Ravens 0-1 Woodham Athletic

Ravens approached this game in a positive manner because of a 2 game winning streak and gunning for revenge against a Woodham team 3rd place in the table who had thrashed us just 3 weeks ago.
The game began in very windy conditions and as we were kicking into the wind for the first half we looked to take full advantage of it, however the wind seemed to influence the ball a bit too much to gain a large advantage.
Woodham started the game for the first 15 minutes the same way as they did in the previous fixture and came at us, but we emerged from this spell with our clean sheet intact and began to do more pressing then an iron. Rob Olding who started upfront and stepped back into midfield looked dangerous and after he struck the crossbar hammered two more well hit strikes that were well stopped by the goalkeeper. We were on top and their goalkeeper was feeling the pressure with some poorly struck goal kicks which we converted into attacks, but although the wind was supposed to be an advantage it was also a disadvantage making lofted through balls almost impossible. Apart from a few more half chances from the edge of the area the only other talking point from the first half was a stick on penalty when Matt Hennessy was steadying himself to shoot just inside the box when he was taken down like Tracy Barlow. Anyway the game stayed at zero apiece until half time,
Although we would now have the disadvantage of kicking against the wind in the 2nd half against a team that seemed content to take a 0-0 at half time and go for it with the wind behind them. However Ravens stood up to the Woodham attack well again and instead of playing on the counter attack we dominated the game for large periods and when a corner kick missed everybody and Matt Hennessy hooked the ball back in to Kyle Moss who picked out Ross Evans fantastically with a header cushioned suitablly for a king charles spaniel and when Rosses first touch was perfect and then a 2nd touch steadying himself and beating a defender he was 12 yards out with just the keeper to beat but a clever passed finish at the near post scraped the paintwork of the post. Ravens were going for it into the wind and with Rob Olding and Ollie Patterson controlling the tempo in the centre of the park the 3 points seemed like a good possibility.
However just as we were pushing for a winner Woodham ran up the other end and caught the defence napping and with a hint of offside struck into the lower 90 of the net, after 5 minutes of feeling sorry for ourselves and gifting another goalscoring chance, we began to reclaim our dominance on the game and with Ross working himself into another great opening and striking ferociously the opposition keeper made a great save. Even though we were running into the wind we had the wind in our sails and at the death a good piece of play from Agron saw him in the clear and when he opted for glory instead of squaring to Berbaross at the near post, the only outcome as soon as it left his perfectly polished boots was a goal kick, as he struck the side netting. The crowd winced, the birds chirped and Ravens fans all over the world gasped as another game escapes the grasp of the Raven Globetrotters and 3 points not claimed like spending £3 in Tesco’s and forgetting to use your clubcard. However this was a fantastic performance against a team higher then us in the league table and if we approach all of our games with such enthusiasm and commitment then we will go on a run for longer then Forrest Gump.

Player Ratings
Grant Sadler-6- kicking was long and far far away, made a good save in the first 15 minutes, needs to command his area like a rottweiler, woof, bark grrr.
Tarik foley-7- another impressive performance from the transformed right back, commited as ever, got forward and his touch was impressive.
Kev Brooks-7- Snuffed out attacks and read the play well, great hustle
Omni Sambrook-6- always gives 110% and flew into tackles.
Rob”lucozade”Bentham-8- Ran absolutely everywhere with his trademark energy, made some lungbusting runs and defended solidly.
Tim Brown-6- Got frustrated with himself but he’s only just coming back from a tiring injury and did well under the circumstances.
Matt Hennessy-6- Did not see enough of the ball but denied a blatant penalty.
Ollie Patterson-7- Broke things up like a bull in a china shop, spread the ball from side to side well bringing players into the play.
Kyle Moss-6- Had a great first half when he was on the left taking players on with confidence, pace and flair, but when he went onto the right for some reason he slowed the play down even though he was the fastest player on the pitch.
Rob Olding-9- Started upfront, moved into midfield and ran the place, did not give the ball away and distributed the ball well, a threat going forward as well.
Ross Evans-7- A great touch, good hold up play, and made himself some chances with neat play and unlucky not to score.
Substitutes
Ayo de silva-6- fantastic feet but needs to learn when a pass is on.
Agron-5- Missed a sitter and that was all he had time to do.