Royals Match Report 2006-07

Depleted Royals go one step closer to Division 1
Onny Plus 1-3 Royals (League, 25-11-06)
(Carless-Turland, Green, Smith)

The Royals travelled to the Burway for the second time in a week, this time to face Onny Plus, who were second from bottom in the league. After a prolonged period of rain, the weather improved and the pitch was in surprisingly good shape. Illness and non turning up of players resulted in only eleven players available. Bourne, Lewis and Hearle were all absent. This lack of striking power made itself felt throughout the game. Though the Royals had many more scoring chances than Onny Plus, only three goals were scored.

All in all the performance of the Royals was laboured. Occasionally some excellent passing movements were on display. Particularly the linking between Carless-Turland, Smith and Green in the second half was a reminder of what the Royals were capable of. But overall the display of the Royals was scrappy. Passes often went to the feet of the opposition. Clearances were dispatched indiscriminately rather than targeted at Royals players. Challenges for the ball were at times half-hearted. 

Onny Plus did put together some good movements and on occasions looked dangerous. They were in fact the first to come close to scoring. A quite strong shot on goal was turned away by the diving Holtz for a corner kick. But it was the Royals who were the first to score. A corner by Green failed to be cleared by Onny. A scramble ensued which ended with Carless-Turland poking the ball into the back of the net. The first half ended with the match fairly evenly balanced. Neither side really dominated proceedings, though the Royals' one goal lead was fair enough. They had the better goal scoring opportunities. 

Onny came out fighting in the second half and scored a well crafted goal within the first few minutes. A delightful passing movement left the Royals defence trailing.

But the tables were turned a few minutes later. An equally delightful move by the Royals restored their lead. The ball was passed forward to Carless-Turland, who passed it to Smith who passed it on to Green who unleashed a powerful shot well beyond the reach of the Onny keeper to make the score 2-1.

A similar move later in the second half ended with a cleverly lobbed ball by Smith into the Onny goal. This restored some lustre to the Royals' performance. Their 3-1 victory was a fair result. Undoubtedly had the Royals been at full strength the score line would have been much more flattering for them. The bottom line is three more points in the bag and the Royals move one place up in the league table. A very satisfying result.

Team: Holtz, Riley, Agnew, Brayne, Robinson, Green, Weynberg, Miles, Smith, Carless-Turland, Groom
Subs: None