Men's 4s vs Leek 5

Telford 4ths played Leek 5ths at St.Georges on Saturday in the 1st return fixture of the season. The 4ths were hoping to take revenge for a 1-0 loss with Leek scoring late in the 1st game of the season. A win for the 4ths would take them above Leek into 9th place.

The 4ths welcomed Andy Lloyd into midfield for his 1st 4ths game of the season, whilst Alex continued in goal. It was also nice to see Tom recovering enough from his back injury to be able to umpire the game.

The pre-game talk was about being sensible in possession of the ball, particularly in midfield and to pass the ball back if a forward pass wasn’t possible. Also, to press up front on to Leek’s defenders when Telford didn’t have the ball.

The 1st half was very even. Leek had several short corners that they either fluffed or were well defended. Telford had their own fair share of possession, but weren’t clinical enough inside the D.

0-0 at half-time.

Instructions at half-time were to keep the team structure up. Chris was pleased with the improvement in possession and decision making. However, the team needed to get shots away when the ball got into the D rather than trying to dribble the ball into the net.

2nd half saw Telford take the lead in the 52nd minute when Conor received the ball and dribbled to the left baseline in the D. He pulled the ball back to the centre of the D where his pass was met by a reverse stick from John to plant the ball in the right-hand corner of the goal. John’s 6th goal of the season.

The 4ths doubled their advantage in the 61st minute when Matt played a long pass from his right-back position, where it was collected just inside the opposition’s half by Conor. He beat the defender marking him and drove past others into the D to hit a hard shot that rebounded back off the keeper’s pads and Conor struck the rebound solidly into the goal. A wonderful goal making Conor the 8th different scorer for the 4ths this season.

Telford’s defence stood firm for the remainder of the game and Alex pulled off good saves when Leek did manage to get a shot on goal.

A well deserved 2-0 win for the 4ths that takes them up to 9th place in the League.

A much better 2nd half secured the win, but Chris reminded the team they still need to defend through the midfield even when the team are winning.

Conor got MOM.

A wonderful team performance with the whole team working hard, pressurising Leek when they had the ball and making sure Telford kept possession well and made good use of it.

Still some things to work on like earlier passing and maybe some different short corner options. However, this was a very good, improved performance and the team will move further up the League if these continue.