Royals Match Report 2005-06

Royals made to work hard in match full of controversy.

Royals 2-0 Ludlow North (Cup Quarter Final 1st Leg, 05-11-05)
(Carless-Turland, Hearle)

It was a heavily overcast and cold morning, but the rain held off and the wind was not troublesome. The grass needed cutting. Weather conditions and the state of the pitch were forgotten as soon as the game started, such was the intensity of the football. The Royals had never lost against Ludlow North. But as Ludlow North had signed new players the Royals faced a team of unknown strength. Captain of the day Riley won the toss and elected to play uphill in the first half. High drama commenced virtually at the first blow of the whistle. The Royals showed early class with an excellent passing movement from Robinson to Carless-Turland to Lewis to Hearle whose kick on goal went just wide. More good passing movements followed, indicating that the Royals were in good shape. Ludlow North, however, soon showed that they too could pass the ball around and a number of dangerous moves demonstrated that this was going to be some battle. 

An attack on goal by Ludlow North was only just diverted for a corner when the Ludlow striker failed to properly get hold of the ball. For a five minute spell Ludlow North was doing all the pressing and the Royals had to defend for all they were worth. But it was really even Stevens with both teams looking dangerous, having chances but failing to convert them. The Royals failed to dominate the midfield as they so often do, thus giving Ludlow North lots of possession. One strong shot on goal by Ludlow North called for an excellent save by Holtz, diving to his right. Another just sailed over the Royals' cross bar. Ludlow North forced a string of corners, all of them looking dangerous, but all of them in the end somehow scrambled away by the Royals. The Royals defence was tested as seldom before. But the Royals had their moments too during this early period. One attack ended with the upright being hit. Towards the end of the first half, however, the game started to go more the Royals way. Much of the action was now at the Ludlow North end of the pitch as the Royals launched a series of attacks on the Ludlow North goal. This brought a number of near misses. 

A lengthy interruption then occurred with the referee eventually succeeding in sending the assistant coach of Ludlow North away from the touchline. He had repeatedly criticised the referee's decisions and used bad language, and for a while it looked as though the game may have to be abandoned.

This interruption was followed by half time. The score of 0-0 was a fair reflection of the game so far. It was an extremely hard fought battle with both sides playing some intelligent passing football which brought a plethora of scoring opportunities, all of which failed to succeed. Some only just, others kept out by some good goal keeping by both goal keepers. 

At the half time break Manager Smith encouraged his team to close the opposition down quicker, not giving them any time on the ball. He also encouraged quicker passing of the ball to avoid getting closed down by the opposition defenders and to cross from the wings as the Ludlow North defence appeared a bit shaky dealing with such crosses. At the back Manager Smith felt that the Ludlow North strikers were given too much space and he asked Robinson in particular to stick as close as possible to the tall Ludlow striker who often positioned himself well forward. This then required Riley to cover if Robinson was pulled out of position. The Royals team then in unison affirmed their strong belief that they could win the game. 

The second half started with both teams attacking each other's goal. But is was the Royals who struck with a magnificent goal. Lewis was the provider, passing the ball across the goal mouth catching the Ludlow defence out of position. Carless-Turland stormed in from the left and hammered the ball into the back of the net with considerable force, leaving the Ludlow keeper to grasp at thin air. From that point on the game changed somewhat in character. The Royals increasingly began to dominate. Not that Ludlow North did not launch some dangerous attacks. They did. One excellent corner was headed by a Ludlow player just over the crossbar. That could have been the equaliser. In a one-on-one, with Holtz beaten, a Ludlow striker just hit the ball wide of the right upright. But the Ludlow attacks became fewer in number. 

In midfield the Royals started to gain possession more regularly which allowed them to launch more attacks. Two fierce shots followed in close order. One by Riley hit the cross bar, the other by Lewis hit the upright. One excellent corner by Hearle found Carless-Turland unmarked, but his forceful header was just over the crossbar. But another goal for the Royals was in the air as they exerted their superiority. And what a beauty it was. After some good passing Hearle got hold of the ball in midfield, dribbled past two defenders and hammered the ball home from close range. An exquisite piece of footballing skill. 

The game now seemed safe for the Royals. Groom replaced Lewis at centre forward and Brayne replaced Carless-Turland on the left. The Royals had a number of other chances to score. For instance Groom was very unlucky not to put one away with only the keeper to beat. Hearle just missed with a free kick while another of his shots was kept out by a brilliant diving save by the Ludlow keeper. Manager Smith was very pleased with the second half performance. Everyone knuckled down, played well and two cracking goals were scored. In tough muddy conditions the Royals ground out a victory against a talented team.

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