Redolence sneak through on penalties

Report

Redolence’s last tilt at cup glory started on pitch 3 at greenlands vs SO Goose on a fine spring morning. Redolence had beat Goose earlier in the season, and were hoping to repeat that to advance to the Quarter Finals. Redolence lined up with Jon in goal; Randle, Crouch, Ash and Kieran in Defence; Bowen and Jord sitting in CRM with Andy, Jonesy and Lewis behind Tim up top.

The match conditions weren’t ideal- a strong breeze and firm pitch making conditions challenging. Goose started the liveliest, busy across the pitch and generally beating Redolence to all loose balls. There was nothing in an attacking sense from Redolence in the early running, however they were robust in defence, restricting Goose to long distance efforts which weren’t troubling Jon at all. When on the ball Redolence looked rushed and shaky, shanking clearances and looking for the long ball at all times- in the breezy conditions any long ball simply flew straight back to Goose’s keeper. As the half wore on Goose were the stronger side, looking a constant threat without breaking down the Redolence back line. They had the first proper chance of the game, their CM strolling through the middle unchallenged and releasing the striker through on goal for him to lash it over. A wasted chance that immediately cost them. Redolence, in their first meaningful attack of the game, took the lead. Jord had already had a probing long throw cleared out, and on his second attempt he launched a massive throw into the box. It may have caught a breeze, but Goose completely misread it and the ball reached Tim in the 6 yard box who almost apologetically nodded it. (Goal Redolence. 1-0. Lees. 25 mins). An undeserved lead, but Redolence are owed a little luck so they took it. The goal didn’t spur either side on at all, and Goose continued to dominate without crafting anything substantial. Keen to change this, Scott brought Woody and Sproz on for Bowen and Andy, and it settled the middle of the park down and nullified Goose’s threat. Redolence were to make a couple of breaks as the half went on, but they came to nothing and the half petered out.

HT: 0-1

A strange half, Redolence no-where near their best but 1-0 up nonetheless. The second half saw Redolence playing into the wind, which was strong enough to give both sides issues. Tactically Redolence looked far more secure at this point, and were defensively sound despite a few wildly sliced clearances. Goose were looking to play long, but the breeze meant every attempt drifted long. Jon had nothing to do but for goal kicks up to this point. With Jord and Woody winning more flick ons and tackles, more attacking intent was being shown- when Redolence played the ball they looked dangerous but it was only in isolation. Jord had the best of the early chances, hitting an accurate drive that the Goose keeper managed to tip away for a corner. In possession, both teams tended to rush and lots of passes were being misplaced- the half lacked quality for long periods. Redolence did find the net a second time- Woody heading in over the keeper from a Crouchy free kick, but he was ruled offside by the Goose lino. Andy came on for Tim, Stu on for Randle, and Andy’s presence caused issues for a tiring Goose backline- his chest down under pressure teed up Lewis who hit a stinging volley from range that was just wide of the top corner. Lewis was having joy down the left, and nearly found Andy and Woody with crosses on several occasions. The time was wearing down, and despite their possession Goose looked unlikely to break the stubborn Redolence backline. Ash made way for Bowen, and Jord dropped in to CB to see the game out….it was however not to work out. In the last minute Goose finally found the final ball quality they’d been looking for, and put their striker clear who made no mistake- their only shot on target bagged an equaliser that took the tie to penalties (SO Goose Goal 1-1. 89 minutes)

FT: 1-1

PENALTIES

Penalties, in order:

• Redolence SCORED by Tim- cool finish into bottom right
• SO Goose SAVED by Jon down to his left hand side
• Redolence SCORED to Stu- guided smartly into bottom left
• SO Goose SCORED- despite Jon getting a hand to it
• Redolence SAVED- Jonesy penalty saved by keeper down to his left
• SO Goose SAVED by Jon- stook his leg out and deflected it away
• Redolence SCORED- Andy placing it into the bottom right corner
• SO Goose SAVED by Jon down to his right
• REDOLENCE WIN 3-1 on penalties!

Verdict Jon’s heroics in the shootout meant Redolence advance to the quarter finals. This puts the gloss on what was a pretty average performance from the lads, who were never at the races throughout the game. Defensively Redolence looked good, with their one real lapse costing them, but they started poorly and only showed flashes of what they’re capable of. Its all well and good talking about being a passing team, and it’s great to see the lads doing it in training, but until everyone is confident to do that in game, and deciding to do it over the long hoof ball, the lads will continue to struggle to control games. The squad is capable of doing this, and there was a good atmosphere on the pitch on the day, but plenty of work needs to be done by the lads in the coming weeks. MOTM this week goes to Jord- despite not having his touch today it was an all action display for him, and he also claims the assist for Tims opener.

FT S O Goose 1(1) - 1(3) SCC Redolence
90 S O Goose 1 - 3 SCC Redolence (Saved, bottom right)
90 S O Goose 1 - 3 SCC Redolence (A.Seager, bottom right)
90 S O Goose 1 - 2 SCC Redolence (Saved, Jonesy bottom left)
90 S O Goose 1 - 2 SCC Redolence
90 S O Goose 0 - 2 SCC Redolence (Stu, bottom right)
90 S O Goose 0 - 1 SCC Redolence (Saved, bottom left)
90 S O Goose 0 - 1 SCC Redolence (Lees, bottom right)
PENALTIES
FT S O Goose 1 - 1 SCC Redolence
89 S O Goose 1 - 1 SCC Redolence
HT S O Goose 0 - 0 SCC Redolence
25 S O Goose 0 - 1 SCC Redolence (Lees, assist J.Price)
KO S O Goose 0 - 0 SCC Redolence