Match Report – Curley Park v Shinfield Under 13’s

As we headed over the M3 and into deepest darkest Surrey, Shinfield were in confident and buoyant mood after last week’s miraculous comeback in the dying minutes of the game. Eager to secure 3 points, the lads in orange lined up on a heavy pitch with its discernible slope in their favour for the first half…..

However…it was not a great start!

Maybe it’s because Christmas is just around the corner but Shinfield were in generous mood and gifted their opponents an early present of a goal before they stirred themselves and joined in the festivities and made a game of this hard fought encounter.

Once galvanised into action, the team were inspired by Tyson who terrorised down the right wing. He found loads of space and was able to fire across teasing balls to Sam who only narrowly failed to make contact with them, goalmouth gaping…Liam also proved a threat down the left and again created chances for Sam but it was not to be at this stage ..

There was a moment of controversy when a Shinfield corner looked as if it may have crossed the line to us supporters 50m away. However it must be said, the much better placed ref and lino, in the absence of Hawkeye, deemed it was not a goal and Shinfield had to keep up the pressure whilst we on the touchline were left wondering whether it was a Geoff Hurst goal of ‘66…..or a Frank Lampard from South Africa in 2010….????

Shinfield finally found the net through the trusty boot of Sam after some excellent work from Liam through the heart of the opposition midfield. The momentum was back in our favour. Sam was fouled in the box and the ref awarded a penalty..up stepped Liam only to see the Curley Park keeper make an awesome save. It remained 1-1 at half time with all to play for…

With the slope against us in the second half, Shinfield decided to exploit the Curley Park high defensive line with tactics more akin to a rugby field. The big “up and under” clearances from Zish in goal, saw Sam explode through with all the swagger of a premier league striker, one on one with the keeper on numerous occasions, he shot wide and had one saved before he netted again to secure Shinfield the lead.

Curley Park were not for lying down and Cam, Ash and Josh had to work really hard to keep them at bay .. crashing in tackles and tracking back down the slope chasing romping attackers. Someone commented early in the game “How does Dev head the ball with his glasses on?” He duly gave us a lesson with 3 superb headers to clear the danger! The back line was solid and nothing really got through and they also played out from the back with composure and speed which was always an effective outlet…

As when you go looking for a goal, this often leads to gaps at the back and once again, Shinfield exploited this with the ball over the top from midfield. The combination of pace, determination, strength and hard work saw Ethan, Sam, Tom, Tyson, Liam and Will create plenty of chances and we looked a threat with every forward thrust. Our third goal came from a lovely passing move from Liam to Sam who lined up to shoot but then fed a beautifully weighted ball through to Tom in space who slotted the ball home emphatically under the keeper. Not long after the final whistle blew and victory belonged to the visitors ..

This was a full throttle game with both teams battling hard on a tough pitch. Good Luck to Curley Park, they battled hard.. but Shinfield used clever tactics and a committed team performance to secure the points.

Nice one lads!

Reported By Helen Davies