Ramsbury earn credible draw against a seasoned Purton FC XI in sweltering conditions
Ramsbury FC Team (4-4-2):
ASH
DAN CHRIS (C) JAMES KAI
ZAC SKIPS ADS ROB
ASH B SEAN RED BOOTS
SUBS: OSCAR, BEN, SEANO
Ramsbury FC missing a few regular players still fielded a decent starting 11 and had a couple of young guns on the bench to ensure Seano behaved, which was not needed as he ran the line for the first half. The pitch was a dust bowl and the heat a sweltering 30C as both teams started off briskly for about 2-3 minutes…..until the heat and poor pitch gave them a rude awakening and they looked like they were wading in treacle! It also didn’t help that Ramsbury had the sun in their eyes throughout the first half and to their credit did really well considering the glare.
Ramsbury FC started brightly enough with Adam and Skips playing really well in front of a solid back 4 of Dan, Chris, James and Kai. However, the positional play and slow recovery when out of possession by Ramsbury meant that the opposition had too much on the ball in the centre of the park and only their tame shots and some good goal keeping by Ash preventing a goal. But the goal did come with some slack marking and lack off communication that saw 2 Purton players unmarked and easily convert a good cross to make it 1-0.
Ramsbury FC picked up the pace in the second half and Rob on the left and Zac on the right were a constant threat and provided Ash B and Sean Red Boots some great service that they just could not convert. Ramsbury still struggled with shape and positioning but started to play some good attacking football when they weren’t trying to play ludicrous 60 yard FIFA passes across the pitch and went close twice and had a goal disallowed by Zac that was to most people watching clearly onside. Ben P came on for Sean Red Boots and did well with his pace and made a great contribution as Ramsbury ended the half 1-0 down but the stronger of the two teams and probably should have had a penalty that the ref gave as a free kick just outside the area.
The second half saw Oscar come on in goal for Ash and at 16 (17 shortly) was calm and composed throughout the half with some sublime goal kicks and throw outs. A very promising young keeper! Ben P also stayed on as Ramsbury pressed for a goal and if honest should have had about 4 as they had more shots than a Mexican Mariachi Band at a wedding party…..but unlike the good Mariachi Band were completely off song with a range of shots that looked like they had been drinking tequila….they were all that bad!! Rob, James, Sean Red Boots and Ben P were all culprits and on another day Ramsbury would have been 4-1 up! It was a shame as Ramsbury were completely on top with excellent defending and Adam and Skips bossing the midfield and the front 4 taking the Purton defence to the cleaners with great passing and interceptions that the opposition had no answer for. But the shooting was poor and the score stayed 1-0.
By now Seano the gaffer had seen enough and he was on for Adam and with more Ramsbury FC caps than Dumbledore and Gandalf the Grey combined, slotted neatly in at left back. The age differential on the Ramsbury FC side was now 44 years…..the age difference between Seano and Oscar….which must be some sort of record and if nothing confirms the rumours that Seano is actually Benjamin Button!!!
Seano made an instant impact and after some lovely play out to Sean Red Boots saw a great pass to Zac who turned and calmly slotted the ball past the Purton keeper to make it 1-1. The score should have been more as Ramsbury relentlessly piled on the pressure, but more woeful shooting saw the score remain 1-1 and both teams earn a credible draw and see honours even.
In sum, a good pre-season warm up that showed that simple passing and better shooting is required, but that Ramsbury FC have the players and the ability to play good football when they put their mind to it. A great bunch of lads and with a few more joining the squad and a few more good training sessions it could be a good season.
Cheers
Jon
PS Man of the match in my view was Skips and shirt of Shame Rob for too many misses and being over priced on the Fantasy Football!!!!!
