Match Report
Match Report - 21 Jan 2012, Old Modernians Football Club 3rds beat Beeston St. Anthonys III (District Cup Quarter F)
Beeston St Anthonys 1
Old Modernians Res 2
White 25
White 60
Manager Andrew Hicks was unable to join the team in their journey across
Leeds to Beeston Hill, for their District cup quarterfinal showdown due to
family commitments and after loosing their 100% record the previous week,
Mods knew they had to put in a superior performance. The tactics were
simple – back to basics football, Mods lined up with a 4-4-2 formation, Sam
Lunt replaced Ryan Kerr at right back and James Douglas returned to the
starting eleven in place of Ben Bowman.
The opening fifteen minutes were scrappy with no real opportunities for
either side, Mods created some half chances following good play down the
flanks, which, the opposition defence dealt with effectively. The first
real chance of the game however, fell to Beeston St Anthony’s, their
striker managing to dance his way into the Mods box before shaping up to
shoot, only to be thwarted by a last ditch Binns sliding tackle. This close
call seemed to spur the Mods team into action - Dawtry, Lunt, Rowe,
Bradford and Shirley all taking command at the back and distributing the
ball efficiently, with Lazenby and Blake reading the game well to break up
any Beeston play.
Going forward Blake, Lazenby and Hill worked hard to win the ball and
dispense it to Douglas and Binns, who in turn, took on both the opposition
defence and gale force winds to create several good opportunities. It was
from one such attack that Mods took the lead - Hill and White, who worked
tirelessly throughout the game, put good pressure on the Beeston defence
following a delivery from Douglas - the ball fell to the feet of White who
managed to scramble it past the on rushing goalkeeper and over the line to
put Mods ahead at half time.
HT 0 – 1
Mods kicked off the second half with the intention of taking further
control of the game, with the wind now behind them and the pitch slopping
away the team continued to work the channels. Their hard work soon paid
off, following further good play from Douglas - with White, rounding the
keeper, playing a one two with him and then lashing the ball past him to
make it two nil with thirty minutes to go. Following this; Beeston broke up
any real flow of the game by committing several dangerous fouls, one of
which left the Mods skipper Lazenby rolling around in pain, screaming for
medical attention – Jake Williams, acting manager, physio and team
secretary for the day, was on hand with his magic sponge to ensure
everything was ok, before Lazenby bravely continued amid a torrent of abuse
from both the Beeston and Mods players alike.
The remainder of the second half was played with Beeston limited to half
chances; all eleven of the Mods players showing good character, working
hard for each other and closing down the on coming opposition well, forcing
them into errors. Fresh legs were introduced in the form of Kerr, Monkhouse
and Astall, replacing Lunt, Hill and Binns –all of whom put in a great
shift. The changes made allowed Mods to relieve pressure from the defence
and offered the opportunity to attack the Beeston goal on the counter.
With seven minutes to go Beeston pulled a goal back, their striker
collecting the ball on the edge of the Mods penalty area before turning and
firing into the back of the net past the out stretched Dawtry to set up a
tense finish. Not buoyed by the pressure of conceding, Mods again showed
great character, sticking to the game plan – defending well, getting stuck
in and using the wings to their advantage in order to see out the game.
FT 1 – 2
Man of the match - Jodie Lazenby
An outstanding performance, which was much improved from the previous week
and back to winning ways in emphatic style – every single squad member put
in a great shift and worked hard to ensure we came away with the result our
performance deserved.
Back to league business next week… ON ON ON!
Special thanks to Sir Jake Williams.
Beeston St. Anthonys III (District Cup Quarter F) 1 - 2 Old Modernians Football Club 3rds