Posted by SUPPORTER on March 26, 2008, 12:26 am, in reply to "Re: City 2-1 Uxbridge: A View From The Terraces"
Rightly said CHAS with GOERGE back in the team its a better balanced one, lets hope it stays that way .We are begining to play as we did
at the start of the season--Previous Message--
: At last an all round hard working and well
: balanced team.Two well deserved Easter
: victories.The return of George Redknap is
: significant.Good footballer,quietly
: effective,good vision,holds the ball
: well,plays people in. Michael Lyon at last
: getting the goals his workrate deserves;an
: excellent acquisition to the club.Assuming
: no injuries,the same starting line up
: against Fleet will give City a good chance
: of continuing a winning run.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Great report, Chris. It reminds us all how
: important it is to pressurise defenders and
: keepers even when all looks safe for them.
: It was Leon running for a hopeless ball and
: trying to block Wells' clearance that
: resulted in a goal for Michael Lyon which
: won the match. No wonder our assistant
: manager keeps urging players to 'put them
: under'!
:
: --Previous Message--
: An unseasonable Bank Holiday Monday brought
: Uxbridge to Court Place Farm for a clash
: between two sides both in play-off places
: and looking to consolidate their positions.
: Uxbridge arrived on the back of a 2-2 draw
: with league leaders Farnborough; whilst
: City’s 5-1 win on Saturday would have given
: them a lift.
: Nicholls won the first corner of the game on
: six minutes and Kevin Warner’s kick caused a
: few moments of concern before a long
: clearance picked out Mark Bell on the right
: and his direct running and pass gave Michael
: Lyon a chance but his shot was wide of the
: mark.
: James Saulsbury cut short a promising run by
: Warner before moving upfield and delivering
: a swirling cross that Lyon headed not far
: beyond the far post.
: The newly-signed Louis Wells in the
: visitors’ goal, whose lengthy kicks are
: clearly a useful addition to the Uxbridge
: armoury, had to be quickly out of his area
: to head clear from George Redknap as he
: chased a lofted pass; and as Bell turned his
: marker and raced along the goal-line to hit
: the ball firmly into the danger area Wells
: did well to collect the ball at the second
: attempt.
: Around the end of the first quarter City
: were having the better of the exchanges and
: carved out two or three excellent chances.
: Bell set up Lyon for a run on goal and a
: shot that was put behind for a corner, from
: which Andy Gunn produced a goalbound shot
: that the lunging form of Dave Thomas
: deflected wide. Gunn had an even clearer
: chance two minutes later as a free-kick from
: Saulsbury found him relatively unmarked and
: close to goal, but there was no time to
: control the ball and his effort was high.
: Perhaps the best of the trio of chances fell
: to Lyon on the half-hour as his pace took
: him through on goal but a momentary
: hesitation gave Dave Thomas just enough time
: to get in a second vital block in the space
: of five minutes. The resulting corner saw
: Weedon’s comradely slap on the back propel
: Gunn into the post; and two other corners in
: rapid succession gave City the opportunity
: to maintain pressure and Uxbridge’s captain,
: Mark Nicholls, more chance to discuss the
: theoretical basis for those decisions with
: referee Mr Perry.
: The visitors bounced back and won two
: corners of their own which Nicholls
: delivered well into the danger area, before
: a long-ball forward produced an underpowered
: nod back to his keeper by Ian Dickens which
: George Redknap intercepted but couldn’t
: quite capitalise upon.
: The half ended with Uxbridge’s Neville Roach
: drawing an important tackle from Mark Avery,
: and Steve Smith, under pressure from James
: Mann, still getting good distance with his
: punched clearance from Nicholls’ corner.
:
: Half-Time: City 0-0 Uxbridge
:
: Within the opening ten minutes of the second
: half City had produced another three
: respectable chances. Bell, Lyon and Redknap
: all found themselves with room, and the
: ball, inside the Uxbridge area and all three
: saw their shots pass identically just past
: Wells’ right-hand post.
: Steve Davis recovered well at the back to
: clear from Roach as Uxbridge fought back;
: and a perceptive cross-field pass from
: Dickens gave Mark Boyce plenty of time to
: compose himself but his cross was overhit.
: Boyce’s next venture forward was more
: productive as Avery put the ball behind, and
: Warner’s well-struck corner to the far post
: was met by the unmarked Weedon who, to the
: great relief of the home side, put his
: header well-wide of the target.
: Just on the hour City went ahead. A good
: change of point of attack saw the ball
: switched to the left where Liam Malone,
: possibly looking for a shot, heeded Darren
: Pond’s call for the ball, and Pond’s shot,
: with the outside of his right foot, curled
: away from Wells, stationary on his line, and
: into the goal off the upright.
: Mark Bell had another chance as he cut in
: from the left, but a defender’s boot took
: some pace off his shot and Wells gathered
: comfortably.
: Uxbridge were gradually increasing the
: pressure. Boyce raced onto another of
: Wells’ howitzer-like clearances and Gunn did
: well to head clear; and then a cross from
: Thomas found Roach near the penalty-spot
: rising above the defence to power in a great
: header that looked certain to be the
: equaliser until Smith leapt high to his
: right to push the ball behind: surely a
: leading contender for save-of-the-season.
: The reprieve was, however, short-lived as
: Mann headed the resulting corner across
: Smith and into the far corner to restore
: equality on 71 minutes.
: Almost immediately Uxbridge substitute Drake
: lined up his shot as he was faced with a
: retreating defence, but sliced his shot well
: wide of the target.
: With 15 minutes left Wells chose to leave
: his area and follow a ball out to his
: right-hand touchline but his attempted
: clearance was charged down by the airborne
: Leon Woodruffe and the ball fell to Lyon
: who turned and, from well outside the
: penalty box, promptly curled the ball into
: the net with Wells a long way short of
: regaining his ground.
: The Reds threw men forward to try and snatch
: a point and Thomas had a rising shot just
: clear Smith’s bar after a clearing header
: fell at his feet.
: Woodruffe and Redknap did well to hold the
: ball up for a few precious minutes near the
: corner flag as time ran down; while Josias
: Carbon’s strong run through the centre
: almost took him clear as the end approached.
: Finally an edgy game reached an edgy
: conclusion after two extra minutes with
: Woodruffe and Drake not quite seeing
: eye-to-eye after the whistle, and Nicholls
: rushing from the field to amuse supporters
: and committee members alike with his witty
: and insightful comments.
:
: Full-Time: Oxford City 2-1 Uxbridge
:
: City: Smith, Saulsbury, Davis, Gunn, Pond,
: Avery, Gardner ( Woodruffe 66 ), Malone,
: Redknap, Lyon ( Romeo 78 ), Bell ( Carbon 81
: ).
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