HSBC 4s – Poly 8s Cup
Quarter–Final
Another week away from the league, another
lengthy trip, another holiday for Mansingh! Despite the fact that
our opponents were three leagues higher than us and had beaten our
5th team 3–0 a few weeks before, we came into this quarter final
full of confidence that we could produce another cup upset. There
were a few changes from the previous week’s semi final victory,
with the flanks seeing a completely new set up with Cree and Vic
starting at full back, and Marek & Roy on the wings. The spine,
however, remained the same with Guy in goal, Karl & Simon at
the heart of defence, Hemms & Spony in midfield, and Tien &
Jan up front.
We started poorly with sloppy passing all over
the pitch, players turning into trouble, giving possession away
cheaply, and as a result we found ourselves immediately on the back
foot.With well-organised defending though, we managed to minimise
the direct threat and clear chances. Then, against the run of play,
from our first real opportunity, we took the lead. A careless back
pass from the left back allowed Jan to round the keeper, and
although his shot was blocked on the line, Tomas was following up
and remained composed to slot home the rebound. 1 – 0
(T.Sponiar)
HSBC were rocked and we gradually gained in
confidence and looked the better side. The lead was increased when
Tomas bagged a second as he was put clear and coolly chipped the
keeper from the edge of the box. 2 – 0
(Sponiar)
We were now well on top and the home side were
resorting to some heavy fouls, with particular attention paid to
Tomas and Roy. The number four was particularly guilty, but the ref
seemed to have left his cards at home. Tien was also getting
frustrated at a lack of protection as he held the ball up well up
front. There were, however, still some nervy moments as we failed
to clear our lines convincingly at times and gifted possession too
easily. On one such occasion we were punished as three players all
missed the chance to put their foot through the ball to clear the
danger and then when the cross came in, Karl was penalised for
holding back the striker and a penalty was awarded, which was
scored to reduce the deficit. 2 – 1
Rather than panic, we maintained our composure,
with Karl and Simon dictating the tempo, knocking the ball around
at the back, spreading play to the full backs with Hemms always an
option too. Cree was making the extra man down the right and
enjoying the space that was created. It turned out he’d dislocated
his thumb early in the game, but carried on after popping it back
in, and maybe this was to blame for some sloppy passing at times,
which caused worries as HSBC tried to utilise their main danger man
on the left wing. Deservedly, we increased our lead again and
restored the two goal cushion when Marek swung a free kick into the
box from the left wing and the smallest player on the pitch, Roy,
nipped in at the near post to (apparently) get the faintest of
touches and glance past the keeper. 3 – 1
(R.Beeharry)
As half time approached, HSBC tried to apply
some pressure to find a way back into the game, but we appeared to
have weathered the storm. Then another failure to get the ball out
of the danger area resulted in giving away a needless free-kick 30
yards out. The shot skidded through low, but Guy was
well-positioned to save. Unfortunately, the ball slipped from his
grasp and an attacked was the first to the rebound to nudge home.
3 – 2
HALF TIME: HSBC 2 – POLY 3
Back in the game, the home side came out with
their tails up and tried to force us onto the defensive. There was
space to exploit too on the counter attack, but we weren’t able to
take advantage with the final ball letting us down too often. On
the wide pitch, we seemed to tire in the second half, but
ultimately had ourselves to blame. Two goals in quick succession
turned the game on its head. A high cross from the left saw a
forward unmarked in the six yard box to nod home unchallenged at
the near post, and a failure to clear our lines allowed an opponent
to hit low strike past Guy, who probably should’ve done better.
HSBC 4 – 3
Changes were made, with Cesar making a come-back
to replace Tien, and Fab on for Roy. Vic then moved up front as we
went three at the back with just under quarter of an hour to go.
Another crunching over the top tackle on Tomas as he put a cross in
left him down in agony, but the referee didn’t even give a free
kick as tempers rose and players squared up, with Karl in the thick
of the action. After the constant attempts to bully us out of the
game, it was ironic that the first foul the referee chose to punish
with a card was one of ours and produced a straight red for Jan
followed a sliding tackle that caught a defender late. The
punishment was harsh and ended a frustrating day for the striker.
The melee that followed saw the numbers evened up with an HSBC
player seeing red for a shove in the chest.
As the clock ticked over into injury time, we
still had clear chances to force the equaliser that would’ve meant
extra time. First, a corner was flicked on at the near post by
Karl, and when Cree leapt at the far post, he seemed certain to
score, but his header was straight at the man on the line, who
nodded away – much to everyone’s dis-belief. Then, Tomas found
himself free in the area with time and space to pick his spot, but
to everyone’s surprise, rather than seeing the net bulge, the shot
dinked tamely into the keeper’s hands. Finally, the final whistle
blew and we felt gutted to lose. A frustrating afternoon, with some
outstanding performances and passing play, but also some poor
displays and a lacklustre second half which saw some missed chances
punished by our higher league opponents – though many felt that had
we received some better protection from the referee, the
heavy-handed tactics of the hosts would’ve been prevented.
FULL TIME: HSBC 4 – POLY 3