Binfield 7 vs. Woodley Saints Lions 0 

It had seemed a long time since the boys’ previous outing vs Saxons on the Arctic wastes of the tundra at the Memorial Ground, Sandhurst. 3 Weeks further on, it was the Woodley Saints Lions playing at Binfield on what started out a nice warm sunny day. 

The pitch was in excellent condition other than where the local rabbits had decided to have a go at reaching Australia. Some got close.

Absentees this week were Luke (Arm), Dan Bardon (Rugby Tour) and George (Holiday). Several boys were available though carrying injuries – Kieran (Hamstring) and Chris Edwards (Knee). Chris Edwards was captain for the day and the squad and morale was boosted by the debut of Dan Collier.

Not long after the kick-off it was apparent that Chris couldn’t continue so he came off to allow him time to recover for bigger matches to come.

The first goal was one to savour A break from the back saw the ball passed to Joshua Tighe in the middle, the call came from Dan Collier for the ball inside, but the pressure from the defence and the position of Robbie Rumble racing down the line, wide on the left, instead attracted the pass out wide. Taking the ball forward in his stride Robbie’s cross was met by Dan who’d kept his run going. A great first touch took him past the last defender and his left foot shot was drilled low and past the keeper. 1-0

The second goal was another well taken effort. This time from Midfield where Simmo, who has been waiting on the edge of the penalty area for most of the season, managed to catch on to a half-cleared effort and drive it back on the volley to double the lead. 2-0.

The challenge was still to go forward and get goals. The biggest threat came out wide as Robbie Rumble’s pace and power took him to the by-line a number of times, but dangerous as his crosses were, Binfield could not convert them. The best chance to turn one into a goal was for Joshua Kelleher who’s initial effort and the follow-up from the rebound were both really well saved. Joshua Tighe also came close with a volley smashed at the goal was forced around the post by the Woodley keeper.

Corner practise has paid off in recent weeks and even though Simon’s delivery was good, and there were some huge leaps in an attempt to get on the end of them, Binfield were unable to improve the goal tally.

After 25 minutes though there score had a more realistic reflection as a ball over the top was chased down by Robbie Rumble and a delicate lob over the keeper extended the lead. 3-0  

Half Time 3-0

The second half promised more goals with the wind assisting Binfield. QA small change was made moving Dan Collier back to sweeper and putting Byron into midfield.

After 5 minutes a shot was charged down in the penalty area and the ball rebounded out to Kellers on the left. An earlier effort had been well saved down at the near post by the keeper, but this time he made no mistake as he controlled the ball with a good first touch and drove the ball back past the keeper. 4-0

Robbie Rumble had been a constant threat and could have bagged a couple more goals than the sole score he had to his name, but then he got his second with a typically spectacular effort from outside the box. His fiercely struck shot found the top left hand corner and gave the keeper no chance. 5-0

One thing that was strange about the list of scorers in a high scoring match was the absence of Joshua Tighe’s name. But that was soon remedied as he fought his way free and surged into the penalty area, though his initial effort was saved he managed to flick the loose ball high past the keepers outstretched hand and into the back of the net. 6-0

He quickly followed this soon after with another when put through. This time one on one he hammered the ball home first time giving the keeper no chance. 7-0

Nick had been extremely quiet in goal all afternoon so he was given a rare chance to get out on the pitch with Lewis taking over goal keeping duties for the final 5 minutes. Thankfully though, Lewis was not called into any real action before the final whistle was blown.

Full-time 7-0

Not the most challenging of matches with the opposition initially short and so who played the first 5 minutes with only 10 men. But for a good goalkeeping display this would have been a double-figure score-line. However, the points and goal tally were important and this puts us back on top.

There was some excellent football played and with 4 matches remaining to sort the season out, it was important to get a win and keep the momentum going. Thursday sees us home to Woodley Falcons and then it’s Reeves, Eldon and Purley. Three tough games but if the boys can stay fit and we can field our strongest team in all these games then we should be well positioned to consider the season to be a success.

Binfield 1st Half  line-up:   Runham              Haywood         C Edwards (c)    Perry Sumner     Strachan                        Simmonds        Collier      S Edwards                  Tighe      Rumble

Binfield 2nd Half  line-up:

Runham              Haywood         Sumner   Kelf Cleveland     Perry                        Simmonds        Collier         Kelleher                  Tighe      Rumble
Scorer(s):	Collier, Simmonds, Rumble (2), Kelleher, Tighe (2)
Captain's Corner To follow