20th March 2005 - Away 10.30am KO vs. Waveney B

Result - Won 8-0

An all round quality team performance saw Mutford beat their only Lowestoft based league opposition at Barnards Meadow.

With the late arrival of 'keeper Harrison due to a mix-up over the Kick-off time, Mutford lined-up with Wheels in goal, Jack, Jervy, Phil and Joe in defence, Clabby, Johnny and Jason in midfield, Mikey, Josh and Smiffy in attack.

The match started with Mutford electing to kick towards the Bannantynes end. The early exchanges were fairly even, but it was Mutford who got the first goal. A clinical through-ball for Mikey to run on to, his fierce  shot being well saved by the Waveney 'keeper only to see the ball fall to Mikey for a second bite of the cherry who this time coolly stroked the ball home from a tight angle. The early goal had given Mutford confidence and the 3 musketeers up-front set about one of their best striking performances of the season.

It was Josh who scored next, cutting in from the left, he shot across the 'keeper into the far corner of the net (something that we had been working on lately in training). The midfield were playing some great through balls and Smiffy was unlucky not to extend the lead after latching onto one.

Again Mutford came forward, this time Josh, down the left again from a similar position to that of his goal, this time he elected to play a superb cross for Mikey to slot home for the best goal of the game.

The last 5 minutes of the half were worrying for the Mutford faithful. Waveney were playing some good football and started to peg Mutford back. There were some desperate defending by Mutford, and a great block by Jack just as it looked liked being 3-1. There was also some good handling by Wheels in goal when called on to keep the scoreline in tact.

Half Time 3-0

At half time the Mutford Manager demanded more concentration at the back. The last encounter between these 2 sides had seen Waveney claw back a similar deficit to nearly win the game. Harrison took over from Wheels in Goal and the game restarted.

The shaky end to the first half by Mutford was soon forgotten when an inch perfect ball over the top was lifted over the on-coming 'keeper by Mikey for his hatrick. This quality finish seemed to knock the stuffing out of Waveney and within a matter of minutes Josh got his second after beating the 'keeper to another quality through ball.

A scramble in the goal mouth saw the ball strike a hand of one of the Waveney defenders and the Referee had no choice but to point to the spot. The Mutford penalty taker Clabby sportingly gave the ball to Josh who was on a hatrick. Josh stepped up and put the ball wide of the 'keeper left hand post, however, the ref was not ready and hadn't blown his whistle so the kick had to be taken again. this time, as cool as you like, Josh blasted the ball into the top left hand corner of the net to make the score 6-0 and put a tear in his mothers eye (probably due to his goal scoring bonus).

The Mutford midfield were now rampant. Clabby was on top of his game, Johnny and Jason were continuing to feed the front three and Jack, Jervy, Phil and Joe were solid at the back. Wheels came on up front with Josh moving to left back with Joe resting.

Mikey capped off a superb afternoon with his forth after a mix-up in the Waveney defence left him with a tap-in. Harrison, in goal, hadn't had much to do since coming on at half time, but had to be at his best when a Waveney striker unleashed a shot from the edge of the area that looked a goal all the way, only to see Harrison save onto the post.

The game was almost over when Smiffy picked the ball up on the left slid a lovely pass through to Clabby, who went on a mazy run, he shot and the Waveney 'keeper made a great save only for the ball to rebound out to Smiffy who smashed the ball into the top corner.

 Final Score 8-0

The Mutford Manager Paul Rose was overjoyed with the result "I am very pleased with the overall performance. We were under the cosh for the last 5 minutes in the first half, but apart from that, we dominated the game". Mikey was awarded "Man-of-the-match" not just for scoring 4 goals, but for the overall quality of his performance.

Assistant Mutford Manager Mark Smith said "It was one of those days when everything that we have been working on in training clicked. I was particularly glad to see the strikers bag all the goal. I don't think I have ever seen 8 goals in a game with every one scored by a striker. Although it's hard to single anyone out for extra praise after a performance like that, Paul and I were unanimous in our decision to give Mikey Man-of-the-match. Josh was also excellent, along with Smiffy, who never stops running. I was particularly pleased with Jack's game, his defending and the positions he takes up generally are improving with every game. It's amazing to think that this is his first season playing competitive football".

Man of the Match - 4 goal Hero Mikey.

Posted 20^th February 2005