Post by bluephysio on Mar 13, 2011 19:10:54 GMT 1
What a real cliff hanger of a game for our reserves at Beccles this sat. We arrived at the game with manager Steve Eastaugh away on an alleged scouting trip to Libya. So control of the squad and responsibility for getting us a win after a barren few weeks, was given to his brother Andy who was also in the starting eleven. Along with a change in management we included Matty Daniels in the squad after a lay off from injury and yet another keeper in 16 year old Adam Wengrow , who had responded to us loosing Nathan Pauling to the first team and Kai Hewitt to the Norfolk squad. We also welcomed back Elliot Winter, Adam Brock and a very nicely tanned Olly King back to the fold. On the bench we had the enigmatic Ashley Mitchell , The ultra cool Elliot Winter and Mr Reliable himself , Matty Banham who was there due to a rather heavy cold he was struggling with.
During the pre match team talk Andy Eastaugh took to the role of manager very well and it was obvious to see that he had learnt well from his big brother and soon had the full attention of the squad and set about instructing the team in how to go about getting the required result needed to hoist us back up the league. The first half belonged mainly to us with Matty Daniels showing exactly why both Norwich City and Ipswich Town chased him for his signature since the age of 12 with some sublime one touch pass and move techniques and Jimmy Layton showing what a great dead ball specialist he is, with two free kicks that crashed off the crossbar. Also the industrious Olly King showed what we had been missing in the last few weeks with his work rate and eagerness to get the ball into the Beccles box, not to mention his fine art of winning frequent free kicks from frustrated defenders who can’t deal with his skills. The opposition did have a few glimpses of our goal but once again Steve Jordan and Sam Giacomelli, in the heart of our defence, were resolute in their defensive duties and kept them to a minimum and when they did breach our rear guard our slightly nervous debutant young keeper showed his natural ability and saved well. With this stalemate we went in at half time o-o. Once in the dressing room Manager Andy Eastaugh once again repeated his instructions for each player to concentrate on their individual game and not be distracted and allow Beccles to score- a problem we all know too well in recent weeks as we have seemed to give the lead away to often and far too easily. It was also pleasing to see Andy take it on the chin about his own performance and being the honest type of player he is we all knew he would up his own game and give his all for the team and in return all he expected was the same back from the players around him. He also made a couple of changes with Matty Daniels coming off as a precaution along with young Sam Holt. They were replaced with Matty Banham and Elliot Winter respectively . So with this in mind we went back out looking to get the first break in this finely balanced game.
The second half started very even again although Beccles were now kicking down the slope and, with the wind behind them, made it a little more difficult for defending against with their quality centre forward Alan Remblance always looking a threat with his movement and direct style of play. But we held firm and once again tried to fashion chances of our own with Olly King and John Curtis being at the hub of most of our good play. But once again we fell behind to our opposition when a melee in the box resulted in a great point blank save from Adam Wengrow but an opposition player managed to bundle the ball over the line- How many times has that happened recently ?!!! After this things went from bad to worse when their other centre forward Tony Martin outjumped Adam for a goal and this was quickly followed up by a strike from Remblance in the 70 min to leave us looking at the wrong end of a thrashing- or so we thought !
Manager Eastaugh then changed defender Adam Brock for the direct running Ashley Mitchell and re-jigged his midfield and the impact it had was hardly short of miraculous. For within 5 mins John Curtis had stroked home one goal back and the whole Wroxham team seamed to find an extra 2 yards of pace with every player running and tackling like their life depended on it. Things got more exciting when Elliot Winter guided the most deftest of headers past their keeper after a fantastic cross from Olly King. Game on we all thought and with us now camped in the Beccles half it seemed inevitable that we could snatch a draw from this game. It even led to Beccles having the audacity to send on their 50 year old + manager to shore up their defence. Sadly tho for him there would be no Roy of the Rovers ending and he was promptly sent off after throwing a punch at Dan Cooke. Once again though we fell victim to some bizarre refereeing when he sent of Cookie aswell although even the linesman on his side protested Dan’ innocence. But even after this set back and for the first time in weeks lady luck shined on the lads when, after a real mazey run and pull back in the box by John Curtis , 2 Beccles players missed the chance to clear and there was Andy Eastaugh to put the ball in and send the lads into rapturous scenes of delight.
So a dramatic finnish and a point gained when we looked dead and buried. Good come back true but should we have ever been in that position in the first place? Hard to say as you could blame individual errors but everyone makes mistakes and it is said “the difference between a Professional and an amateur is how quickly they can rectify those mistakes” and on Sat we put those errors right with real passion. Good all round performances with Steve Jordan and Sam Giacomelli not only looking individually exceptional but also one of the best centre half partnerships in the league and Jimmy Layton once again not only defending valiantly but giving us a real attacking option on the left hand side. Also great battling and leadership skills from stand in manager Andy Eastaugh along with Dan Cooke in the heart of midfield.
But pick of the day has got to be the returning Olly King who never stopped battling and was a constant thorn in the Beccles side. It certainly showed how we had missed his sublime skills and direct style of play over the past couple of weeks. Special mention of the day must also go to 16 year old Adam Wengrow who not only shook off his debut nerves to give a good account of himself but also brought into the dressing room one of the most unusual ginger hairstyles ever seen in my time at the club !. References to a certain Carlos Valderama were directed at him and to be fair he deserved it. Be interesting to see if he goes up on the Trafford park dressing room wall as im sure Matty Daniels would be relieved to see another ginger face to accompany his caricature up there!
