‘The Edge’ - Home v Hove Rivervale (Sussex Cup) November 9, 2008
Posted by editor in : Matches , trackbackSome say, he taught our ‘arry all he knows and is the real power behind spurs revival, all we know is that he provides anonymous match reports and calls himself ‘The Edge’…
Uckfield Grasshoppers 1 – 5 Hove Rivervale
Today’s escapade could be best described as in what was a good old traditional British early round, battling cup tie. Images of Ronnie Radford in his muddy kit doing his airplane celebration, howling winds and wet conditions, nostalgia at it’s best. Muddy brilliant or was it muddy hell.
I walked away from the game very proud of the all round performance of the team. Again the score line flattered the opposition who were given a big leg up by Lady Luck. Whereas she chose to smile on Hove, she chose to flick the V’s at the boys in yellow when our chances arose. When you consider the three attempts that struck the woodwork and the ball holding up in the mud as it headed towards the goal, old biased Miss Luck did have it in for us a bit.
I was impressed with the attitude of everyone, from the warm up to the final whistle everyone gave 100% for the entire match. In games gone by heads have dropped when we have gone a couple of goals down and that has allowed the opposition to get a couple more, indiscipline creeps in and creates spaces for the opposition to exploit. I was pleased that this was not the case today and everyone’s efforts, as well as their team play was outstanding. Had the old cow Luck been a bit more impartial today, it could have been a much different ending.
That’s to take nothing away from what was a good Hove side who took their chances well. They arguably deserved their win but I felt that we matched them in all areas of the park except that they had Miss Hissy Prissy Luck smiling divinely at them.
Regan was largely untroubled except for adding a little further strain to his pre-existing back injury bending over to pick the ball out of the net, but coming off freezing cold showed just how little he had to do throughout the game. When he was called on he did well and was not to blame for any of the goals that did go past him.
The back four were did well and it was good to hear Harry Coleman marshalling them vociferously throughout the game, always encouraging and keeping his lieutenants switched on. Crispy and Brandon continue to improve and Sam did well but his exertions caused him to flag a bit as the game wore on and he was replaced by Freddie who did well, showing that it’s and easier game when it’s played simple.
The midfield again worked tirelessly with Jarvis and Charlie working well, with their respective attacking and defensive roles complementing each other well. Fergus again covered a half marathon though was caught in possession a few times, releasing the ball earlier and allowing his pace to put him in a position to receive a return might have been the better option. Josh completed the midfield quartet and gave what we have come to expect, a competent good performance.
Toby and Josh worked well up front and did well in difficult conditions but always provided an option for the midfield which was good to see.
Matt and Pat came on for the final few minutes but by which time the game was already lost, but, to their credit they maintained the level of effort and commitment that had been set and chased everything down and still looked to play good football.
To the untrained eye, such is mine, the best bit was undoubtedly seeing the lads actually incorporate what had been worked in training during a match. You may not actually have been aware you were doing it, but the way you were moving the ball, getting passes away before the opposition closed you down, resisting the temptation to overplay and take on the world only to run into a dead end or loose possession, was actually very encouraging to see. And in the main you all did it very well. These are technical aspects of your play that you all need to work on and practice.
So, as a very famous football person, it might even have been me, said. Don’t practice it till you get it right, practice it until you don’t get it wrong!
Let’s keep the attitude we saw today and take it into training.
A very big well done.
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