Old Challoners v Parkfield 3

Team: Williams; Beill (Cawley, 55), Maker, Foster, Lord; Beauchamp, Bevins P, Weidner, Rae; Fitch, Thomas

Score: 2:1
Scorers: Thomas, Beauchamp

A game of two halves sums up this Challoners performance perfectly. Having just arrived from witnessing a snail pace start at the Theatre of Trees from the big guns I got the exact opposite at Fortress Eppo.

A lightening start to the match saw us looking dangerous from the first minute with the lively pairing of Thomas and Fitch looking hungry for goals. It was Thomas that broke the deadlock firing left-footed under the body of the keeper. Five minutes later and it was 2-0 as Beauchamp nodded into the top corner after Thomas's near post flick on to the delight of the very vocal home crowd.

We continued to press with some excellent breaks down both flanks with Fitch orchestrating things. First he thread through the eye of a needle to put Thomas one on one with the keeper but Thomas couldn't match the pass and finished wide of the upright, then he set Beauchamp marauding down the right but his shot was well blocked by the covering defender. Foster than had a chance to make it 3-0 after a 50/50 with the keeper but the keeper managed to save bravely. Challoners continued to attack, Rae and Maker down the left and Beauchamp (not the hungover Beill he was shocking) down the right. The final chance of the half came when Maker got to the byline and produced an excellent ball that flashed along the six-yard box just eluding the black and white shirts. Half time score 2-0.

A composed half time talk about how all that needed to be done was repeat the first half performance and we'd dish out a hiding was soon forgotten as complacency and poor play set in.

I can honestly say that I have never seen so many mis-placed passes and appalling touches from everyone on the pitch, substituting Beill didn't even work as it just spread throughout the team. In the end we were forced to repel numerous attacks from the improving Parkfield. Apart from a couple of corners where we consistently looked dangerous we created very few opportunities, an acrobatic Sparky Foster volley that went narrowly high and wide the only thing worth cheering for the freezing faithful in a poor second half display. When Parkfield scored with 15 minutes left it was definitely a nervy last period for the home side, a few needless free-kicks and the inability to clear our lines nearly cost us but we managed to hang on for 3 valuable points. Final score 2-1.

Man-Of-The-Match - Thomas just nudges out his strike partner on this occasion as he finally managed to beat the keeper after weeks of trying, worked hard throughout and was a constant threat despite knowing he had to deal with a tearful female and the dreaded L-word after the match.

THE LANCASTER VERDICT:
A very poor 2nd half performance made it far more difficult than it should have been but a win is a win. Before this though we put on a good 1st half display but again missed too many chances.

Rumours emanating from the top echalons suggest that the under fire El Weiszo could be looking to call up a centre half as he fears one of his current squad, despite recent yoga classes, isn't as tight at the back as he used to be…?

Report by Nick Lancaster

Manager's comments;

A good first half performance followed by a poor second half. Challoner's should have been far more than 2 up going in to the break and failed to kill the game off. It's bad news when a 25 yard Weidner drive and Foster scissor kick are the closest you come to scoring. A freak goal against meant a nervous finish - last season the 2s would have drawn this game but we are more resilient these days and tackles and headers were still being made all over the pitch even when passing and possession let us down. In the end the points went the right way. Some good performances this week. Utility man Jamie Maker was solid at full back and he and Ali Rae controlled the left hand side. James Beauchamp was industrious down the right and Stu Weidner put in a commendable performance in the middle of the park having been thrust in there at the last minute. MoM this week for scoring the first and making the second was Paul Thomas.