Sprowston (Away), 30 September 2007
Sprowston -v- Wymondham
Result: 1-2 Win
1-0 Halftime
Goalscorers: Joseph Bush (2).
Wymondham Player of the Match: Daniel Brindle
So when we told the lads before their game that they should wake themselves up and play to win from the moment the referee blew the whistle, we meant it.
And this week, that’s exactly what they did! Pressure from the off on what was for our boys a very large pitch. Dan Brindle and Alex Maran causing Sprowston problems up front supported ably by Jack Morris, James Gayton, Joseph Bush and Nick Parker in midfield who were in turn supported by and supporting the back four of Zack Harvey, Luke Chalcraft, Josh Mellor and Louis Hyett. Despite my hope that ‘keeper Craig Woolrich would have a deadly dull match, the Sprowston team were a class act and gave Craig some work to do when they managed to breach our defensive line on a few occasions.
One mistake was quickly punished and Sprowston took full advantage to net a goal.
The Wymondham team fought back though and to my mind dominated the first half.
At half-time, Alex and I decided to leave the players as they were but to swap Dan and Joseph around. This soon paid dividends with Dan playing an active part in midfield supported by James and laying off passes up the middle to the strikers and to the wings where Jack and Nick were eager to run at the Sprowston defence.
It was on these breaks that Joseph twice found the back of the net following some sustained pressure from the team. Having equalised and then taken the lead, it was vitally important that the boys didn’t just sit back and rest on their laurels to thow the lead away. So I was pleased that they kept up their guard and didn’t slow down. Alex and I subbed-in Lyle Probert up front to rest one of his teammates and he was straight in to help maintain our command of the game.
Last week, I asked the boys to make us proud … and that’s what they did, as confirmed by the applause they received from proud parents. As Alex later told me, “I think the boys had one of the most determined games I have seen from them. Excellent team effort.” Amen to that.
It was difficult choosing our man of the match with so many good efforts from the team. But in the end, Alex and I chose to reward Dan for his excellent work.
Thanks to Roy Parker for running the line for us.
