TTFE turned it on in style as they scored a four goal blitz in the second half to take all three points.
Please note: I am not giving a review here, only my thoughts on TTFE's progress and the promotion front runners. If you have any thoughts on the game you would like to have displayed on the TTFE webpage, please contact Plasmo or myself and we will accommodate your observations! Also if someone could put the scorers in the comments section so that I can do the tally, that would also be great. Joe
I am only writing on the information I have received seeing that I was absent, but on most accounts it seems it was the James Pugh show last Sunday night! An excellent win for the lads as now it seems promotion can be seen on the horizon. Second place will still be a bit of squeeze at seven points, but with our final games against the top three we can only hope to reach the promised land of Division Three through the back door. Its not impossible, but it will be damn hard to achieve. It will mean vanquishing Sheila's Wheels again next week which is an astounding feat in itself, remembering that the leaders have only lost twice this season. Toto FC will be next, already gleefully smiling with a healthy goal difference, but smarting from a recent dip in form. Now that we have seen them in action thanks to their video diary, we can see what to do to punish our foes. A must win too. Then Almeider FC, who conquered TTFE previously 4-2, will have to be thrashed with a 5 goal cushion on top to help out the goal difference. Then HBFC, who this season have played out a blinder and have looked real dark horses for promotion. It is fate that these teams play each other on this final fixture - as if by now TTFE have won all three fixtures and got a little bit of luck in other games, Im sure that this game will have real significance for both HBFC and TTFE as a virtual playoff place for promotion. One can only hope.
My prediction? As a safe bet you have to go with the current top two teams. They have seemed to keep winning quietly whilst everyone else is beating each other - creating a real scramble in the mid table. However in terms of quality, I still believe there is chance for the outsiders to make their final pushes for promotion.
This week?
Of course, Sheilas Wheels look like odds on favourites to win the league, especially now that they accomplished their winning double over Toto FC, their nearest rivals. Yet TTFE have the scalp of the leaders already in their trophy cabinet. Now TTFE have to face them again and hopefully get that prestigous winning double over them.
Three points down, TotoFC look safe in second being five points ahead of HBFC in third, but their recent form seems to be worrying after what has been a very good season so far for them. TTFE did force them down to the wire in 5-4(6-4) loss and after looking at the video footage it seems that TTFE and Toto were both riddled with errors and costly mistakes. Toto face stern mid table opposition from Daf Boots this week but they wont be too worried - they destroyed them 8-2 in the reverse fixture. Daf Boots will want to quickly get over their loss to TTFE and get their own promotion chasing back on track.
HBFC are looking very good in third, but are they a spent force? HBFC have failed to win in their last three games, recently taking a 6-6 draw against the Young Gunz. It doesn't get easier for them either - a tricky game against Almeider FC next week where they will be hoping to overturn a 6-1 hammering. Almeider have nestled quite nicely in mid table this season and will be happy to get their first winning double to prove their worth in the promotion steeplechase.
And in the fixture at the bottom, Young Gunz and Brookes FC square off in the game nobody dares to lose. The Young Gunz had the edge over Brookes in the last encounter, but Brookes grabbed their second win of the season against Almeider last week and will want to get off bottom spot for the first time in the campaign.
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.
Alright lads, just wanted to point you in the direction of this video which provides potted highlights of the Matchday Five ~ 5-4 Loss to Toto FC, which I witnessed live from the sidelines! The video shows what a good performance it was from TTFE against a side that have been consistantly challenging Sheila's Wheels for the Division 4 title. Some good goals and a great advert for the Welsh 5-a-side game!
The merciless Young Gunz had no problems in vanquishing a severely depleted TTFE side.
