Here is the Vets report from their game on 10 January: WBFC Vets 5-0 MMB Vets (HT 1-0) Scorers: Nicholas, Jackson, Murphy 2, Cormack Man of the match: Carl Nicholas/Sean Jackson shared award So Boro Vets kicked off 2015 in convincing fashion on a blustery day at Richardson Evans where the conditions meant it was a game of two halves but Boro mastered the conditions the best to run out worthy winners. In the run up to the game manager Deacon was indebted as ever to super scout Barry Barnes who produced another player Carl Nicholas as well as offering to don the boots himself to give us some options as the squad was depleted due to illness & holidays. With the kick off delayed thanks to an accident on the A3 & a packed car park due to some sort of running event taking place on the Common, it was a strong rather than full strength Boro side that took to the pitch resplendent in the new yellow change strip that the club has acquired. With Richard Brooks arriving late due to the traffic Boro lined up in their usual 4-4-2 formation with Plum in goal; a defence of Axelson, Laker, Dulley & Stevenson; a midfield of Nicholas, Sweeney, Cormack & Barnes with Jackson being partnered by Deacon up front as we mixed & matched to provide ourselves with a strong spine with Murphy (reffing the first half) & Brooks on the bench. Winning the toss we opted to play against the wind in the first half & whilst MMB had plenty of possession Plum was largely untroubled in goal as the defence & midfield put up an effective screen in front of him. MMB did have one shot that was wind assisted & sailed over his head just clipping the bar but really he was confined to coming to collect over hit passes forward. For Boro going forward we were relying on the pace of Jackson up front to run into the space behind the MMB defence which was pushing up. Through his tenacity he was able to force the MMB keeper into a couple of saves which resulted in corners from one of which debutant Nicholas scored with a header at the far post. With Boro in the lead Deacon came off to be replaced by Brooks who was denied a goal when a MMB defender bravely dived in making a goal line clearance & getting a knock for his troubles. So at half time it was mission accomplished as we had taken the lead against the elements so used the break to make a few tweaks to our line up. Murphy replaced Barnes & joined Jackson up front with Brooks moving back to the right hand side of midfield & Nicholas moving over to the left flank. I became the man in the middle until I was poleaxed by a mishit volley in the face that saw me replaced by Barry Barnes. With MMB struggling to get out of their half they were then caught out on one of the few occasions that they had pushed up as Nicholas out on the left delivered a great diagonal ball over the defenders head right into the path of Jackson who took the ball on before calmly slotting past the keeper. We then almost had a repeat as Murphy ran through passing the ball into the back of net but the linesman had raised his flag for offside. However he was not to be denied getting on the score sheet to make the game safe at 3-0, before Cormack scored with a slow motion diving header from a corner & then Murphy got his second with another smart finish as Boro ended the game strongly. With the adjoining second team game finishing Charlie Hands came on for a cameo at left back replacing Stevenson who was nursing a sore back & then I came on to replace Laker who was also protecting his back. Sweeney was unlucky not score a well-deserved goal for the ground he covered in central midfield as their keeper made a fine save low down to his left to tip the ball round the post. Man of the match votes were shared between Nicholas, Jackson, Sweeney, Cormack, & Laker with Carl & Sean the joint winners. Thanks to Patrick & Callum Laker, & Maggie & Max Dulley for their support. Hero of the week: Barry Barnes as enthusiastic as ever at 60 putting in a great shift in the first half & then stepping into ref the second half. Villain of the week: MMB player who almost took my head off with a miss hot volley!! My teeth are still aching!!
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:37:11 +0000