North London Crickets vs Exiles  (Away at Gunnersbury Park)

NLCFC 2  Exiles 1

Crickets 4-4-2 left to right after keeper:

1.     Richard Hall

2.     Salman Ali

3.     Patrick Mills

4.     Andy Hale

5.     Juan Carlos Torres Navva

6.     John Robinson

7.     Simon Creasy

8.     Fernando Almeida

9.     Luke Buffery

10.  Guy Nicholson

11.  Ben Wakeford

The Crickets travelled to Gunnersbury Park to take on Exiles FC in the cup.

The Exiles play their league matches in a higher division so the Crickets

would have to work hard to get anything out of this game. 

Playing an experimental 3-5-2 formation, the Crickets were on the back foot

from the first whistle. The wingbacks were isolated on the flanks leaving

the back three exposed and the central midfield outnumbered. Up front

Wakeford and Nicholson were only getting scraps. The Exiles were enjoying

the lion's share of possession and it was no surprise when they went ahead,

a speculative throughball routinely converted by the striker.

The Cs didn't lose heart. Hale dropped back into defence and they reverted

to a 4-4-2. The midfield began to impose themselves upon the game. Chances

for the strikers were at a premium though, with Exiles defence a genuine

step up in class from anything they'd come up against before. Five minutes

before the break, sustained possession in the Exile's half led to a second

successive corner. Robinson curled in a high hanging ball that Wakeford and

the Exiles keeper both jumped for. Neither got there and they ended up in a

bundle in the back of the net. Andy Hale was quickest to react, hacking the

ball over the line at the second time of asking. Parity was restored, and a

seat at the top table reserved for this tough tackling midfielder, now joint

leading scorer with six.

The second half found the Crickets pushed back to their own penalty area.

Keeper Hall had a brainstorm and picked up a JC backpass just yards from the

goal line. Free kick to the Exiles, quickly taken, a firm low shot to the

keeper's left. The lanky Cricket's keeper must have cat's blood flowing

through his veins, so quickly did he throw himself lengthways to paw the

ball past the post. Next up a wicked dipping shot struck from distance which

was clawed over the crossbar for yet another Exiles corner. Like King Canute

or the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke, surely the Crickets

were about to get a soaking. 

Then a breakthrough against the run of play. Guy Nicholson gathered the ball

in an advanced position on the right and slid the ball towards Robinson

whose run had pulled two defenders and the keeper out of position. The ball

evaded everyone and found Luke Buffery unmarked twelve yards from goal. He

paused, giving the keeper time to rush back towards the centre of the goal,

before curling a wrong footing shot into the roof of the net. 2-1 to the

Crickets and after 10 minutes more of inspired defending the victory was

secured. For all Exiles pressure, they had been unable to create clear cut

openings, the Crickets had made two and taken them both. Job done.