Lloyd’s Beaten After Brave Fightback Lloyd’s Vets FC travelled to Tolworth, Surrey on Wednesday evening for their second fixture of the current campaign against a well-respected Corinthian Casuals FC. The playing conditions were perfect, a slight drizzle in the air and an immaculate, pristine pitch set the tone for what developed into a hugely entertaining match. Once again Lloyd’s Vets were slow out of the blocks and allowed our opponents too much time and space to pick their passes, with some great defending from Brian Boehmer and Scott Ballard keeping us in the game so early into the match. Bruce Martin (who holds the record for the most number of appearances for Corinthian Casuals) and Jamie White down their left wing were causing us a few problems and with ex-England Cricket Captain Alec Stewart marshalling their defence with ex-Player/Manager Roger Steer, we knew we were in a game with only a few minutes on the clock. Possession wise, Corinthian Casuals were dominant however slowly we began to find our feet and use the ball to good effect on such a perfect surface and after 12 minutes we had our first effort from Rob Marshall which was comfortably saved by Clive Offer in goal. Back came Casuals and once again, good defending from Brian Boehmer saw the first corner awarded which was headed clear by Liam Nash to Malcolm Smart and we were on the attack. Good link play between Simon Buckley and David Flint resulted in a corner taken short by Micky Owen to Brian Boehmer and his first time delivery into the box saw Rob Marshall rise unmarked at the back post and steer a bullet header into the net for the opening goal after 21 minutes. Great header, perfect delivery and Lloyd’s Vets had taken the lead somewhat against the run of play. This sprung us into life and now we had the momentum with good one touch passing, confidence in each other and pressing our opponents when the play broke down. We were now on top and looked in search of a second goal as Scott Ballard played a neat one-two with Simon Buckley and then the lively Liam Nash who released Doug Smart beating the offside trap, one on one with the Keeper but couldn’t finish. Immediately Casuals came back and on 34 minutes a break down our right flank resulted in Bruce Martin having the chance to level with just James Summerfield between him and glory, however he must have found the only bobble on the pitch and sent the ball soaring over our bar, much to the relief of Lloyd’s Vets. Once again Casuals got in down their left wing and delivered a teasing cross across the face of our goal and this time we half cleared however Brian Boehmer went to pick a pass instead of clearing his lines, the ball was intercepted and laid off to a Casuals midfielder who hit a sweet strike from 23 yards out and the match was levelled at 1-1 on the stroke of halt-time. Half-time 1-1 No changes at half-time and we were confident this match was there for the taking, however we failed to get going again so soon after the break and Casuals were again peppering our box with numerous crosses which were being dealt with by Kevin Donovan, Brian Boehmer and Scott Ballard but soon enough we were made to pay with 2 quick fire goals and now we were up against it with over 35 minutes still to play. A change in formation saw us switch Malcolm Smart with debutant Riccardo Roveta who came on down the right hand side of midfield and his pace caused panic in the Casuals defence and we had a half chance fall to David Flint, which was well blocked by the oncoming defender. Good play between Liam Nash and a tiring Rob Marshall on 66 minutes saw another effort blocked before we were forced into a change at the back since Casuals were beginning to open us up at will therefore Carl Pearse came on in place of David Flint and we switched to 4-5-1 however nobody spoke Italian so Riccardo pushed up top with Doug Smart and our right side which Kevin Donovan was handling, soon lacked any support and we were once more under the Casuals cosh. Our final change on 68 minutes saw Hector Osholake came on in midfield for Rob Marshall and immediately he released Kevin Donovan who found Riccardo Roveta in space and his deep cross was well handled by Offer in goal and he quickly threw out and we were defending another Casuals attack. Another great delivery by Casuals’ Jamie White was headed clear by Scott Ballard and a fantastic volley slammed against the cross bar with James Summerfield beaten on 74 minutes, however the ball broke to Simon Buckley who fed Micky Owen down the left and his diagonal ball into Doug Smart saw him line up a first time volley, only for his brother Malcolm on the sideline to yell “2 touches Douggy” and fortunately he listened then played square to the incoming Liam Nash who bundled the ball home with his peg on 78 minutes. Our tails were up in search of the equaliser and soon after the restart we were in behind again as Liam Nash made a great run into the box only to find the same bobble as Casuals did in the first half and the ball was sent miles over the bar. The game was a real spectacle now and both sides were playing some fantastic football, end to end attacks resulting in great defending all over the pitch but on 82 minutes a long ball over the top looked to be comfortably dealt with by Roger Steer in defence for Casuals but his slip was pounced upon by Doug Smart and he was bearing down on goal with the Keeper to beat. A composed and measured finish with the outside of his left boot and we were level. Great finish Doug. The score was tied at 3-3 and our fightback was well deserved after the effort we had all put in across the pitch however in the 86th minute an over hit cross was well kept in by substitute Chris Watney and his quick feet made room for a pinpoint cross and the Casuals No. 10, who had been a menace all evening, slid in for the winner as James Summerfield tried in vain to prevent the goal. A real kick in the teeth after we had done so well to pick ourselves up and make a game of it in the second period. Full-time 3-4 A brilliant team performance lads albeit we ended up on the losing side, however we were up against a very disciplined and experienced Corinthians Casuals side who play 40 games per season. Excellent performances from Simon Buckley in midfield plus Brian Boehmer and Scott Ballard at the back, but the Man of the Match award goes to Liam Nash for his energy, positive running and goal.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 08:04:09 +0000