|
Plenty
to play for
By Lawrence Mentesh
The last time Bonus Weeks met Finestrat there were 6 red
cards handed out, 4 for Finestrat and 2 for Bonus Weeks,
with Bonus Weeks claiming the match 4-2. That script was
hardly likely to be repeated this time, although both teams
were struggling for numbers with Finestrat turning up with a
squad of 13 and Bonus Weeks with only 12.
Missing for Bonus Weeks were Rich Billam ( back ), Dave Mold
( appendicitis ), Nathan Conteh ( groin ),
Alan Spurgeon ( abdominal tear ), James Charles ( ankle ),
Adam Wilson ( elbow ) Alan Belshaw and Mark Dooley ( both
working ), Ryan Moorhead ( boxing match preparation ) and
Adam Tauber and Ross Musk who were both away.
This left a very depleted squad and saw Bonus Weeks taking
to the field with a very different starting 11 and formation,
although it did see Adam Musk back in net and Jeff Ball
returning at left back after recovering from his hamstring
problem. It also saw a welcome return to outfield play for
Carlos Parkin who took up his usual role in the centre of
midfield. Lawrence Mentesh moved up to the left wing with
Gary Lane taking over at right back. There were also
starting 11 debuts for both Cameron Parker and Lee Slevin,
leaving Paul Wells as the only available substitute.
However, despite the unfamiliar look to the side Bonus Weeks
made a very impressive start and they played the kind of
football that they have been threatening to do for a long
time, passing well, holding the ball up, keeping good
possession and keeping the majority of play in the Finestrat
half.
They defended well when called upon and kept Finestrat on
the back foot for most of the first half, limiting them to
only a few half chances. It was Bonus Weeks who had the best
of the early chances, the first coming from a glorious
through ball by Lawrence Mentesh to Lee Slevin who just
managed to get to it before the on-rushing keeper but his
prodded effort came back off the post when the keeper looked
to be well beaten.
Minutes later Lawrence could have opened the scoring himself
when after starting a move which also involved Cameron
Parker and Chris Griffin he raced into the area to meet
Chris’s cross but his headed effort was well saved by the
keeper and Lawrence just failed to make a decent contact
with the resulting loose ball which bounced tantalisingly
high in front of him.
Another chance followed soon after when Lawrence sent in a
deep free kick to the back post where it was met by Pete
Frank but his attempt to hook it into the top of the net
ended with the ball just drifting over the top of the
crossbar. It was a great first half for Bonus Weeks and they
could easily have gone into the break 3-0 up but again their
less than clinical finishing cost them dearly.
The second half saw the first change with Paul Wells coming
on to give Chris Griffin a break and again Bonus Weeks
dominated the game with even more slick passing and
excellent movement and they were proving to be a real
handful for Finestrat but again Bonus Weeks just could not
capitalise on all their good work.
They came so close on at least 4 more occasions with Carlos
Parkin and Paul Wells finding themselves presented with half
chances and the tireless Lee Slevin having two more
opportunities to add to his account but unfortunately both
of his strikes ended up just over the bar.
It was therefore left to Finestrat to make the most of their
own chances and they did just that after 55 minutes when a
hopeful ball into the box was misjudged by the keeper and
the ball dropped in over his head to make it 1-0. It was a
real shame for Adam as he had been solid throughout the
first half and he didn’t deserve to be beaten in such a way.
However, it was about to get even worse for him soon after
when another high ball into the area seemed destined to be
plucked to safety by Adam but his leap was outdone by that
of the Finestrat striker whose head got to the ball first
and took it past Adam’s hands and into the net to make it
2-0.
Bonus Weeks were down but were by no means out and Finestrat
had to fight hard to contain their opponents and even when
they lost Gary Lane to a knee injury with 20 minutes left
Bonus Weeks still kept knocking and Finestrat were fortunate
not to concede.
However, their cause was helped with 10 minutes left when
the referee ignored a blatant offside to allow the Finestrat
player all the time in the world to slot the ball
un-challenged past the helpless keeper. If the first two
goals were soft the third was a real stinker and despite
several protestations to the referee the goal stood.
Bonus Weeks were still playing for pride but unfortunately
fitness and the desire to get at least one goal back left
them a bit short at the back and Finestrat exploited this to
claim their fourth goal, a real kick in the teeth for Bonus
Weeks but at least it wasn’t offside.
So, it ended 4-0 to Finestrat, adding to the points drought
of Bonus Weeks. Many times this Season we have had to bemoan
how flattering the score-line has been to the opposition but
none more so than this result as Bonus Weeks played some
fantastic football at times and they could have knocked
Finestrat for six but instead they somehow managed to walk
away as 4-0 losers. Football, absolutely crazy!!
Still, there are always positives and it was good to see
such a spirited and accomplished team effort with everybody
giving their all, particularly Jeff Ball who was solid at
the back and who linked up well with Lawrence Mentesh on the
left wing, Lawrence himself finding a new lease of life in a
more forward position rather than his usual role at the
back.
There are now only 4 games left before the Cup Competition
so although any hope of promotion is now well and truly
buried Bonus Weeks still have plenty to play for, although
how many fit players they will have left at the end of the
Season remains to be seen.
|
Trainer/
Coach