney and Ali. In truth, whilst the Dukes Head lofted hopeful long balls and a limited number of crosses, the defence rarely had to make a tackle due to the excellent cover and tracking back from the midfield quartet, all of whom worked doggedly to ensure Hall had little to do in the Crickets goal. The pitch, resembling a scene from the Somme, did nothing to aid the Crickets attempts at passing football as they searched for the first goal. It soon became clear that patient, skilful build up play was not going to be effective in these conditions and neither, as the Duke's Head were finding out, was aimless long ball football. Instead, the Crickets adopted a counter-attacking style, relying on the nimble, quick footed Robinson and Hale to break up attacks and then launch Wakeford jnr and O'Hagan down the wings who, in turn tried to feed the elder Wakeford or the youngster Ward. It was Ward, sporting a Jesus beard and matching sandals, who ghosted through the home defence and beat the on rushing keeper from twenty five yards. However, with the mud slowing the ball and the 'keeper desperately chasing back, it was down to Wakeford jnr to follow in his brother's footsteps and smash the ball home from a yard out. This attack apart, the first half was characterised by much endeavour from the crickets and a number of scoring opportunities but a combination of poor pitch and even poorer execution meant the half time score was only 0-1. The second half saw the introduction of Howard for the injured O'Hagan. With the skipper moving into a more withdrawn midfield roll, Howard and Ward took full advantage of their pace by exploiting the number of rather portly Duke's players. Using the flanks to good effect the crickets new strike force were soon running the home defence ragged and it was not long before Howard marked his debut with a delicate chip over the advancing 'keeper for 0-2. The Duke's response was to continue piling into challenges and, after a first half head butt, the trend continued with elbows and studs being used at every opportunity. The Crickets kept their calm and shape commendably, especially after a very heavy tackle that left Howard prostrate on the floor. With much concern for his recently repaired knee, it was a relief as he staggered to his feet, aided by the medicinal effect of the fumes emanating from the Duke's substitutes bench. It was not long before the self proclaimed messiah scored the first of his two debut goals, Ward cutting in from the left wing before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the far top corner. The crickets continued to battle manfully in midfield, snubbing out home attacks before feeding the front two to torment their overweight markers. A forth soon arrived, Ward beating the offside trap before calming slotting past the 'keeper and, but for great cover defence from the Duke's right back, it could have been many more. This was great result for a scratch side which fought hard, epitomised by an inexperienced defence that prevented the Duke's front two from getting a single clear sight of goal all day. Whilst Dukes were mainly restricted to hopeless long shots they did engineer strong header on target from a long throw but even this was not good enough, outstandingly pushed past the post by the ever vigilant Hall. This result confirmed promotion and, it is with some delight that we will not have to face the Duke's Head next season. As ever, the last words fell to the skipper. To the strains of Club Tropicana he was heard to say "I love to play in a bog"!