After a number of poor results Ramsbury FC showed what they can do with a dominant 4-2 win against an overly physical and aggressive North Swindon side. It was a first home win in the league and was achieved with a significant number of first choice players absent; and who will all now be fighting to regain their positions as the team today were outstanding with a final score line that flattered the opposition. It was a bold call by Sean as Coach to select a back 3 of Harry, Chris (C) and Leigh in front of Dan O in goal; a midfield 5 of Macca and Pricey in the centre of midfield alongside Zac and Adam and Max as wing backs. The attacking composition of the team was complimented by Ali and Sam up front with Arun, Sean and Jon as subs. This formation and the spirit of the team was what made the difference and saw Ramsbury gain their second win of the season and three much needed points.
The first half saw Ramsbury attack from the outset and put North Swindon on the back foot. Within 10 minutes they were 1-0 up with neat play by Macca and Pricey out to Ali who put in a great cross to Zac who calmly brought the ball under control and slotted it into the top right corner. However, North Swindon were back in the game quickly with a speculative shot from distance that caught Dan O off his line and floated in to make it 1-1. Ramsbury responded brilliantly and went close on two occasions with superb wing back play by Max on the left and Adam who were great outlets to the get the ball into Sam and Ali. And although North Swindon countered well and nearly scored if it wasn’t for a world class save by Dan O onto the post, it was Ramsbury who scored next with brilliant play by Harry at right back out to Zac and Pricey who got the ball to Adam and who then skinned the left back and put in a peach of a cross for Sam to superbly head past the keeper. It was a goal of real quality and came from solid defending into attack and put the opposition completely on the back foot. The remainder of the half was all Ramsbury as the opposition keeper went off injured and Ramsbury dominated play with Chris, Harry and Leigh at the back holding firm and Pricey, Macca and Zac controlling the midfield and winning some feisty battles. Ali and Sam were a constant threat along with Max and Adam on the wings and although the first half ended 2-1, it could and should have been much more.
Ramsbury continued to play high pressing and high tempo attacking football in the second half with the midfield trio of Macca, Pricey and Zac too good for the opposition. The opposition resorted to constant fouling and kicking and unfortunately the ‘aged’ referee, who made Sean and Jon look young, was far too slow to act and things started to get ugly. Ramsbury, however, kept their calm and some great play by Leigh to Pricey out to Adam and back into Zac resulted in the third goal as Zac hit a speculative and pretty tame shot from distance that bobbled in past the keeper to make it 3-1. Zac’s assertion that it was a ‘rocket shot’ was properly laughed at in the pub later as even his old man could have hit it better than that, but they all count and it was a vital third goal! North Swindon were fed up being second best and then suffered a ‘proper’ thunderbolt of a shot from 25 yards by Macca to make it 4-1 to rub salt into their wounds. They then lost all discipline and the elbows, kicks and fouls got worse and ended up in a mass scuffle as Ali who had been knocked off his feet and with the ball stuck under him was subjected to about four or five kicks from two North Swindon players; this saw Macca and Pricey lead the rest of the team to dive in and ended up in handbags and a yellow card for Macca and the opposition No10, who had been looking for a scrap all game! The scuffle woke North Swindon up a bit and they started to try and play a bit, albeit with the usual late tackles and elbow follow throughs that the ref did not give. Dan O, Chris, Pricey and Ali especially were on the receiving end and I for one was hugely impressed with the their discipline and self control in not retaliating. Arun came on for Max who had out in a real shift and added yet more pace up front to run the opposition ragged. Max, Sam, Ali and Adam could all have added more goals as the attack on the opposition goal was relentless and if it hadn’t been for some great saves by the opposition keeper it would have been much more. North Swindon did however pull a goal back as Ramsbury for once failed to clear their lines, but it was all a bit too late as Ramsbury ran out comfortable and deserved 4-2 winners. Sean came on for Harry with about 43 seconds to go and lasted well…..and I think even managed a touch….still helps his stats!!!!
The performance was what Ramsbury can do when focussed, committed and disciplined and showed real character. Sean got the formation spot on and Dan O in goal was superb along with the back three of Chris, Harry and Leigh. Adam and Max ran the channels so well and the midfield of Pricey and Macca and Zac was solid. Sam and Ali were a constant threat. It was a superb ‘team’ performance with Zac getting man of the match and Adam the shirt of shame for managing shot that he scuffed so badly it ended up going behind him and out for a throw……an amazing achievement!
Training Tuesday…..lets get along and keep this momentum going!
Jon
