Raglan’s league form continues to delight
Posted ~ Wednesday 12 October 2011
Raglan’s superb league form continued last night, as Cuckoo Hall and St Edmund’s were swept aside with brutal attacking verve in the second round of clusters held at Edmonton County.
After disappointingly crashing out of the borough 7-a-side at the semi-final stage last Saturday, the boys began the match against Cuckoo Hall with some superb possession football, which helped to settle their nerves very early. With Charlie and Alper, both making their league debuts, heavily involved from the kick off, the omens looked good. It was no surprise when Alper got the fist goal, after the marauding Elliot rampaged forward and after a slight goalmouth scramble cut back for a simple finish. Antony then came off the bench and set up Devis before Alper turned into the creator supreme, setting up each of Antony’s goals for a made in 6RH hat-trick. The unselfishness and vision of Alper was a joy to watch and he made a perfect foil for the predator Antony, who gave no rest to the opposition defence as he prowled menacingly all over the pitch, sniffing out the smallest chance. The base for the display was the fine form of Matthew, becoming an impassable object at the back, destroying attacks and creating counters with a deadly combination of poise, bravery, timing and skill. He has grown since making his debut and is beginning to show and believe that he can become the player his coaches know he is. In central midfield Oliver was calmness personified as he knitted the defence with the attack using intelligent, probing passes and strong running with and without the ball. With their tails up and the wind in their hair, the final whistle blew on another hugely satisfying Raglan performance.
St Edmund’s were the final game of the evening and it was Elliot who got the scoring underway after yet another mazy run down the left channel. Scenting that there was much success to be had down that wing, Elliot combined beautifully with Charlie on several occasions and it was that same duo which led to the second Raglan goal, as the central defender got caught out of position and put through his own net after a low centre from Elliot. Then, after a few early warning signs, Raglan conceded their first goal of the league season. A back pass to Malachi was fortunate to reach an attacker who then got a lucky break to stroll the ball into an empty net, with Matthew trying in vain to prevent it. The fact Malachi had little to do after the goal speaks volumes for his teammates but he will have wanted to have another save under his belt to get his confidence back up. It only served to strengthen Raglan’s resolve though as again they poured forward in numbers, often trusting Matthew or Elliot to be 1v1 at the back. Although it was a risky strategy it paid handsome rewards as Elliot scored another and Antony got a brace to make a final score line of 5-1, with Elliot (two) Oliver and Alper (two) again getting among the assists.
With one final set of clusters to go Raglan have played some delightful football and received many compliments from spectators, coaches and referees for their positive football and sportsmanship. Well done, boys. Hip, hip, huzzah!
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Sir Winston Churchill