At 5.55pm, things looked incredibly bleak. The sun was already beating down delivering that new climate of humidity we had increasingly been accustomed over the last few weeks and the Young Gunz looked like they were fully loaded with subs in excess. TTFE had struggled to get the bare five, with Dave Weller in goal, Joe Newbury and Pat Davies in defence, and returning players Jon Ridout and James Carling in attack. With Chris Phillips out and James Pugh still smarting from the last encounter, it was going to be a tough old game for the lads where survival was surely the only aim. What made this game even more intense in prospect was the fact that the Young Gunz had adopted an aggressive stance in the last game, which ended as a deserved 3-3 draw, but a draw that neither team wanted. The opposition therefore, judging from their proven 'enthusiasm' and renewed safety in numbers, were determined to get the three points in this return fixture.
As expected, the Young Gunz were just as quick as before, playing the one-two with a lot of pace and movement. At first they stood no chance against a rock hard defence of Newbury and Davies, but it wasn't long before this arrangement was to show the visable cracks of a weakened side. As the minutes dragged on, possession was being lost all over the field, mainly due to a lack of movement and pace. The passing was also just not crisp enough. Weller was able to hold his own for a while, but he did have to contend with many one-on-one situations which usually would be much more limited. Despite standing up well, Weller was beaten three times over the first ten minute period of the game. At 3-0 things looked grim, with little happening up front despite the best efforts of the attack and the wide spaces exposed to the opposition as the defending players supported pushing the ball forward. At that time Paul Preece arrived and instantly came on for an unusually drained Ridout, who seemed to have a chest problem which would effect him throughout the game and limit his performance and game time significantly. Paul added more energy into the team, but it was clear that at half time that in the search of finding that comeback we began to lose all shape and positioning. At this point though it was all or nothing, or as Chris Phillips would like to say, 'shit or bust'.
In the second half the game began a lot more evenly. Carling was taking more opprtunities where he could to shoot, as he was unlucky to score in the first half hitting the post. As expected we were confined to shots from afar, but it seemed it would take a lot more to beat their keeper. More opportunities fell to Ridout and Davies, the latter of which had found a nice, neat little pocket in the left opposing corner where he was able to roam freely. Davies was also typically savage and tenacious on the left wing, as on one occasion he did fight tooth and nail for the ball against the wall, taking no prisoners as normal. To add, he also did a sweet little flickover of the ball, which this writer sadly missed. Ridout took whatever chances he could but his condition did phase him out of the game as he looked a mere shell of his usual dynamic self. TTFE were finding their feet and creating opportunities with the ball. Yet we were only giving the keeper more reason to be nominated as the man of the match, as he calmly held and dealt with many of the TTFE efforts at goal. With all this pressure and no goal it was only time before the team were punished once again, this time caught in possession and resulted another goal for the young side. 4-0 now and it looked hopeless for TTFE - especially as the Young Gunz were contemplating easing on the gas to show off their boyish charm via various skills, tricks and stepovers. Already the support were cheering every nutmeg, every stepover and every smooth turn which could be pulled off at TTFE's expense. TTFE did however continue on and made sure that the dreaded scoring duck was not to return this season. TTFE have managed to score in every game this season (which I believe is an acheivement in itself) and Carling was relied upon to keep the dream of a comeback alive. It was perhaps his weakest effort of the game, but that strike was the most successful, as TTFE managed a goal at last. The Young Gunz did not look fazed and strived on to pelt the goal with shot after shot, with a Thierry Henry-esque arrogance and swagger. To the relief of Weller and the defence however, they limited their efforts to many long range strikes - something which wasn't to bother the TTFE ball stopper. He was to be beaten one last time as the defence was caught in possession again, but by now TTFE were trying to last ditch defend on every attack to minimise the threat.
As the game ended 5-1, Young Gunz claimed their second win of the season and put the heat on TTFE as now only a point lies between them. The young ones got what they came for and got what they deserved. In retrospect, this was a weakened TTFE side which realistically never looked like it would secure the win, but it was certainly not short on effort. There were flourishes of good football in there, with some fluid passing and solid defending, but it was a shame that the side were stretched so much that they had to admit defeat as the scoreline become 3-0. Luck was always being to the saviour of TTFE yesterday, but sadly it never shown its face and failed to materialise. For games like that, you have to pray that a massacre doesn't occur. Maybe there is some luck in there somewhere then.
