In recent matches, Shinfield have been caught napping from the start and given their opponents a goal or two head start, so to counter this Will and leprechauns of fortune ensured the arrival of the squad a full 90 minutes prior to kick off in their fixture with Mortimer this weekend. Thankfully the sun shone, the rural surroundings were delightful and the smell of bacon and coffee wafted through …. ensuring the lads and supporters were raring to go come kick off …..
Shinfield were on the front foot from the off and took the game to a well organised and solid Mortimer. Tyson looked very lively down the right and probably should have converted the two chances that fell to him. Tom interacted well with Sam (now there’s a surprise!) down the left and created chances with some clever passes.Will was full of energy and running and was unlucky take a ball in the face which meant Ethan took his place while he got cleaned up.
Shinfield were ramping up the pressure but Mortimer had numbers back and were a resolute back wall. Liam tried repeatedly to break through from centre midfield but it was from a set piece that Shinfield finally broke the deadlock. A corner was whipped in and Ben neatly tucked the ball in from a brilliant position on the far post. His smile lit up the pitch as Shinfield looked determined to increase their lead.
They had to wait until the second half to do this when Mortimer were punished for a handball in the box and Sam coolly slotted home the penalty. Shortly after in a typical thrusting move, Sam broke free and finished with aplomb. Will then scored possibly the goal of the game, after spotting the keeper off his line, he audaciously half volleyed the ball over his head from some distance out before whirling away to take the congratulations from his team mates.
Mortimer’s heads dropped and where they had been organised and defending in numbers, spaces now appeared and the Shinfield boys turned the screw. Tom should have had a hat trick when presented with the ball after three beautiful crosses from the right, he only managed to score once though taking the tally to 5. Tyson replaced the injured Tom and almost immediately realised where the goal was and converted after a nippy, swerving run through the penalty area.
With Shinfield pushing forward in a hunt for more goals, Mortimer did break free but Cameron was able to track any runners and Ash made a couple of comfortable saves. Liam decided he wanted a piece of the action and made another driving run and finished under the bewildered keeper and Will grabbed his second and Shinfield’s eighth shortly before the end of the game.
This was a great team performance with everyone playing their part. The lads were ruthless and never gave up, man of the match Ben epitomised this spirit with his strong performance. Eight is actually an auspicious number in China and with minds now turning to the upcoming local derby against Spencers Wood, this result may prove to be the lucky charm we need to secure another three points and playground bragging rights….if it helps, I’m off for a Chinese takeaway to do my part for the team…!
Score – Mortimer 0 Shinfield 8
Scorers Ben, Sam-2, Will-2, Tom, Tyson & Liam