Royals Match Report 2005-06

Party time at St Lawrence's as Royals celebrate

 Royals 8-1 Ludlow West  (League, 04-12-05)
(Lewis 3, Carless-Turland 2, Smith, Hearle, Groom)

The game got underway under a partially overcast sky. A drizzle started sometime in the course of the game, but few took much note as the Royals gave one of their enthralling performances. The Royals played uphill during the first half and a close game was anticipated as the Ludlow West team had beaten Craven Arms 2-0 in their previous fixture. Yet, even before the spectators were properly concentrating on the game, the Royals had bagged their first goal. The Royals started the game off with some exquisite passing moves. Within the second minute a cross from Hearle on the right flank near the corner flag found Lewis in front of goal who, with only the goal keeper to beat, made no mistake and stabbed the ball into the back of the net. 

The Royals kept up their attacking moves with passes flowing freely from player to player. Royals second goal came when Smith in mid-field passed the ball to Hearle on the right who in turn centred it into the path of the in-rushing Carless-Turland who slotted it past the Ludlow West keeper. 

The Royals machine kept purring along, constantly threatening the Ludlow West goal. Lewis soon got his second goal when the ball fell to him in a goal mouth scramble and he shot it past the keeper. Smith then turned from provider to scorer. Beating two defenders, he shot forcefully past the goal keeper to make it 4-0. The Royals were now on fire. Lewis got his hat trick soon after to make it 5-0, followed by another Carless-Turland goal to make it 6-0. Ludlow West found it increasingly difficult to got hold of the ball. The Royals were quick on the ball and tackled with determination, usually winning the ball. Some inaccurate passing by Ludlow West allowed the Royals to intercept. 

Ludlow West only occasionally broke into the Royals half and were met with determined tackling by Riley and Robinson. This allowed the Ludlow West strikers only infrequent shots on goal, more often than not from quite far out and easily fielded by Holtz in the Royals' goal. On the few occasions where Ludlow West appeared more threatening, the Royals midfield players were quick to help out and prevent Ludlow West from advancing into dangerous striking positions. 

At halftime Manager Smith had nothing but praise for his team's performance which he qualified as "superb" against stronger opposition than in the previous two matches. The Ludlow West players were bigger and stronger. He was hoping for a clean sheet this time and encouraged the midfield players to retreat to help out in defence when the opposition attacked in numbers. It was not only about scoring goals but also not letting any goals in. Robinson and Lewis were rested and Brayne and Groom took their respective places as the second half got underway. 

It was not long into the second half when goal number seven was scored by the Royals. A beautiful shot on goal by Smith hit the upright, the ball bounced back into the playing field for Hearle to control it and shoot it past the keeper. Ludlow West then got a chance to show what they could do. After breaking at speed deep into the Royals half, the ball was centred across the goal mouth. Holtz just about got two hands to it but a Ludlow West striker hooked the ball away and steered it into goal. Encouraged, Ludlow West then had a good spell and launched a number of attacks on the Royals goal with many players rushing forward. But the game soon reverted to its earlier pattern with the Royals on the attack most of the time, though the finishing was a bit wayward and the passing not as accurate as earlier. 

An injury to Smith then brought Lewis back on. On a number of corners a variant was used which consisted of Hearle directing his corner kick in-field for Riley to run onto. This worked well. Though no goal was scored, some of Riley's shots came close to achieving a result. One final goal was scored by the Royals when Hearle in typical fashion streaked down the right touch line, rounding a couple of defenders on the way, centred the ball for Groom to hook it in to the goal to make it 8-1. Groom was injured when a ball hit him on the face with some force. Lewis went back to centre forward and Robinson was brought back on playing in mid-field. 

The Royals performed less well in the final part of the game, probably unsettled by the positional changes and losing concentration after their earlier superb actions which had put them way out in front. The sparkle had gone out of their game. There were still some good moves and good attempts on goal. One terrific shot by Carless-Turland which hit the upright brought roars of disappointment from the crowd. Having recovered Groom was then brought back on and Hearle was rested. He once again had an outstanding game on the right flank, battling for the ball, beating players and putting in superb crosses. The game soon ended after that.

Manager Smith, while disappointed in the less glamorous second half, was nonetheless extremely pleased with the overall performance and congratulated every player for their excellent work. Unbelievable progress has been made in the course of the season so far. Everyone has come on so well and he was proud of everyone of his players.

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