Pre Season Friendly, Thursday 18th July
Some rare Thursday night football saw me over at my very local side Southend Manor as they continued to build up to their Thurlow Nunn One South campaign, and they were up against near neighbours from down the road in Great Wakering Rovers who were also preparing for another season in the Essex Senior League.
Both sides league campaigns begin in a week on Saturday, so only nine days away, so both sides were now entering their final runs in pre season as the serious stuff gets going soon, therefore finding their best formulas and players was now becoming more and more important, and when these two play each other, it's always a battle as neither side wants to lose to the other even if it was a friendly.
It was soon apparent though that the visitors were a step above their opponents and were a goal up inside two minutes when a defensive error at the back from the hosts saw the visitors pounce and fire home into the net, and then with only ten minutes gone Rovers cut through the Manor backline with ease and allowed Harry Brown in to fire across the keeper and into the far corner.
The third goal was just freakish and not one that the home keeper would want to remember, as with the clock on just twenty minutes a harmless ball into the box bounced off the rock hard surface and caught out the keeper who was seemingly coming to claim an easy bouncing ball, but instead he misjudged the bounce and could only help the ball on it's way into the net.
Manor to their credit did try and get themselves back into the contest but were just being punished by a ruthless Rovers side who made it four from the spot on thirty three minutes when Harry Talbot emphatically dispatched from twelve yards after a foul inside the box, and five minutes later Rovers were awarded another penalty, and this time Brown thumped home the spot kick and saw the visitors head into the break with a five goal cushion.
Talbot then added another five minutes after the break when Manor just sat off him and gave him too much time to drive at the area before firing a lovely effort into the far corner for a really good goal, this did prove the final goal of the contest though to everyone's surprise, as both sides made plenty of changes on what was a very pleasant evening weather wise.
Manor did have their moments but found their opponents a yard or so quicker all over the pitch in every way, this will no doubt be a learning curve for the home side and one that they were surely take a lot of information going forward, they do say you learn a lot from such games, and they won't play many sides as good as Wakering are this season in their division that's for sure.
For GWR, it was a decent run out and some more minutes in the legs too as they prepare for another tough season in the ESL, and with players like Brown & Talbot in their side, they will certainly be a danger to sides in that division this season, a season they hope that will end with promotion no doubt.
Full time Southend Manor 0 Great Wakering Rovers 6
No comments:
Post a Comment