Purley Jubilee 1 : Binfield 3 

An early start followed by a long trip across country preceded the 6^th game of the season as Binfield traveled to meet one of the only 3 undefeated teams in the league. It was 2^nd vs 3^rd as Binfield went to Purley. Last seasons score was a 6-2 win for Binfield but this season Purley have certainly strengthened their squad. But there again, so have we!

The squad was boosted by the unexpected arrival of Joshua Tighe. Late maybe, but welcome nevertheless. His arrival was celebrated with a host of cheers and bows as the mood in the camp was uplifted by his arrival.

The initial comments challenged the pitch. The paced out length of one half meant a pitch length of just 70m. The concerns were well founded as the FA state minimum pitch length for intermediates to be 90m.

Purley won the toss, and it was not so much a football kick-off start, more a start of the 100m as Binfield were caught napping with just 11 players on the pitch. Kieran was having a leisurely swig of orange juice and Josh Kelleher was doing his impersonation of a char wallah as he carried the water bottles up from the lower pitch.

If that shock woke the spectators up, the same couldn’t be said of the players as they had their usual slow start to matches that kick off before 10:30. Whether it was the exertion of carrying the water, or more likely the early challenge, but after just 2 minutes Joshua Kelleher had to come off with a calf strain. On came Robbie Cleveland, who was also nursing a groin strain from last week.  

However, it was Joshua Tighe who settled the nerves. After 5 minutes a lovely through ball from Chris Edwards cut the defence in half and let Joshua Tighe go one on one with the keeper. As the keeper rushed out, Joshua coolly prodded the ball one side and ran round the other to collect his own pass and tap the ball into the net. 0-1

A second effort followed soon after. A quick throw from Robbie to George who came storming through, his first time pass inside to Joshua Tighe and his side-footed effort cleared the keeper but hit the post and came back out.

After 9 minutes the lead was doubled. After a high ball to the edge of the box, the bouncing ball was no brought down and George came in to try and get the ball. His knee hit the ball up and over the keeper and the crowd breathed a little easier. 0-2

At the other end, Nick in goal had to be alert on a couple of occasions as he rushed out to collect attempted through balls for the Purley forwards to run on to. Decisive calling left the defenders in no doubt that he was coming out to collect. Typically this was followed by a huge kick taking the ball well into the Purley half.

The closest Purley came was a late free kick from outside the box, But Nick was able to palm the ball wide for a corner which was subsequently cleared.

It was a Purley attack that led to the third. A brave charge down on an edge of the box effort by Lewis resulted in the ball coming wide to Robbie Cleveland. An excellent ball down the line was seized on by Joshua Tighe to complete the run to the Purley goal line. His pull back into the middle was met first time by George who timed his run to perfection and side-footed the ball past the keeper. A superbly executed goal. 0-3

The final minutes of the half were played out comfortably as Purley never really threatened and they came off appearing to be shell-shocked by the 2 early goals.

Half Time 0-3

The second half kick-off saw Binfield try and take advantage of the short pitch with a planned move to pass the ball back Lewis to try a long range effort. As it was, he never really go hold of it but it’s a measure of the confidence that the boys are prepared to try something different.

A stiff team talk at half time resulted in a much more determined Purley side come out for the second half.

A Purley move down their right saw the ball at the feet of one of their forwards. His powerful shot across goal was traveling safely wide until it deflected in off Lewis’s thigh leaving Nick with no chance. 1-3

This was the first goal conceded by Binfield in open play for nearly 400 minutes, and only the third in the league this season.

 The midfield was a powerhouse today. Simmo & Chris battled all the way, challenging for everything and winning their personal battles in what was a compacted midfield on the small pitch.

Out wide was a threat. Robbie performed well and made several good passes down the line to for the willing forwards to chase. He could even have scored himself when having beaten he last defender he just let the ball run away from him and the keeper was able to collect.

On the right wing Kieran had another excellent match. His determination and pace were a real threat and was unfortunate when a clash of knees resulted in him having to come off with 15 minutes to go.

At the back, Sam and Luke continue to improve out wide and the understanding of Lewis and Dan continues to grow at the back as generally coped pretty well with anything down the middle. Lewis cleared anything in the air and Dan covered the ground as they combined to keep the physical Purley attack at bay. Dan Kelf had a good run at right back and made good use of his strength in winning the ball on a number of occasions,

Even though Purley were much more of a challenge in the second half, it was still Binfield who looked more likely to score. But it wasn’t to be and for the first time this season the boys actually “lost” a half.

Full Time 1-3

Not the best performance of the season but a good result to win against a physical team on a pitch that doesn’t really support our game. At times the middle of the park resembled more a rugby scrum than a football game but even so, we managed to dig in and take the points.

The effort and attitude showed by the boys is growing each week. It was epitomised by the front pairing of Joshua and George who in the latter phases both chased back and ended up playing in full back positions as they chased back to retrieve the ball.

The unbeaten run continues but again the contest was harder. Again, there were again a number of contenders for man of the match but for his all round performance up front in scoring, setting up and generally haranguing of the defence it went to Joshua Tighe. Joshua Simmonds was awarded the Parents’ man of the match.

A special thanks to the parents for making the early start and the effort in driving what is probably the further-most fixture of the season.

Next week we are at home and play Laurel Park again. The week after is also at home again to Purley! Deja-vu. Let’s just hope the outcomes are the same.

Binfield 1st Half  line-up:

Runham              Haywood         Bardon (c)   Perry Christmas     Strachan               Edwards   Simmonds  Kelleher             Dowling        Tighe

Binfield 2nd Half  line-up:

Runham              Haywood         Bardon (c)   Perry Christmas     Strachan               Edwards       Simmonds  Cleveland                 Dowling      Tighe