EM95 1 v 5 Nailsea

May 12th, 2024 Clifton College Sports Ground

TEAM: Sir, Teague, Jim, Bri, Rob,  Alex, Duds, Stu, Rick, Yinka, Drane

SUBS: Morgs, Manny, Jones

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TITLE REIGN COMES CRASHING TO AN END

Perfect weather and a perfect pitch greeted the teams for this crunch potential title decider. Monday were going for a hat-trick of Over 50’s titles, against a strong Nailsea team that had already knocked them out of the cup and held them to a draw this season. The two spectators in the stands eagerly awaited the top flight entertainment when news came through that the ref decided that it was too much pressure and decided not ot show up for the mouth-watering fixture (his bike broke down on route) so Colonel volunteered to blow the whistle so long as both sides agreed to take it easy on him.

A strong team and bench listened intently to Stu’s pre-match battle cry. This was a must-win game for the Monday if they wanted to retain the title, Nailsea just needed a point to take it from us.

The tactic of keeping the game tight, tiring the opposition out on a such a hot day, with a full squad was a sound one and this was vindicated when after a bright start the 95ers took the lead from a wonderfully worked move that saw Drane pull into the wide left channel and deliver a sumptuous cross that was met by a diving Yinka, his forehead connecting beautifully to send the ball into the bottom corner.

Yinka told reporters after the game… “I could have easily tapped the ball in but went for the flying header 6 inches off the ground.” 1-0 It was certainly deserved, but acted as a kick up the backside to Nailsea, who started to nullify the Monday passing game and managed to create a couple of half chances of their own. 

Complacency seemed to set in, players didn’t make those extra runs, concentration levels dropped and the heat took its impact….and that was after only 10 mins!

The Nailsea equaliser came from a corner, that was half cleared, the Blues were guilty of not closing their man down on the edge of the box, and he picked out a great finish into the corner giving Sir Lee in goal no chance, 1-1

The game was reasonably even at that point and Draner had a great chance to restore the lead when clean through, his finish lacked power though and the keeper saved. Nailsea got on top as the half went on, looking well organised throughout and dangerous in attack. On the half hour mark Morgs and Manny came on to freshen things up in the mid morning heat. The central midfield area was becoming both congested and hugely competitive with neither side managing to keep hold of the ball particularly well; the game was becoming a battle. The deadlock was broken when a misplaced long pass from Rance, was intercepted, pumped straight back over the high defensive line and subsequently lobbed over the on rushing Sir Lee, 1-2

Bri told Sky Sports after the match… “I think, I was too busy thinking I should have done as I was told!” Half time arrived and after the mother of all b*****kings from Yinka (the Blues had been pretty sloppy all over the pitch) Rance promised to only pass to him in the second half, and not to cross into the box for others. A tactical reshuffle at half time saw Monday revert to 3-5-2 with Jones and Ben C coming on and enjoying twenty odd minutes of total domination, played entirely in the Nailsea half. The ball was being stroked around nicely, but the cutting edge was lacking, chances came and went. Manny managed to wriggle through on the right, got to the touch line and passed the ball back to Morgs who had lost his marker on the pen spot, the crowd held its breath in anticipation of a certain equlaiser, instead the striker managed to get enough lift to sky it beyond the perimeter net.

Morgs then made a chance for himself with a bustling run, firing just over. Ben C had a header cleared off the line. It looked like it was only a matter of time for a goal to come such was the domination. Seeing that were struggling to cope with the Monday onslaught, the Nailsea skipper asked the ref for a drinks break (it was quite warm out there). A quick Monday team talk to ‘keep at it’…instead the wheels came off.

Nailsea managed to negate the formation switch and the heat started to take its toll. The Blues started to give the ball away with increasing regularity.

The need to score, naturally caused a more forward approach that in the end was to be the undoing of the 95ers. By going man to man at the back, the quick break was always a possibility and Nailsea got their third when their not particularly quick, and short winger chased a long ball with Jim, in his own words Jim recalled… “I utterly failed to clear,  even getting in front of him to play the ball out when a short leg poked the ball across goal for a tap in. 3-1. Heads dropped.” The fourth goal very quickly followed. Another Monday move broke down and Nailsea cleared to their dangerous front man and Lee got chipped from 30 odd yards. Bit of a ‘worldie’ to be fair.

Their fifth followed from another cleared corner with a midfielder picking his spot with a clinical finish. Final score 5-1. Title gone. Nailsea deserved winners on the day.

Yinka told his loyal TikTok fans… “Too many players were off their game today, defeat could be the tonic for a reaction and hopefully next week we can get back to building on another three year winning streak. ”Alex added… “It was simply a bad day at the office, at the most crucial game of the season. Their goalkeeper had a great game. They were a great bunch of lads who played fair and seemed to enjoy the Corinthian spirit. Nobody noticed the makeshift ref, which is a clear indication that he had a great game too.”

Bri told waiting reporters… “Was it a fair result, no. Did EM95’s try and play the better football, yes. Were Nailsea just a bit to savvy for us on the day, yes. The game was played in a very hard, but fair manner and I can only reiterate the Nailsea managers sentiment, we are the best footballing team in the league."

Centre back Jim Philpott summed up his feelings after the game…“On a scorcher of a Super Sunday, Monday gathered with a strong squad, ready to pull the trigger for an epic title run in. Unfortunately however, the only accuracy we managed was in shooting ourselves in the foot throughout the game, and annoyingly were well beaten. A frustrating way to end our 2-year reign as champions. Our solidity from the last two seasons hasn’t been there this year . Teams have found it too easy to score against us, with us conceding too many goals and at the same time not creating enough chances or doing enough to win games. I’d say it’s been more 5/6 marks collectively instead of our 7/8’s from last season. Certainly at the back we let in too many soft goals so I’ll be embarking on an ambitious pre-season training programme! We’ve got the same squad as the all-conquering double winners of 22/23 so plenty of cause for optimism. Maybe we need to all make more effort to attend on a Thursdays (I include myself here) as we have lost some cohesion this season. Or maybe even a pre-season friendly or two.”

MOM N/A