OTFC III’s 0 – 3 Old Guildfordians II’s
With the season drawing to a close and injuries, FA cup tickets to watch Fulham get thumped and various mid-season holidays taking their toll, the Tiffs struggled again to get a balanced side out to the hallowed turf of Grist’s.
Skipper Conrad Bell worked his recruitment magic again and brought in four new players to make their 3’s debut this season. Players 61, 62, 63 and 64 of the season were a mix of very young and very experienced, but all were welcome in making up the numbers.
Continuing his long running campaign of forcing square pegs into round holes, a skill he’s been honing since childhood, our brave skipper forged a (semi) coherent team out of 2 goalkeepers, 3 defenders, 1 striker and a lot of people willing to ‘do a job’.
After a vigorous warm up of opening gates, feeding chickens and finding stretches that could be done while sitting down, the Tiffs were sent out with a stirring pre-match speech still ringing in their ears.
It took a little bit of time for Tiffs to find their feet in the game, but once they did they actually managed to play some nice football and carved out a few half decent chances. But an old weakness reared its ugly head and midway through the half a gentle, looping header from a corner snuck in off the far post. Tiffs rallied, and again played some nice football, but late in the half a wayward hand allowed Guildford to score from the penalty spot before a 3rd goal was bundled in after a bit of a goalmouth scramble. 3-0 was a harsh scoreline at the break, with Tiffs deserving to be more in touch with Guildford for their hard work and good football.
The second half saw Tiffs continue where they left off, trying to play good football and carving out a few chances along the way. Having clearly half listened to the team talk asking Tiffs to test the keeper a little more, experienced full back Alex Cunningham fired in a succession of increasingly less wayward shots at goal, but to no avail. Skipper Conrad Bell had also listened to his own team talk (arrogant) and forced a good save from the Guildford keeper with a direct freekick and an even better save from a rasping drive that seemed destined for the toppest of bins. The rest of Tiffs were a little more hesitant to shoot, at times even refusing to shoot with the Guildford keeper stranded and out of position, kindly waiting for him to recover before losing possession.
The game opened up as Tiffs pushed forward for a goal, and tired legs failed to carry them back to track any runners, but some good saves from Farhan kept out any further Guildford attacks.
Sadly, Tiff’s quest for a consolation goal proved futile and the game ended 3-0. Another good performance somewhat hamstrung by an inability to score goals. Something to work on for next week and next season.
POTM: Reece Evans