We started this match in a manner that rivalled our performance at Newmarket, leaving the home side chasing shadows in the opening 25 minutes.
Our movement in the final third and the pace at which we moved the ball was exemplary, with JP especially running riot on our left flank. The excellent surface enabled us to get the ball down and dominate possession from the outset. Again, the only missing ingredient was our inability to take sufficient chances to knock out an opponent on the ropes.
Luke Berry almost opened the scoring but his towering header, from a trademark Jack Eades corner, came crashing back off the crossbar. Aaron Benstead, a lad I remember well from Cambridge City's youth team, then provided almost single-handed resistance with several fine saves. He was powerless to prevent the opener though.
Fine interplay on the left between Darryl Coakley, Adam Marriott and Jordan Patrick resulted in Maz breaking inside their right back to the bye line, and his pull back was expertly converted by JP with an accurate side-footed finish into the top corner.
Maz shot wide after a flowing move down the right when he should have doubled our advantage, whilst Benstead denied JP adding to his tally with a fine block. Maz, Jack Eades and Jack Igglesden all scuffed shots when they should have made better contact and the irrepressible Luke Berry shot narrowly over from outside the box. Our stranglehold on the game loosened as the half progressed and whilst not creating a clear cut chance, we allowed the home side to exert a spell of sustained pressure.
I have told the lads of a recent quote from Ricky Ponting, the Australian cricket captain, from the one day series against England. With his team having taken an unassailable 4-0 lead, he said "We have got our foot firmly on their throats and we need to keep it there". In other words, be relentless. Be ruthless. Don't let your opponent off the hook. We still lack that killer instinct.
Totally out of context with the game, and the only time I have ever seen it with CRC in this league, the home team were reduced to ten men immediately before half time for a player throwing a punch. Chris Tonks, the intended recipient, reacted superbly by keeping his hands down and showed fantastic discipline by not retaliating.
This self-discipline is something we instil into our players and it was credit to Tonksy that he handled the situation so professionally. I still don't know what upset their player so much, other than possibly a culmination of frustration.
At half-time we stressed the importance of re-exerting our control and not giving our opponents any encouragement by a decline in our work rate or commitment. There is always an emotional response to a perceived injustice that is manifested in a period of increased work rate. The old cliché about ten being harder to play against than eleven is obviously untrue and only borne out when the team with a numerical advantage "takes their foot off the pedal".
That can just be subconsciously by allowing their concentration or intensity to drop a percentage or two each. Momentum is key in football, which is why you are better to be 1-0 up than to go 2-0 up and be dragged back to 2-1. Whilst you are still winning by the same margin, the momentum and impetus is with the team who have just scored. Therefore, we knew that starting on the front foot to kill any potential fight or belief in the home side was vital.
The fact that we also scored an early goal was a bonus and it effectively ended the game as a contest. Jack Eades again demonstrated his ability to cross a ball with a tremendous whipped-in delivery, which was met by a perfectly timed run and close range near post header by Maz.
On a hot day and a big pitch, I would have liked us to have kept the ball for longer spells in the remaining half an hour but in taking too many touches and forcing the play too often, the game became quite scrappy. We were also hindered by the loss of Chris Tonks with a hip flexor injury and we knew that Jack Igglesden would not be able to complete his second 90 minutes in three days so soon after his return from injury. Therefore, with Jack Bailey, Liam Hughes, Luke Allen, Jonathan Thorpe and Rory McAuley already unavailable through illness and injury, we literally had run out of central midfielders and centre forwards!
As a result, the team became disjointed and a little ragged. A couple of tackles in the dying moments also left a sour taste in the mouth, with one particularly crude challenge on James Brighton causing concern. Thankfully, he saw it coming and avoided serious injury.
In hindsight, with a depleted squad, this was a good victory. At the time though, when you see the quality of our play in the opening quarter of the game and know the potential of these players, the other three-quarters of our performance was disappointing. Results are good at the moment but our unbeaten run will only be sustained if we keep demanding high standards from ourselves and each other.
Team:
Davies, Bevan, Coakley, Carr, Hudson, Tonks (McGeorge 60), Eades (Bennett 75), Berry, Igglesden (Brighton 80), Marriott, Patrick.
