COWHC Men's 2s vs Addiscombe Men's 2s - 07th Oct 2017

It's Saturday and that means only 1 thing, yes the navy blue shirt that is so cherished is to be donned and defended through blood sweat and tears! This week more then most, as we headed into a local derby against Addiscombe. With some recent transfers activity between the clubs we knew that the game would be close and hard fought.

As the squad assembled, new faces Alex and Neil and the returning face (I say face, he now looks like he's just surfaced from a very long stint in solitary / on a dessert island / playing an undercover homeless man / Ian Beale look a like entrant delete as appropriate) of Tom Dawes!

Some ribbing between the sides set the game up to be competitive.

The game got underway with CROWS pressing hard and smothering Addiscombe into mistakes. The press led from the midfield resulted in an early short corner for the away side. With a quick injection, we turned a slightly way ward ball into a direct strike by Ash the stopper, which was well saved. The ball rebounding back to Ash, who eyed the goal up again! With a quick shift of his feet he slipped a defender and crashed the ball home. 1-0 and a strong start. As the half went on CROWS grew in confidence moving the ball nicely through the transfers across the back 4, then through the the midfield, shifting Addiscombe from left to right and back again. Ollie Houghton throwing aerials giving CROWS new options and constantly giving Addiscombe something to think about. Then came goal number 2, I'll be honest this was a bit of a blur for me, but it seemed another well worked move, with Ash on the end of it his second of the game and 2 in 2 years!!

The second goal sparked Addiscombe into life, from a CROWS short corner they showed their hand, breaking quickly and with a lightening winger, advanced onto the CROWS D. Rochovsky (SIC) came out covered the angles and cleared the danger. With this opportunity Addiscombe felt they may have a slight glimmer of getting back into the game.

With another quick break this time down their right the ball made its way into the D, again Rochpinder (SIC) came out to cover the danger, the ball was bounced around him and with a scrappy mela, was forced over the line leaving the score 2-1.

Raj obviously is feeling flush as he earned another trip to Larry Flynt's, with his second goal line clearance in 2 weeks! This one didn't require the removal of his head gear and resulted in a short corner much to Rocheveer's (SIC) disappointment.

2-1 it stayed!

Half time came and went, the game sparked back into life with the umpires whistle.

Addiscombe came out of the traps well, trying to press as they had been pressed themselves. The CROWS however are made of sterner stuff. Soaking up the pressure winning the midfield battle and playing our way out of danger. David Van Der Roche (SIC) again commanding his D swatting away any Addiscombe short corner with destain and turning into Manuel Neuer; acting as the sweeper keeper, playing it out from the back and throwing in the occasional step over. With strong distribution from the Neil on his debut and strong running from the other debutant Alex, CROWS regained control of the game. Massive efforts from Sam T showing his versatility again and Steve M, turning into Rio Ferdinand and charging up the pitch ball on stick, pushed Addiscombe back into their half. A notable save from the Addiscombe keeper, came from some strong midfield play by the CROWS and an audacious flick with his back to goal from #JP17, saw a top draw pick and a look of disbelief. Pressure led to another CROWS short corner. With a lightening injection from #JP17 Ash stops it dead, Will C steps up for the drag! Addiscombe's runner blocks the effort! The ball bounces up, Will decides a quick header to give him space was the best option, deftly flicks the ball with his head past the defender and with what I can only describe as pure killer instinct, absolutely twats the half volley reverse into the top corner! 3-1! What followed was a primal scream of pure ecstasy, earning him several DOD nominations! But the comical moment of this game again involved the teams beloved leader #JP17. With verve and skill he kept the ball high up the pitch, having beaten a man he looked to retain possession but was cynically cloth lined in the mid drift and scythed to the ground! Now for those that know him, #JP17 isn't one for the dramatic and genuinely felt he had been fouled. Unfortunately the other 21 players, 2 umpires and the 15 strong crowd all saw nothing and genuinely just laughed at him. Being compared to Rivaldo is often a huge compliment, just not when it's for going down for no reason! With DOD sewn up the game came toward its exciting end, the last action seeing Joe 'Jamie Vardy' Hyatt and #JP17 combining well with the former making the Addiscombe keeper complete another good save.

The final whistle goes, a loud cheer and bragging rights staying with CROWS!

Another good display to follow on from last week and that's 2 wins from 2. We sit top of the league and march on to a tougher test against a good PW's side next week. Well done to the debutants, honourable mentions to Tom and Ollie too. Thank you for all those who came down to support. Bring on PW's and another local derby!