Hornets 5-3 Upton Jaguars

The boys went out with the words of coach Elvey ringing in their ears. The
instruction to get stuck in early seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as
Upton gained control of the opening couple of minutes of the game. Only some
good defending by Ollie prevented a goal.

After the early wake up call the Hornets produced some quality football.
Good link play between midfield and the front players set James H up for the
first. The second followed within a couple of minutes when Mike drew three
Upton defenders out wide and crossed superbly to James H who it seemed only
had to tap the ball into an empty net. Not content with the "easy" finish
James attempted to tee the ball up for a volley into the net. He was lucky
to see the Upton keeper just miss out on the save.

More good work resulted in a cross from Mike to see Adam arrive from nowhere
in the penalty box to head home a greater header. All those hours of
watching Tim Cayhill videos finally paid off! The Hornets continued to press
and were awarded a corner. Mike found Will on the edge of the box who
miscued his volley. The ball found James A who had his shot blocked. The
ball ran out to Rob on the edge of the area who struck a great shot which
rebounded off the crossbar.The Hornets seemed to be cruising but Upton were
not prepared to concede defeat readily. They produced some of the best
moments in the first half only to be thwarted by some great no nonsense
defending from Will and Ollie.

Tinkerman Mackenzie oblivious to the Upton threat and the chase for further
goals decide to reshape the side. James A was shifted to defence and Will
moved into attacking midfield. The decision quickly rebounded when Upton
snatched an early goal. The Hornets fell back into their old ways and failed
to clear their lines from a corner and Shaw for Upton scored to punish the
Hornets. Undeterred the formation remained and the manager was vindicated
when ignoring all instruction from the sidelines James A ran out off defence
to link with James H who slid the ball past the Upton keeper for 4-1.

Immediately from the kick off a stunning strike from Roxburgh for Upton from
the half way line left the Hornets feeling the pressure at 4-2. Heads went
down a little and Upton sensed the lack of confidence and pressed their
advantage to score a third.

Assistant Elvey expressed his views on the formation and only echoed the
chants of "you don't know what you're doing" from the usually loyal Hornet
supporters. Bowing to the pressure Will was restored to defence and the team
had a better balance. Upton continued to press and some more great work by
Ollie and Jamie prevented the game heading to extra time.

Upton continued to press and James H exploited the gaps left in the Upton
defence to provide a great cross to Mike who slotted home for a thoroughly
merited goal. Much to the relief of the manager the whistle went and the win
was secured.

A great game of football in which Upton deserved great credit for the way
they fought back. The Olympic Trophy cup league beckons.