Sandhurst Saxons 0 vs, Binfield 11

It was the Saturday morning after the week before. The question was whether the boys would come out fighting or would they still be in under the influence of the disappointing defeat at the hands of Reeves. The response was never in doubt as Binfield scored 11 goals and reached their best result for the last two seasons. And it should have been a lot more.

Last seasons visit was called off due to lightning and it seemed as if the same fate might befall us again as the initial kick-of time had to be put back as Sandhurst suffered from the heavy rain of recent days. But it wasn’t the rain but the hail stones that presented the risk as the heavens opened and we were treated to a frozen sand-blast treatment.

The injury list was extended as Luke demonstrated why roller-blading in the house is considered dangerous. Thankfully he lives in a bungalow but his fall was still bad enough to give him a fractured arm.

The instructions were to push hard to go two up in the first 10 minutes. As it was we were lucky not to be two down and all thanks to Nick. It was a terrific full-length save from him to push a close range effort round the post after just two minutes. He then followed this a few minutes later with a second save as he stood firm when Sandhurst shot against his legs, supported amazingly by George who had tracked all the way back to clear the ball to safety.

After that the only threat to Nick was from frostbite as Binfield camped in the Sandhurst half for the remainder of the match.

The initial nerves we then put to rest as Joshua Tighe was put through and his low, well hit effort slid under the Sandhurst keeper. 0-1

It was Joshua again as Binfield doubled the lead, A ball from Simon slid through the defence for him to run on to was calmly passed wide of the keeper. 0-2

A feature as of late has been the combination of Simon’s delivery of corners and Lewis’s physical presence in the air. The pair combined again and Lewis rose to make firm contact and get his 4^th goal of the season. 0-3

Robbie Rumble had been a constant threat. His pace and power giving him a number of shooting chances on the right, but it was an effort from the left that eventually game him his goal. It was a run on goal that was pushed wide by the keeper, Robbie ran on to retrieve it and from the edge of the penalty he turned and hit a wonderful shot high into the far corner of the Sandhurst goal. 0-4

It was Robbie breaking down the right again but in the role of supplier this time. His cross-ball reached Chris Edwards at the far post with enough time to take a touch and prod the ball home.  0-5.

At this time the offer from the Sandhurst Coach of an 8 goal victory was rejected. The response given to him was: “Make it 10 and we might consider it!”.

Half Time 0-5

The second half started as the first had finished - in the Sandhurst half. And this time, the wind was also on the Binfield side and helped in keeping the ball at the right end of the pitch.

The goal feast continued. Joshua again helping himself with another fine finish when supplied with e measured pass from Chris Edwards and in do so he achieved an amazing 6^th hat-trick of the season.0-6

George grabbed his first goal since the cup quarter final with a powerfully struck effort after a trademark dash down the right. 0-7

This was soon followed by Joshua again who got himself a fourth with a determined run through the now demoralised defence and a firm drive past the Saxon’s keeper made it eight.0-8

Lewis and Simon again linked well from the corner. But though Lewis’s header went over the bar, the disappointment was forgotten a few minutes later from another corner. This one kept low and fell to Lewis who managed to find the target for his second of the match.0-9

The importance of goal difference in such a tight title race is clear so the boys strove to maintain the scoring rate and pile on the goals. George added a near carbon copy of his earlier effort to take the score into double figures.0-10

Joshua Tighe decided to turn the team around and he moved himself to full back and allowed Sam to push up in attack. The switch paid off and after having 2 consecutive attempts were blocked a third rebound from the defence was finally put away for his first goal of the season. 0-11

The final whistle went much to the relief of Sandhurst and truth be told, also to the relief of the Binfield team and supporters as it allowed us the chance to thaw out. 

Final Score: 0-11

This was not the most competitive of games, with probably the elements representing the biggest threat.  But what was important was the reaction to last week’s disappointment. The attitude of the boys was fantastic as they came out determined to restart their season and make the final push in an attempt to take the title.

Games elsewhere underlined the closeness of the title race as Purley and Reeves both won well. Next week’s home fixture against Purley now must be considered the biggest game of the season so far and a must win for the boys.

Binfield 1st Half  line-up:   Runham              Haywood         Bardon    Perry Sumner     S Edwards                        Simmonds         C Edwards        Dowling                  Tighe      Rumble

Binfield 2nd Half  line-up:

Runham              Haywood         Bardon (c)   Perry Cleveland     Dowling                        Simmonds        C Edwards (c)         Kelleher                  Tighe      Rumble
Scorer(s):	Tighe (4), Haywood (2), Dowling (2), Rumble, Edwards, Perry
Captain's Corner Greetings everyone. Saturday's game was an out and out walk in the park for us. We played a good game, but it was not challenging enough for us as a team and that did reflect in the score. However, this has done us the power of good for our goal difference. As a team I saw more concentration than the previous week. I think we were still in shock at loosing to Reeves, and maybe it would have done us good to have a more challenging game this week in order to get a fighting spirit back in to us as we were running rings round them from the tenth minute onwards. It seemed everyone scored this week - except me - I was the one who couldn't hit a barn door!!!! Not one of my best games I must admit. Brass monkey syndrome springs to mind. Although I did get more of the action in the second half. Although the game was disjointed as it seemed to be forever being started due to us scoring so many goals we concentrated well on the game we were playing. Play conditions were horrendous, but we cut through the field well and there was a vast improvement in passing as again playing as a team. Special mentions this week go to Robbie R for being a great team player, and to Nick for making two great saves in the first few minutes of the game. Thanks also to the spectators who braved some of the worst weather we have played in. You got your rewards by all the goals we notched up. This coming week, we have to be at our very best as we face Purley. Its going to be competitive and tough, so we must have commitment, concentration fully on the game, and the passion to win. We are capable of beating Purley as we have done so in the past, but they will come to this match with a will to win, Lets not let them take the 3 points, its the most vital game of the season so far, as this could make or break our quest for the title, and also promotion. They will be wanting the win just as much as us, Keep that in the back of your minds as we are out on the pitch and we wont go wrong. Remember if you are in a position to have a shot at goal do so, as long as it not irrational, DO SO!! It may be the winning one. Give it some wellie lads. See your Saturday. Cheers Skipper Dan.