Hungerford 1 City 3
Feb 4, 2023 19:57:03 GMT
Post by Rijs on Feb 4, 2023 19:57:03 GMT
A good result from a resilient Oxford performance under tough conditions today. The Crusaders are not a classy footballing team, and understandably their confidence is easily dented at the moment, but they can still make it tough for opponents on their sloping, uneven pitch. It is so difficult to play a smooth passing game there, and they capitalise on that with their physicality and long-ball game. Being used to the conditions and well-adapted, they prevented City from playing well in the first half, which was a scrappy affair.
Josh Ashby's excellent free kick just before half-time was the turning point, but Hungerford would not give up without a fight, quite literally it seemed at times, and the weak refereeing didn't help the better footballing side, who tried to get the ball down and pass it around. Maybe I am biased, but I wasn't the only one who felt that City players didn't need to do much wrong before seeing a yellow card brandished, while some agricultural tactics from the home team went unpunished, other than with a word of warning. There was a lot of holding, pulling and pushing of City players which the ref somehow missed. Maybe this gave some Hungerford players a sense of impunity, which may explain why one felt he could just kick Ashby; this time it was a straight red. By that time, however, the Hoops were already in cruise control and doing well with their self-control in the face of some provocation.
In the end, we could and should have scored more than two goals in that second half. Substitute Klaidi Lolos, energetic but not always linking smoothly with his teammates, should have pulled the trigger earlier on one occasion, and an even better one fell to Zac MacEachran, who was having yet another fine game. Zac chose instead to square it to Ashby, who was somehow smothered between two diving defenders. Both of these came after the two goals. It was great to see how delighted Klaidi was with his goal - a great corner, a strong header at the back by Lewis Miccio, and there was Lolos rising to head home. The third by hard-working Lewis Coyle came as a result of a simple goalkeeping error, but it would not have happened if Lewis had not got himself in there close to goal in the first place.
So, a very pleasing team performance all round in a feisty match, with stand-out performances for me from Canice Carroll, so commanding in defence, and Josh Ashby, who worked tirelessly all over the pitch. Josh Parker has to be worth a mention too, as he came in for a lot of stick but handled it well and showed his good touch and linking play frequently. The only downside was the injury to Alfie Potter - but the opponents and conditions did not suit his silky skills today anyway. I hope he recovers speedily.
Josh Ashby's excellent free kick just before half-time was the turning point, but Hungerford would not give up without a fight, quite literally it seemed at times, and the weak refereeing didn't help the better footballing side, who tried to get the ball down and pass it around. Maybe I am biased, but I wasn't the only one who felt that City players didn't need to do much wrong before seeing a yellow card brandished, while some agricultural tactics from the home team went unpunished, other than with a word of warning. There was a lot of holding, pulling and pushing of City players which the ref somehow missed. Maybe this gave some Hungerford players a sense of impunity, which may explain why one felt he could just kick Ashby; this time it was a straight red. By that time, however, the Hoops were already in cruise control and doing well with their self-control in the face of some provocation.
In the end, we could and should have scored more than two goals in that second half. Substitute Klaidi Lolos, energetic but not always linking smoothly with his teammates, should have pulled the trigger earlier on one occasion, and an even better one fell to Zac MacEachran, who was having yet another fine game. Zac chose instead to square it to Ashby, who was somehow smothered between two diving defenders. Both of these came after the two goals. It was great to see how delighted Klaidi was with his goal - a great corner, a strong header at the back by Lewis Miccio, and there was Lolos rising to head home. The third by hard-working Lewis Coyle came as a result of a simple goalkeeping error, but it would not have happened if Lewis had not got himself in there close to goal in the first place.
So, a very pleasing team performance all round in a feisty match, with stand-out performances for me from Canice Carroll, so commanding in defence, and Josh Ashby, who worked tirelessly all over the pitch. Josh Parker has to be worth a mention too, as he came in for a lot of stick but handled it well and showed his good touch and linking play frequently. The only downside was the injury to Alfie Potter - but the opponents and conditions did not suit his silky skills today anyway. I hope he recovers speedily.