Royals Match Report 2005-06

Royals start second part of season on a high note.

 Royals 7-0 Onny Tigers (League, 08-01-06)
(Lewis 2, Hearle 2, Carless-Turland, Groom, Robinson)

The second half of the 2005/06 season started on a bitterly cold and overcast Sunday morning. A light dusting of snow covered the Long Mynd all the way down to the first houses. But the pitch was soft and playable, with a moderate breeze from the north. Captain Riley won the toss and elected to play uphill during the first half. Onny Tigers were beaten by the Royals early in the season 7-1 and as the match got underway it soon became apparent that the relative strengths of the two teams had not changed. The Royals made a dashing start to the game, dominating the early exchanges and hardly allowing Onny Tigers out of their own half. After little more than one minute Carless-Turland hammered the ball into the back of the Onny net after Hearle produced one of his fine trade-mark corner kicks. Hearle put himself on the score sheet next. Lewis was the provider. He dribbled the ball forward and when confronted by several defenders he slipped the ball to Hearle racing up on his right. With a clear sight of goal Hearle made no mistake, whipping the ball past the Onny keeper to make it 2-0. Soon after Lewis made it 3-0. This time the roles were reversed. Hearle swept the ball beautifully in from the right, presenting Lewis with a ready chance to add his name to the score sheet. It all seemed so easy with the Royals on top of their passing game. The fourth goal was another beauty. An excellent cross from the right by Carless-Turland found the head of Lewis who, with his back to the goal, diverted the ball with an amazing glancing header into the top right hand corner of the Onny goal. 

Onny Tigers gradually got more into the game. They passed well and succeeded at times to round Royal players, by showing great tenacity. They looked quite dangerous when passing the ball forward to their small, but nimble, strikers who kept well forward. But they were up against the bigger and more robust Royal defenders. Though caught out a couple of times, Riley and Brayne mostly averted any danger by scurrying back double quick. Holtz was called into action only a few times to gather in balls which had been passed too far forward. Though he was beaten once when an Onny striker rounded him. But the final shot was just wide. 

The Royals continued to play some excellent passing football. A number of shots on goal were narrowly wide or were saved. After the Royals scored their fourth goal Onny changed their goal keeper and the new keeper made some excellent saves. 

When half time came the 4-0 score line was a fair reflection of the game. Perhaps Onny deserved a goal because of their efforts. They failed to exploit the few chances they had. But the Royals could also easily have netted a couple of more times. At half time Manager Smith was well pleased with his team. The Royals showed no rustiness after the long Christmas break. Manager Smith warned his defenders not to be caught on the break as Onny often had three players forward, opposed to only two Royal defenders. 

For the second half Manager Smith brought on Groom at centre forward, resting Lewis. A few minutes into the second half Smith was injured and Robinson took his place. The Royals soon added to their goal tally. The ball came to Groom standing with his back to the goal. He spun around and lifted the ball well beyond the keeper's reach to make it 5-0. Some more good passing movements by the Royals followed, ending with a sixth goal. Hearle was the scorer. His shot was not particularly fierce, but the bounce deceived the Onny keeper and the ball slipped through his arms. 

Onny produced some good attacking movements too. In one move an Onny striker dribbled past the out coming Holtz, but his shot hit the right upright and bounced away harmlessly. In another move an Onny striker again managed to dribble past the out coming Holtz, but his rather tame shot on goal was cleared off the line by Brayne who had rushed back to cover. Thus in the second half too Onny failed to convert the few chances they had. 

In the final period Lewis was put back on in place of Hearle and Smith returned to replace Carless-Turland. A final goal was then scored by Robinson, blasting the ball past the Onny keeper for his first and well deserved goal of the season. As a defender he seldom has a chance to be in a scoring position. 

The game ended shortly afterwards. The Royals showed excellent form up front. The passing worked well, players backed one another up and the seven goals bore witness to the Royals' scoring acumen. At the back there was some concern about on occasions being caught out on the break. Onny Tigers were outplayed in part because they were such a young team. They showed a lot of promise and should do very well next season.

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