MIXED BAG
First up this month were West Drayton Reserves in the Sunday FA Cup. Having played against this team in pre season, we knew it wouldn’t be an easy tie. Throughout the first few weeks we had made a habit of having a debutant in the side and this was the case for the fourth straight game as Mahraan and Ianis made their debuts for GPR.
West Drayton started very quickly and got an early goal, they had us under immense pressure throughout the first half and we struggle to get any sort of attack going. 30 minutes in Jack collided with the post and took a whack on the chin, he could no longer continue so striker Justino went between the sticks, his heroic performance helped us to make it into half-time with the scoreline still at 1-0.
The pressure our defence was under became too much in the second half and we were undone on a couple more occasions. The home side came out deserved winners on the day. Final score 4-0. Winning the FA Cup is overrated anyway!
After a disappointing defeat in the previous game, The Salads arrived to face Old Southall in the Roger Perry Cup determined to put in a better performance and ultimately, achieve a better result. Robert made his first appearance of the season and Bill came into the side for his club debut.
It was a resilient performance from the IIs, including Juan, back in the side having missed last week, throwing himself in front of a goal bound shot and heading away. The game included a superb performance from Dave, who was a menace for the full 90 minutes and notched himself a brace.
The home side continued to fight back and got themselves a goal to make it 2-1, however we needn’t be nervy for long as John made the most of his opportunity off the bench, scoring a terrific volley to round off the scoreline. Final score 1-3.
The final game of the month saw us take on Hillingdon Stags in the league (for the second time!) I must take a moment to mention our referee Tony for this game, he had the players line up on the half way line as if they were about to sing the national anthem before all players being asked to shake hands, it was a surreal experience but a nice touch.
We started the game slow, failing to keep hold of the ball in midfield and it wasn’t long before the away side split us open with a smart through ball, the striker finished well and we found ourselves 1-0 down after 10 minutes of play.
The Salads didn’t let that deter them as we grew into the game and had some nice combinations down the left side with Adam Palacki & Henry, our efforts frustratingly didn’t lead to any clear cut chances and against the run of play Hillingdon Stags added another later in the first half.
There were a couple of changes at half time, with Dave and Cal coming on, which gave us a boost in midfield and Dave’s presence up front seemed like it was going to be a game changer. As the away side dropped back to defend their lead we grew in confidence and it was great to see the team enjoying their football as a result. We created more chances but it wasn’t going to be our day.
The Stags keeper made a great save to keep out Ross’ signature half volley and another opportunity was headed off the line. After a (failed) tactical roll of the dice & change to a back 3, the Stags caught us out on the counter as we continued to push for a goal. The game ended 4-0. Credit to our opponents who got the better of us for the second time this season, they were well organised and punished our mistakes.
This month has been a mixed bag, with some really tough opponents. We are 6 games into the season and have won half of them, if that was offered to us before a ball was kicked we probably would have snatched your hand off. The beginning of this season was always about building a team that can compete and integrating a passionate and disciplined side.
We have achieved both of those goals, so now comes the time to find consistency and push on.
Aaron-Lee Eyles, GPR II Manager
