Royals Match Report 2005-06

Lacklustre Royals far from convincing despite 5-1 victory.

Royals 5-1 Orleton Inter (League, 02-10-05)
(Hearle, Carless-Turland, Brayne, Riley, OG)
 

The first Sunday in October proved to be another excellent day for football. As the game was about to start the sun broke through. There was hardly any breeze and the pitch was quite dry. The visitors from Orleton were not known for high quality football, but with some new players in the team a surprise could await the Royals. 

It soon emerged, however, that the Royals would not be too severely tested. The Royals stamped their authority on the game early on, pinning the opposition into their own half. Various raids on the Orleton goal were forthcoming. One of them brought success. A strong shot into the goal area by Brayne found Groom who, however, failed to control it. The ball came to Hearle who hammered it in to make it 1-0. The Royals remained in control of the midfield. Goal kicks by the Orleton keeper failed to go very far and more often than not Orleton was robbed of possession. In spite of their overwhelming possession, the Royals' attacks were uncoordinated and shots on goal were wide. 

Rather against the run of play Orleton equalised. In a one-on-one situation an Orleton player got the better of Holtz and scored an excellent goal. Play then reverted back into Orleton's half. Hearle demonstrated what he was capable of with a skilful dribble down the right side, eluding defenders, but finally shot wide. It would have been a stunning effort had he scored. It fell to Riley to restore the Royals' lead with an excellent shot from 15 yards. The Royals' play in front of the Orleton goal was often slipshod, preventing the Royals from scoring again before half time in spite of controlling the game completely in the midfield area. 

Manager Smith was not pleased with his team's first half performance. With so much possession many more goals should have been scored. Passing was less accurate and the shots on goal ill directed. Shots often were too high and had too much power, whether when passing or shooting at goal. Players tried too much fancy stuff instead of playing simple and neat and keeping the ball on the ground. Manager Smith was also displeased that Orleton caught the Royals' defence twice on the break, scoring once. More commitment was required. He encouraged his players to get stuck in. 

The Royals responded well. The second half started off with Hearle nearly scoring. He had the goal keeper beaten but a defender headed the ball off the line for a corner. Carless-Turland followed with a powerful shot which hit the upright. A penalty awarded to the Royals when Groom was tripped produced an excellent save by the Orleton keeper from a forceful shot from the penalty spot by Hearle. The Royals were now playing more purposefully and more goals were sure to come. Smith was replaced by Lewis. The third goal followed shortly afterwards. Orleton failed to control a ball in front of its own goal and a defender inadvertently put it into his own net. Orleton responded with a rare attack on the Royals goal which almost produced a goal. A strong shot beat Holtz but hit the upright. 

Carless-Turland then made it 4-1 with a curling shot from the left which gave the Orleton keeper no chance. This was followed by another excellent shot by Carless-Turland which just sailed over the crossbar. On that high note Carless-Turland was rested and Robinson came on. 

The Royals were now completely dominating the game and Orleton appeared quite incapable of getting out of their own half. A fifth goal was thundered in by Brayne after a superb cross by Hearle landed the ball at Brayne's feet. In the final minutes Hearle was given a rest and Smith came back on. 

The Royals will be happy with the three points but not with their standard or style of play. Had they have kept their heads they possibly would have had twice as many goals as the five they did get. As often against poorer teams the Royals found it difficult to score. In part at least this is because a non-passing team usually has many players in defence, making for a crowded penalty area. Still the Royals are capable of a much superior performance than the one which they produced this time.

Team: Cameron Holtz, Simon Riley, Michael Brayne, Joe Hearle, Rory Smith (c), Harvey Carless-Turland, Ed Groom. Subs: Tom Lewis, Dominic Robinson