Royals Match Report 2005-06

Lewis gives first blood to Royals

 Royals 1-0 Presteigne (Cup Semi-Final, 1st Leg, 03-12-05)
(Lewis)

A splendid sunny Sunday morning, cold but windless, awaited the Royals for their toughest match yet. The first leg of the cup semi-final against North Division winners, Presteigne. Captain Riley won the toss and elected to play uphill and against the low sun during the first half. The Royals went straight into the attack with an early shot on the Presteigne goal which the goal keeper failed to gather cleanly, setting the pulse of the Royals supporters racing.

A series of attacks by the Royals followed which put Presteigne under intense pressure. The Royals were taking the game to the opposition and were the more attacking side, though the passing was not as fluent as in recent matches. Presteigne defended in numbers and their defenders were quick to the ball and displayed good technique and determination. The Royals were thus given little time on the ball and it was much more difficult to round the defenders. The Presteigne goal keeper was a big lad who filled up much space in goal and despite the excellent start the Royals were unable to take advantage. 

Presteigne soon showed why they were unbeaten so far. When they succeeded to pass the ball quickly forward to their strikers, the air bristled with danger. The two wingers, small, speedy and agile proved good dribblers and accurate passers of the ball. Determined tackling by Riley and Robinson was called for and the Royals midfield also had to be at their best in the middle of the park. 

The Royals continued to have more of the ball and they launched many more attacks on the Presteigne goal. But the Presteigne goal keeper proved quite competent, though at times failing to hold on to the ball. The Presteigne defence was also working very hard. There were a couple of excellent shots on goal by Hearle which were saved by the goal keeper. Carless-Turland had a shot blocked on the goal line by a defender. Lewis hit the upright. The Royals clearly had the upper hand, though at times hanging back, not quite as determined to battle for the ball. Still, with better luck the Royals could have been two or three goals up. 

The failure of the Royals to score made the occasional attacks of Presteigne all the more nerve racking for the Royals' supporters. Presteigne looked quite capable of scoring, particularly as the Royals' defenders were often quite far forward, giving Presteigne a lot of room. But Holtz only had to make two saves, each time rushing out and taking the ball off a Presteigne attacker's feet. The battle became increasingly intense and it was with some relief when the whistle for half time finally blew. 

The Presteigne team must have received an inspiring pep talk during half time. For they came rushing out with a dangerous attack on the Royals goal, just as the Royals had done at the start of the first half. This first attack caught the Royals off guard. But the Presteigne attacker, having broken past the defence, knocked the ball a bit too far forward, allowing Holtz to come out and gather it. Many more attacks followed. Presteigne at times succeeding in getting the ball quickly forward to their wingers who looked dangerous whenever they were on the ball. But besides one or two shots just shy of the Royals' goal, they failed to actually force any goal keeping saves, never mind actually scoring. Much of the credit must go to the Royals defence. Riley and Robinson worked extremely hard and mostly succeeded in preventing Presteigne from getting into any clear goal scoring positions. They were helped by the midfield players Smith, Hearle and Carless-Turland who often rushed back to help. 

At the other end the Royals gave as much as they got and more. They attacked and attacked. Some excellent passing movements were put together. But still the Presteigne defence held. They continued to get a lot of players behind the ball and defended well. They were quick to kick the ball out of touch or out for a corner when danger loomed. Good shots on goal by Hearle, Carless-Turland and Lewis were all turned away or narrowly missed. There were goal chances at both ends, though those by the Royals outnumbered those by Presteigne. About half way through the second half Groom replaced Smith and a few minutes later Brayne came on for Robinson. 

The stalemate was finally broken only five minutes from the end. When the breakthrough came it was deservedly for the Royals. The Presteigne defence knocked the ball out for a corner once too often. A precision corner by Hearle found Lewis in front of the Presteigne goal. He leapt above his marker and headed the ball home from close range and with considerable power. A superb effort which finally swung the game the Royals' way. The Royals had stuck at their task, battling away and finally got there just rewards.

To sum up the Royals had many more shots on goal and but for some excellent saves by the Presteigne goal keeper it could have been a more comfortable win. In stead it was a tense but exhilarating match which left the spectators almost as exhausted as the brave players who gave their all.

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