KILLAMARSH DYNAMOS v ABBEY LANE 13/4/08

[Craig Millward]

KILLAMARSH DYNAMOS (0) v ABBEY LANE (0)
GOALSCORER(S) -
MAN OF THE MATCH - THE WHOLE TEAM

MATCH REPORT -
Abbey Lane produced one more top class performance away at Killamarsh Dynamos which was enough to give them the one point needed to stay in the "B" Division.

The lads were very nervous before the kick off, knowing that if things went wrong we would be relegated. All i could say to them was to reproduce the performances of the second half of the season, and in particular the last match against Ecclesall Juniors and we would have no problems at all. Realistically i was as nervous as them, but could not show it.

The game kicked off and Abbey Lane got straight into the game, pushing the ball around the field with slick passing, waiting for the opportunity to breach the Killamarsh rearguard. With ten minutes on the clock a quick ball out from our keeper to the right saw Abbey Lane build an attack. Our right back HARDY raced away with the ball, played a quick ball into MILLWARD in centre midfield who beat his man with a step over, then played an excellent ball out to PETTY who skipped round the oncoming defender to cross a perfect ball for FURNISS to hit first time, unfortunately the keeper got a hand to the ball and it went over for a corner. The build up play involved in that attack was top class, and deserved a goal. The lads had settled at this point and were determined they were not going to let this game out of their grasp, and were determined they were not going to be relegated. Killamarsh looked good going forward and used the wings well, but the attacks were well stopped by an organised Abbey Lane defence. If anything did breach our defence our keeper POND was equal to it and filled the defence with confidence, knowing there was a safe set of hands controlling the area. We have probably given our keeper CHRIS POND an injustice during the season, as with having two keepers for all but three games of the season, it is ironic that Chris has produced his best performances of the season in the last three games conceding only one goal and making some excellent saves which have gone a long way to securing our safety.
The first half saw Abbey Lane create and probably have the better chances, and should/could possibly have been two or three nil up.

I told the lads at half tiime, i could not fault their performance, i was happy that the lads were working hard for each other, the nerves had gone and the football looked good.

The second half kicked off and Abbey Lane were on the attack again, but this time the shot was rushed and the ball was skied high above the advancing keeper. I was hoping our missed chances were not going to come back to haunt us at the end of the game, if Killamarsh sneaked a goal. The game looked like it could possibly be settled by one goal, we needed to make sure it was our goal. Killamarsh enjoyed a good spell midway through the second half, putting Abbey Lane under real pressure, the defence stood strong, but from nowhere came a shot, our keeper looked to have everything under control, but possibly looking to distribute the ball quickly the ball slipped from his hands, the Killamarsh striked raced in and got a toe to the ball, POND in the net reacted in style forcing the ball against the post and out for a corner, these were nervy moments for the lads. Abbey Lane regrouped and regained their composure, and should have settled the game, but some excellent goalkeeping from Killamarsh denied Abbey Lane the goal they needed. It was a grand finale to the season, the final whistle blew, and the Abbey Lane players, management and supporters went beserk, their were chants of "we are staying up".
The Man Of The Match Award went to THE TEAM for another great performance.

There were a few neutrals in the crowd watching the game, with a lot of them congratulating Abbey Lane on their performance, asking the same question "how the hell are you at the bottom of the league fighting relegation when you play that kind of football", that is a question that is hard to answer. It must have been a good game for the neutral, Killamarsh really had nothing to play for apart from the pride of winning, but they went about their game as though they needed the three points to win the league. We didn't come here expecting any favours or expecting an easy ride, our previous game against Killamarsh had finished a 3-3 draw so we knew we were in for a tough match. Overall i think we controlled the game for large periods, but Killamarsh are an organised team who look good on the break, we had to be alert at the back to stop them scoring.

Well done lads, it has been a tough season, and obviously we need reinforcements for next season, finishing with twelve players is tough, as players have played with knocks, that with a bigger squad would have allowed players to have a rest and get back to full fitness. The basis is there for an exceptional team, as they play good football, a few additions should definately see us challenging for promotion like we was at the end of the previous season.