Back to Trafford Park next week and hopefully a win to get us back up the league. And the return of Steve Eastaugh to the management throne-will there be a power struggle at the club with Andy doing so well at Beccles? Who knows all will be revealed then im sure!!!!
During the pre match team talk Andy Eastaugh took to the role of manager very well and it was obvious to see that he had learnt well from his big brother and soon had the full attention of the squad and set about instructing the team in how to go about getting the required result needed to hoist us back up the league. The first half belonged mainly to us with Matty Daniels showing exactly why both Norwich City and Ipswich Town chased him for his signature since the age of 12 with some sublime one touch pass and move techniques and Jimmy Layton showing what a great dead ball specialist he is, with two free kicks that crashed off the crossbar. Also the industrious Olly King showed what we had been missing in the last few weeks with his work rate and eagerness to get the ball into the Beccles box, not to mention his fine art of winning frequent free kicks from frustrated defenders who can’t deal with his skills. The opposition did have a few glimpses of our goal but once again Steve Jordan and Sam Giacomelli, in the heart of our defence, were resolute in their defensive duties and kept them to a minimum and when they did breach our rear guard our slightly nervous debutant young keeper showed his natural ability and saved well. With this stalemate we went in at half time o-o. Once in the dressing room Manager Andy Eastaugh once again repeated his instructions for each player to concentrate on their individual game and not be distracted and allow Beccles to score- a problem we all know too well in recent weeks as we have seemed to give the lead away to often and far too easily. It was also pleasing to see Andy take it on the chin about his own performance and being the honest type of player he is we all knew he would up his own game and give his all for the team and in return all he expected was the same back from the players around him. He also made a couple of changes with Matty Daniels coming off as a precaution along with young Sam Holt. They were replaced with Matty Banham and Elliot Winter respectively . So with this in mind we went back out looking to get the first break in this finely balanced game.
The second half started very even again although Beccles were now kicking down the slope and, with the wind behind them, made it a little more difficult for defending against with their quality centre forward Alan Remblance always looking a threat with his movement and direct style of play. But we held firm and once again tried to fashion chances of our own with Olly King and John Curtis being at the hub of most of our good play. But once again we fell behind to our opposition when a melee in the box resulted in a great point blank save from Adam Wengrow but an opposition player managed to bundle the ball over the line- How many times has that happened recently ?!!! After this things went from bad to worse when their other centre forward Tony Martin outjumped Adam for a goal and this was quickly followed up by a strike from Remblance in the 70 min to leave us looking at the wrong end of a thrashing- or so we thought !
Manager Eastaugh then changed defender Adam Brock for the direct running Ashley Mitchell and re-jigged his midfield and the impact it had was hardly short of miraculous. For within 5 mins John Curtis had stroked home one goal back and the whole Wroxham team seamed to find an extra 2 yards of pace with every player running and tackling like their life depended on it. Things got more exciting when Elliot Winter guided the most deftest of headers past their keeper after a fantastic cross from Olly King. Game on we all thought and with us now camped in the Beccles half it seemed inevitable that we could snatch a draw from this game. It even led to Beccles having the audacity to send on their 50 year old + manager to shore up their defence. Sadly tho for him there would be no Roy of the Rovers ending and he was promptly sent off after throwing a punch at Dan Cooke. Once again though we fell victim to some bizarre refereeing when he sent of Cookie aswell although even the linesman on his side protested Dan’ innocence. But even after this set back and for the first time in weeks lady luck shined on the lads when, after a real mazey run and pull back in the box by John Curtis , 2 Beccles players missed the chance to clear and there was Andy Eastaugh to put the ball in and send the lads into rapturous scenes of delight.
So a dramatic finnish and a point gained when we looked dead and buried. Good come back true but should we have ever been in that position in the first place? Hard to say as you could blame individual errors but everyone makes mistakes and it is said “the difference between a Professional and an amateur is how quickly they can rectify those mistakes” and on Sat we put those errors right with real passion. Good all round performances with Steve Jordan and Sam Giacomelli not only looking individually exceptional but also one of the best centre half partnerships in the league and Jimmy Layton once again not only defending valiantly but giving us a real attacking option on the left hand side. Also great battling and leadership skills from stand in manager Andy Eastaugh along with Dan Cooke in the heart of midfield.
But pick of the day has got to be the returning Olly King who never stopped battling and was a constant thorn in the Beccles side. It certainly showed how we had missed his sublime skills and direct style of play over the past couple of weeks. Special mention of the day must also go to 16 year old Adam Wengrow who not only shook off his debut nerves to give a good account of himself but also brought into the dressing room one of the most unusual ginger hairstyles ever seen in my time at the club !. References to a certain Carlos Valderama were directed at him and to be fair he deserved it. Be interesting to see if he goes up on the Trafford park dressing room wall as im sure Matty Daniels would be relieved to see another ginger face to accompany his caricature up there!
Back to Trafford Park next week and hopefully a win to get us back up the league. And the return of Steve Eastaugh to the management throne-will there be a power struggle at the club with Andy doing so well at Beccles? Who knows all will be revealed then im sure!!!!
