report15-9-01

On a day that ended in victory for Upney Royal Oak, the story of the first day of this first season for the club could have ended before it had even begun.

As kick-off time approached, only three members of the squad had managed to make it to the venue, the other squad members victims of the maze of roundabouts better known as Chafford Hundred. However, as the clock struck 1.45 pm, a battered white Vauxhall Astra made its way into the car-park, followed by the remainder of the convoy of cars which 45 minutes earlier had departed from the Royal Oak. After all hope had almost perished in the flames, a phoenix had arisen from the ashes, its name ............... Upney Royal Oak F.C.

After a seemingly endless trek to and from the changing rooms, and the quickest team talk in history from the boss, the team emerged to take the field with barely a minute to spare. Despite little early passing play, the team gradually settled down and started to utilise the pace of the two wide midfielders - Matty Carmody and Andy Jeffs, who were well fed by long balls beyond the Tops defence from Luke and James.

Upney were beginning to make in-roads into the last third of the pitch on a regular basis when a freak injury to Dave Garrod forced him out of the game. As the ball dropped just outside the Upney Royal Oak penalty area, Dave and Darren determined to keep the defence tight, both went for the ball. As the ball squirmed away to the safety of Paul Trotter in goal and the dust cleared, it was evident that Darren's right boot had won the day, connecting with Dave's head, smacking him "right in the biscuit". Due to a bloodied nose, swollen eye and the fact that he had just been kicked in the head with a size 12 boot, it was perhaps understandable that Dave couldn't carry on. As a result Mickey was quickly forced to show his management credentials; dropping himself back into defence, bringing Andy into central midfield to partner Dave Randall, and filling the right midfield berth with the introduction of Matthew Taylor.

The introduction of Carmody into defence maintained Upney's solid foundations at the back from which they could counter-attack. Continued pressure on the Tops defence was rewarded with the first real chance of the half - a free-kick just outside the box, from which Steve Silk made the keeper push behind for a corner to deny the accurately placed shot. From the resulting corner, the Tops defence had to clear off the line after Randall attacked the ball well - narrowly avoiding opening the Upney account. However, ten minutes before half time the relentless pressure finally paid off. A weak clearance from the Tops defence fell to Steve Silk who had dropped off his striking partner Kelvin Nash, leaving him unmarked. Silk was then able to loft the ball over the keeper from all of 35 yards and into an unguarded net. The sense of relief was palpable, a new chapter in history had been opened - Upney Royal Oak F.C. had scored their first ever goal.

Determined closing down of the Tops defence by Nash created further oppurtunities before the break. Kelvin himself was unlucky not to add to the scoreline as the ball bounced invitingly in the penalty box before running through to the keeper on numerous occassions after good breaks from midfield by Randall, Jeffs and Carmody. The languid running style of Nash seemed to confuse and somehow mesmerise the Tops defence into a false sense of security which allowed Steve Silk to drop off the front and use the extra space to good effect.

Judging by the hands on hips posture - Nash had run himself into the ground, and was rewarded for his efforts ten minutes into the second half as he was replaced by Danny Talbot who moved into defence with Railton pushed up front to add more pace to the attack.

The game turned out to be more evenly balanced for the next ten minutes with Tops managing to break forward, testing the Upney defence which remained solid; D.Silk winning balls in the air and Carmody and Gutridge expertly covering anything behind. It was indeed from a thwarted Tops attack that Upney doubled their lead midway through the second half and took command of the game. Carmody and Gutridge disposessed one of the Tops forwards and laid the ball forward to D.Silk who had the time to look up and spot Matty racing down the left wing before curling a pass into his path as he shot past the trailing defender. A great first touch set up the oppurtunity to cut inside the box and fire a low shot into the bottom right hand corner of the goal to put breathing space between the two teams.

Late substitutions shored up the left hand side of the team with Tony Hurry being introduced to provide fresh legs which in turn created further chances for the team. And the result was sealed ten minutes from time when S.Silk managed to score another early contender for goal of the season. With the Tops defence in disarray and appealing for offside, the ball was again lobbed into an unguarded goal from 20 yards.

Special mention must go to Andy Jeffs and Dave Randall who played two games on Saturday in the space of four hours. I'm sure all would agree that it showed in their performances!

Managers Comment: The manager was pleased with the performance of all players in the first game of the season, and hopes that the level of performance will remain as high in the coming weeks.