Royals Match Report 2006-07

Royals crash in Meole friendly
Royals 1-7 Meole Brace Juniors (friendly, 22-10-06)
(Bourne)

Another overcast but dry Sunday morning at Russell's Meadow saw the Royals face Meole Brace, from Shrewsbury. It was a friendly encounter during half-term with Royals short of 3 key players.

From the whistle Meole Brace, playing downhill, were on the attack, the Royals on the back foot. Meole Brace were exceptionally quick on the ball, often leaving the Royals standing. Meole Brace displayed good technical skills on the ball and they passed the ball around with some accuracy. The forwards were adapt at running into space into which the ball was then passed. For a while the Royals defence held out. Robinson and Brayne in particular fought hard to fend off the incessant attacks. But it was only a matter of time before the superiority of Meole Brace was reflected on the score sheet.

The Royals found it difficult to get out of their own half. The Meole Brace forwards were adapt at intercepting goal kicks as they were often left in acres of space and seemed to better sense where the goal kick was heading. The Royals appeared somewhat overawed and overwhelmed by their opponents. In defensive positions the ball was frequently indiscriminately cleared, ending at the feet of an opponent. In part this was because Meole Brace were quick to close down whoever had the ball. In attack the Royals' passing was weak and lacked accuracy. The Meole Brace seemed to be everywhere, barring the path to goal. The half time score was 0-4.

In the second half Meole Brace added another three goals to their tally. But the game became much more even handed. The Royals played with greater purpose, had much more of the ball and launched a respectable number of attacks on the Meole Brace goal. There were also some near misses by the Royals attackers and rather than being comprehensibly outplayed as in the fist half, the Royals played with much greater passion, providing glimpses of what they were capable of. They did score a consolation goal after Bourne slotted past the Meole keeper after a delightful headed pass from Lewis.

This was the Royals biggest defeat in two years. As in the match the previous week, they played considerably better in the second half than in the first. But overall their performance fell well short of what they were capable of. Being half-term, only a friendly and lacking in key players may all have contributed. But in Meole Brace the Royals faced a formidable team. Hopefully another friendly can be arranged when the Royals are at full strength. This promises to be a thrilling occasion.

Team: Craig Keugler, Simon Riley, Michael Brayne, Dominic Robinson, Sam Green, Rory Smith, Harvey Carless-Turland, Tom Lewis, Ed Groom, Will Bourne, Cameron Holtz