Match Report - 21st Januray 2007

This was a convincing win for Actual who showed why they have been in the top three for most of the season. On a pitch that was very boggy and waterlogged in many areas, they played some excellent football, with neat, accurate passing, tight control, some brilliant crosses and shooting that really tested Daniel Lynch in the Headstone goal. They took the initiative early on and had the game sewn up by half time.

It might have been different had Headstone not been so slow to get started. They hadn’t played for over a month due to postponements and the Christmas break and in the early stages it showed as they struggled to string their passes together and hold possession.

Headstone had a blow before the game started when centre back Russell Butlin couldn’t start due to an ankle injury. Joe Jordan teamed up with Nicholas Furquim in the centre and Josh Street stepped in at right back for the first time and did well. Then in the 15th minute, with the team two goals down, they lost striker Brett Swinton-Bland who had tried to battle through an injury to his leg and back but couldn’t continue. Kyle Giles-Brown took his place up front. So with two key players absent they were up against it.

Headstone’s defence struggled to deal with Actual’s attacks from the start and some found themselves being turned and passed too easily by Actual’s forwards. They were punished in the 5th minute when an attack down the left was met by an oncoming forward left completely unmarked to score. Fortunately, Daniel was alert and sharp and made several outstanding saves as Actual switched the play from one wing to the other and carved out shooting opportunities.

Thomas Green battled away in the midfield winning tackles and headers but Headstone’s midfield were finding it a hard slog. Midway through the half the lead was doubled when a move through the centre carved a hole in the defence and a simple, well placed shot gave Daniel no chance.

Actual continued to press but as the half progressed Headstone finally woke up and started to play. As they forced Actual back they realised they could mount a threat and Conor McBreen created a couple of half chances. Then Headstone had two great chances to get back into the match. Firstly Thomas had a shot from close range that beat the keeper but was hacked away. It wasn’t clear whether it was over the line or not. Then Conor put Jordan Coleman through eight yards out and, with just the keeper to beat, he steered his shot just the wrong side of the post. Later Francis Nkhoma had a shot but he couldn’t keep it on target.

So as the half ended, Headstone looked as though they could make a fight of it. But with the last move of the half Actual sealed the points. All it took was a swift move down the left, a low cross and their striker produced a superb shot from the edge of the penalty area that flew into the corner. The referee blew for half time straight after.

The pattern of the second half saw Actual have most of the possession and the ball spent more of the time in the Headstone half. Although Headstone continued their good work they weren’t able to threaten the Actual goal at all. Conor and Kyle found it hard to get the better of the defenders. At the other end Daniel again produced several good saves so despite their possession Actual couldn’t add to their lead. Then in the 51st minute they produced a goal from out of the blue. A speculative low shot from outside of the area looked to be covered by Daniel, but he misjudged it and it caught the inside of the post and trickled over the line. Nine minutes later it was 0-5. This time a corner was driven low and hard across the area and Actual’s striker reacted fastest to hit home.

Russell’s ankle had eased with the rest and he was able to come on in the centre of defence. Jordan Wright also came on with Jordan Coleman and Nicholas Furquim making way. It looked as though Headstone would come out of the game with nothing when top scorer Conor struck with two minutes to go. The goal came from an attack by Francis that looked to have fizzled out. But the keeper fumbled the ball and Conor was in the right place to tuck it away and maintain his excellent scoring record.

The scoreline and performance from Headstone were disappointing. Had they played from the start like they did from the 25th minute it might have been closer but Actual played good football and deserved the points. Daniel Lynch did more than anyone to keep Headstone in the game and for that was man of the match.