Matchday Nine – 2-0 Win VS Brookes FC

TTFE got back to winning ways and grabbed a clean sheet against league whipping boys Brookes FC.

It wasn’t without some hard work and the proverbial elbow grease, but TTFE managed to overturn their recent rut and earned their first winning double of the season. After last week’s 5-1 thrashing courtesy of the Young Gunz, it was imperative that TTFE got the job done by any means necessary and took all three points. For this encounter TTFE boasted a good strength squad; Dave Weller in goal, Paul Preece, Joe Newbury and Billy Collins in defence, whilst Chris Phillips, James Pugh and James Carling in attack.

This game began in typical Division Four fashion, with no-one really taking the initiative and drive to get the opening goal. In all honesty the first half was evenly matched but incredibly uneventful, with very few shots on target and largely unimaginative footballing. Brookes FC for all their effort did have the makings of a promising side, complete with pace and good passing. They were certainly not holding back in this opening half, as they were trying to win only their second game of the season and hopefully lift themselves off the league’s bottom spot of eighth place. TTFE were still struggling to pull out of first gear, but as the game gathered pace they did show a few flourishes of fancy footwork, complete with thoughtful passing and greater movement off the ball. Despite this, the first half was condemned to finish a goalless stalemate, and it would take a freakish incident to tip the scales into somebody’s favour. Cue freakish incident. As the match ball was pummelled out of the pitch into the car park, Phillips chased it down and the game commenced with a substitute red ball. The free kick was taken and Collins took a shot in open play. His shot took a wicked deflection from the opposition and flew straight into the Brookes net. It wasn’t the dream goal that they were building towards, but it finally cut the tension like a hot knife through butter. A stroke of luck it might have been, but that proved to be the TTFE catalyst in a game which dragged its feet kicking and screaming. Obviously, restoring the natural order, before the kick off the original ball was returned to play. Half time score 1-0.

It was time to up the gas. Especially as Carling, Newbury and Phillips all seemed to be getting the better of their volatile stomachs and aching heads, all thanks to too many alcopops the night before. It was time to make the break away and finally show their credentials as a potential black horse for promotion with an impressive goal feast. However those of you who anticipated the shift of power to be more decisively in the favour of TTFE, you would be disappointed to see another twenty minutes of missed opportunities and frustrating impotency in front of goal. Brookes were trying hard to get their foot back in the door, but it seemed their ship had already sailed when they too failed to get a grip of the game after the interval. For them it is a shame - if they got the opening goal, who knows what that effect would have had on the result of this game. They did give Weller a bit of trouble in goal, but overall he was relatively comfortable with what was dished out to him. He earned his first clean sheet with the help of an organised defence, most probably one of the better aspects to take away from this game.

This is not to launch into a tirade against an underachieving TTFE side. On the contrary, TTFE added to the promising parts of play during the first half with a confident and ambitious display. Not to mention for the first time in a long while, TTFE actually looked comfortable with the ball. The passing, the vision and the movement was all commonplace and didn’t look forced. For the second and final goal, James Pugh very wisely observed something that is completely alien to the TTFE game plan. As Chris Phillips received a pass on the edge of two defenders, he pulled away and launched a shot into the bottom left hand corner out of the keeper’s reach – a move and goal which in the words of Pugh, was “meant for him to have and meant for him to score”. This was not a goal born out of opportunity, mishap or luck – it was a goal that TTFE had truly earned. A goal that was sweet enough on its own merit. As the game went on, TTFE did continue to bombard the goal; for example, Carling and Newbury both hit the post and were unlucky to score. After the second goal Brookes began to self-destruct, complete with internal squabbling, loss of concentration and fatigue, and one may observe that this is how their games are lost. At the end of the game they even went down to four men as one of their players received a nasty injury and had to sit out the game. For three minutes or so TTFE had the extra man advantage, but they failed to pile on the pain on their unfortunate foes.

It wasn’t a story of dominance and submission, but in this tie there was clearly a determined underdog and generous oppressor. TTFE should have been able to put on the goals, but at times they did not know how to do so. Brookes put on a good show, but lacked that killer edge as they began to run out of steam. TTFE did however work on the basics and achieved their most convincing win of the season with a two-goal difference. Now is the time to up the ante once more to overturn some in-form mid table opposition. Firstly, Daf Boots.

Goals: Collins 1 (own goal really), Phillips 1.

Goal Tally: Pugh 9, Carling 6, Phillips 4, Ridout 3, Newbury 2, Collins 2, Davies 1, Preece 1.

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