Incredible comeback set news Redolence record

Report

The last time Redolence had won three on the bounce, that run came to a crashing halt in a cup semi final vs Redditch Cross, who dealt the biggest blow to Redolence’s season so far. So there was plenty of motivation for Redolence to make amends, as this new division 1 season kicked off- a division where all 5 teams have a valid shout at being title contenders. Redolence, once again on the back of a club record 3 game winning streak, were forced into a couple of changes. Jords ankle injury meant Ant was forced back into CB, and Max being unavailable meant Birkin returned from his ban at left back, ironically against the team where his sending off occurred 4 gameweeks ago.

As a result, Redolence lined up with Jon in goal; Randle, Crouchy, Ant and Si at the back; Phil and Woody in CDM; Jonesy, Matty, Luka in midfield and Tim up top. Conditions on pitch 4 were good, the pitch was damp and heavy but completely playable, and Redolence were playing up the infamous slope in the

First Half

Cross had the first sight of goal right off the bat- their first cross in skidding their winger who’s clipped half chance glanced off the top of the bar. An early warning. As is often the case, Redolence started slow, were a bit scrappy but ultimately in no great danger in the opening exchanges. Yet they still found themselves conceding first. Cross’s striker dropped deep, picked up the ball and hit a shot on goal, which Jon couldn’t quite keep out. 1-0. Redolence, a more resilient outfit nowadays, kept their heads up and pushed on up the increasingly sticky pitch, growing in confidence as the half wore on. The play was scrappy, but Redolence slowly grew in confidence during the half- a couple of flick ons causing Cross some trouble, and Redolence continued to look threatening from corners- a Jonesy special corner being met by Phil who just couldn’t connect well enough to hit the target. As in their previous meetings, both teams were evenly matched, but Cross were enjoying territorial advantage and were putting Redolence under pressure, several miss-timed clearances putting them under pressure they couldn’t easily relieve. Redolence were to equalise midway through the half. Luka strongly won the ball in the Redolence half, beat 2 men spectacularly and squared to Tim on the edge of the area. Tim flicked the ball on to Jonesy, who was unmarked coming in at the back where he calmly slotted past the keeper- an excellent finish. 1-1. The goal lifted Redolence, who were enjoying more of the ball, but without that killer pass to finish their opportunities- Woody typifying this by breaking away but being unable to link up with Tim to really forge an opening. Luka, revitalised after his spell on the treatment table, looked continually a threat, with Cross trying to double up on him to stop his steady supply on the right. Despite this, Redolence would concede again. Cross putting in a corner which was scrapped clear but Redolence fell asleep as the second ball came in and was nodded in at the back post by their unmarked CB. 2-1.A slack moment, and one that gave Cross renewed impetus. They were to score again before half time, Si and Ant caught trying to play out whilst penned in the area, and Cross’s winger played a clever ball across goal for their striker to tap in.3-1. Redolence were 2 down without being really out played.

HT: 3-1

The half time mood was optimistic. Redolence have already come back from 3-1 down before this season, and with the conditions now in their favour they knew the next goal was critical. Scott made a change at half time, handing Lewis Billingham his debut out left, and he immediately looked busy- his first touch being a well struck shot that the cross keeper held well. With the rain falling on a deteriorating pitch, Redolence were finding a lot of joy out wide, and Jonesy beat his man to lay off to Tim, who hit a rasping drive that was brilliantly save again by the cross keeper. Redolence had their tails up, and were pushing hard, but needed to get a goal back quickly. And they did. Jonesy, fouled 25 yards out, stepped up to take the free kick. His low drive into the area took a deflection that steered it into the bottom corner! 3-2. At this point it was all Redolence, the midfield were finding space and the wide men were both giving their markers a hard time. The equaliser looked to be on the cards, but Redolence went agonisingly close on several occasions- with Cross’s keeper continuing to thwart anything that was within his reach. Redolence kept pushing though, and the equaliser came. A Redolence corner, swung in with pinpoint accuracy by Jonesy, was met at the near post by Woody, who rose like a salmon to power in a bullet header. It was a carbon copy of his header vs VKL, and Jords header 2 weeks ago….another great set play goal. 3-3! At 3-3 Cross pushed back, and Redolence had to dig deep- Stu, on for Randle, made a great goal-line clearance to keep things level, and Jon made a couple of tidy saves as well. When they were without the ball, Redolence were working hard, keeping organised and covering more ground than their opposition. They looked the most likely and continued to threaten- Cross’s keeper producing his 3rd top class save of the day to keep Tim out once more. They could hang on though. An Ant long throw in was won by Lewis deep in the area, and Tim followed in to hammer home at close range to give Redolence the victory with 5 minutes to go!

FT: 3-4

Verdict

A club record 4th win on the bounce. A much needed piece of retribution, and a real marker for the rest of the division. The Redolence roll continues. All the adjectives I’ve used to describe the team over the last 3 weeks stands today. Another excellent team performance, the character in the team is outstanding a result was well deserved. For the 4th game in a row, Redolence have won a game via a massive second half performance- the side now looks fitter than every team they face- they cover more ground and put in more effort, and now its really starting to pay dividends. Long may this run continue.