The first half of this match was the best that this team has ever played.
We played high up the pitch keeping Lydney pinned into their own half. The interplay between the wingers, front men and midfielders was just excellent. One and two touch football with then driving runs down both wings and through the middle with Dan absolutely destroying the defence with his pace and power. With George, Lewis Freddie and Willbo keeping things shored up at the back we dominated the early exchanges. George went close but pulled his shot just wide. Dan H then did the same. Luca then went close with a right footed drive and Will T warmed the keepers hands with some typical driving runs and shots. As we watched from the sidelines there was a sense that we could fall behind such was our dominance but without any end product. The opening goal came midway through the half with Dan finally breaking the Lydney keepers stoic resolve to put us 1-0 up. That we were still only 1-0 up by half time was testament to the keeper who had an absolute blinder. One save in particular where he tipped a goal bound shot onto the roof of the net was just excellent.
Second half and the game was different. Lydney came out fast and more direct. The composure that we had shown in the first half was disappearing and Lydney had their tails up. Some squad arrangements were made to try and tighten things up and get on the ball again. We started to get on the ball more but Lydney were always a threat. The equalising goal came from a strong break by Lydney. The ball played in wrong-footing the defence, leaving the striker to finish high into the net off the underside of the cross bar. Will had no chance with it.
The game then started to open up more as tired legs were evident. Dan was still our biggest threat and would see the keeper make yet more saves from him and then with the keeper beaten see his shot bounce back off the post. It just wasn't to be. The final 10 minutes were tense with both teams going for the winner and nervous about conceding. In the final moments we had shots that drifted just wide of the post and were then cleared by the Lydney defenders. It was kitchen sink time.
The game finished 1-1. It is a good result against a very strong tea that will be up there at the end of the season but it is also one that we could have and should have won. We created enough chances first half to be 4 or 5 up. Lydney for their endeavour and early pressure in the second half did not create that many opportunities.
The first half we played the best football we have ever played.The team was balanced with the right mix of pace, skill and effort. All the players fulfilled their roles excellently. There was no weak performance. Dan H grabbed the headlines with a display of power and pace, George was imperious at the back snuffing out any breaks by Lydney. Tenacious in the tackle and brave in the challenge this was an MotM performance. Tom in midfield was everywhere, breaking up play and driving forward all the time. His link up play down the left was excellent and his energy unbounded. We can only imagine that he has has solar panels that he plugs into every night.
Freddie at the back was also excellent and had a great moment lobbing the ball over a Lydney attackers head then controlling the ball to then play it forward. The other standout performance of the match was Ben. Alternating between centre-back and midfield he did not put a foot wrong and importantly won many headers to enable us to keep the pressure right on Lydney. Something that we need to be better at but that is difficult to practice on astroturf at Cheltenham College.
Will in goal marshalled his area well and showed excellent composure when dealing with some spicy back passes. Lucky for us he is almost as good with his feet as he is with his hands.
This was an excellent performance against a strong opposition. We could have won and on another day we would have. It is not an exaggeration to say that the overall MotM was probably the Lydney keeper.
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