Match Report  by David Carter

 Darby Green Dynamos 0 - 11 Binfield FC - 17th Nov 07 - League

 
A grey morning greeted the players as they took to the pitch, a good surface with little slope but quite long and wide.  For the second time in two weeks the opposition were unable to field a full team owing to a small squad being depleted by a couple of no shows and injuries.  Binfield were able to field a squad of 14 which gave them a significant advantage over Darby Green’s 9, but again the Binfield team had to cope with being managed on the day by a pair of stand-in coaches!
 
Binfield’s started with a strong line-up, Sibs in goal, a back four of TC, James, Alex and Oliver, the midfield quartet made up of Lewis, Daniel, Jacob and Ross, with Nathan and Lordy up front.  Dev, Ben F and Chris were on the subs bench for the start.
 
The first few minutes saw Binfield taking the majority of the possession and territorial advantage but with little to show until the first clear chance fell to Nathan collecting a ball from Jacob and the ensuing shot was pushed out for a corner by the Darby Green goalie.  After 5 minutes some good vision from Daniel saw him hoist a cross into the box where 3 Binfield players lurked and it was James who got his head on it to neatly head it home, 1-0.
 
Despite the large pitch and their greater numbers, Binfield were not taking advantage and Darby Green were working hard to close them down and limit their time on the ball.  The play was often very crowded in the midfield and a little scrappy.  Chances were being made though, Lordy, Daniel and Ross all testing the goalie.
 
With 14 minutes gone a neat passage of play saw James feed Lordy who put Nathan through to score Binfield’s second, 2-0.  Just a minute later it was 3-0 when Lordy put a neat lob over the goalie from the edge of the penalty area.
 
Sub time and Ben, Dev and Chris came on to replace Ross, Nathan and Oliver.  Sibs in goal had been very quiet for some 20 mins and was now pushing forward to act as an extra defender.  Half chances came and went, one fell to Dev running on to a through ball from Lordy, but he was halted by the offside flag.
 
One of the best moves of the match had TC slotting a perfect ball through to Lewis who took the ball to the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a great shot.  The goalie did well to parry the shot but the rebound fell at Lordy’s feet.  His shot was saved but it was third time lucky for Binfield as Lordy’s 2nd attempt nestled in the back of the net, 27 minutes gone and 4-0.
 
A couple of minutes passed and Daniel showed another example of his cool thinking and vision by playing a ball though to Lewis in space on the left wing.  Lewis took a couple more paces and struck a trademark left foot shot between the goalie and his right hand post, 5-0.
 
With the clock ticking down to half time it was another Daniel/James combination that put Binfield’s 6th on the score sheet. 

Half-time Binfield 6-0 up.
A much changed Binfield took to the pitch for the 2nd half.  Once again an outfield regular (this time TC) had donned the goalie shirt to allow Matthew to take up an outfield position.  He lined up as part of the front pairing with Nathan.  In midfield we had Lewis, Daniel, James, Chris and Ross, and the back four comprised Dev, Alex, Jacob and Oliver.  Yes, that’s right, we started the second half with an increased numerical advantage, whoops!  Chris came off to make it an eleven again!
 
Within the first minute Sibs had shown his pace against the Darby Green defence by simply knocking the ball past them and then running through to collect the ball and narrowly missed out on a goal.  However he didn’t have to wait long as he got on the end of a through ball from Daniel to score and made it 7-0.
 
After another of his runs Sibs and the Darby goalie collided and sadly it resulted in a nasty leg injury to the goalie meaning he was unable to continue.  This of course meant that one of the outfield players (Luke?) had to take his place between the sticks and left Darby Green with just seven outfield players.
 
The game resumed and not surprisingly Darby Green were facing an almost constant onslaught, but they were fighting hard and the substitute goalie made a number of good saves and chances that fell to Sibs, Daniel and James came to nothing.  Soon after though, the dynamic duo of Daniel and James combined again and James notched up his hat-trick to make it 8-0.  This prompted a round of changes and off came Daniel, James and Oliver to make way for Ben, Lordy and Chris.
 
Half way through the 2nd half now and following some superb work on the left flank, Lordy put in a great cross which Sibs latched on to and buried, 9-0.
 
It looked like Ross would get his maiden goal when in the space of 2 minutes he had two on target shots but both were well saved by the goalie.  After a masterful performance making other people’s goals it seemed only fair to get Daniel back into the fray to see if he could grab a goal, and on with him went James – Ross and Jacob came off to make way for them.
 
As the half hour mark approached, Binfield were awarded a free kick some 25 yards from goal and it was Daniel who stepped up to take it.  Well struck and on target it looked a sure goal but the goalie (again!) did well to block it, but the ball came back off him and who was there to finish it off, James, 10-0.
 
And in a re-run of the 9th goal it was the Lordy/Sibs combination that led to Binfield’s eleventh goal and a hat-trick for Sibs – not bad for a goalie!  11-0.
 

Full-time: Darby Green Dynamos 0 – 11 Binfield Barracudas
 
Overall it was a good performance, obviously we had a significant advantage with the extra players, but at times we lost shape and failed to capitalise on the space available.  I’d like to praise the Binfield players for their attitude on the pitch.  All players were happy to play where asked and some probably deserved more time on the pitch than we were able to give them.
 
Once again, we must pay tribute to the opposition who never gave up; they played with great spirit and the right attitude.  I’m sure the match would have been quite different if they had had a full squad on the day.  The behaviour of the players, manager and spectators was excellent.
 
I hope the Darby Green’s goalie’s injury is not too bad and he’s back in action soon – he certainly gave his everything and exhibited plenty of bravery.  That goes for everyone at Binfield.
 

Man of the Match: With two hat-trick heroes, James and Sibs, it would be easy to give the MotM award to one of them and they would be worthy winners.  However, there was one standout performance today and that belonged to Daniel.  He masterminded the midfield, made lots of accurate passes and had assists in 6 goals including all 4 of James’s.  Well done Daniel.
 

Thanks to all the parents for some great support and everyone who helped out.
 
Team: Alex, Ben F, Chris, Daniel, Dev, Lordy, Jacob, James, Lewis, Matthew, Nathan, Oliver, Ross and TC.
 
Scorers: James 4, Nathan, Lordy 2, Lewis, Matthew 3
 
“Management” Team: Tiernan and David.