Ravens 3-3 City Supporters

Ravens went into this game short of players through injury and other issues out of these players control. However we were still confident that with a good performance we could claim the 3 points.

This looked certain to happen after Ravens took the lead midway through the first half after Kyle Moss took the ball from the halfway line and beat a couple of players to score with a tremendous strike from the acutest of angles. This lead was doubled shortly after when Elliot Denahey went on a mazy run and was about to pull the trigger when he himself was shot down. Ross Evans completed the move with a tidy penalty in the bottom left corner. The scores stayed like this until half time with Ravens looking more comfortable then a grandad in a rocking chair holding an empty bottle of gin.

However as per usual Ravens went to sleep after the break, became complacent and conceded a stupid goal. Typical, However the reaction to this was fantastic and Tim Brown started to click into gear and sent a sizzling shot goalwards only to see it graze the top of the crossbar, clearly buoyed by his previous effort, he saw a gap in the market for a Steven Gerrard and unleashed yet another whirling effort only to be denied again, shortly after this he was undeservedly substituted.

Shortly after this Elliot Denahey on his debut skinned the right back and laid a ludicrously tasty ball across the 6 yard box, which was converted by Jamie Hawthorne. By this time Ravens could smell blood and went for a big win by changing from 442 to 433, this was confusing to say the least, and City Supporters scored another from even more pathetic defending. However Ravens still felt the game was in their hands, but faced a nervy 20 minutes unless we could grab a goal. This nearly happened would you Adam and Eve it, Ross Evans stole the long shots spotlight shortly after Tim Brown went off with a stunning half volley from ooh id give it about 30 yards, which was plucked out of the top corner. He wasn’t dismayed and went close with a sublime run and turned the defender inside out like a pair of jeans about to be ironed, only for another great save. We were down but not out as Evans got the right side of the defender and as soon as he was set to strike he was hauled down, “Penalty” screamed the travelling fans, “na mate, kid just fell over you messhead” replied the ref. With about 5 minutes remaining City Supporters scored an equaliser, and because of the awful way we were playing they probably deserved it.

Again poor concentration and sloppy defending along with poor substitutions cost us dearer then a sweater from harrods. Things have to start getting better because the way we threw this game away was criminal. Where did the days when we battled and gave everything for the Ravens shirt gone? Everybody wants to point the finger but we all need to stop concentrating on what’s going wrong and blaming everyone but ourselves for the way we are playing. That goes for everyone, myself included, because until we pull together and start playing as a team again, we will only drift further apart and keep losing games we should be walking. I agree that the tactics were very poor but who went up to Kev when they had a corner, and said to kev i think we need to change back and try and close this game out, its almost like we are waiting for him to make a mistake, so we all have an excuse for playing as crap as we did, even before the change of tactics.

Player ratings
Kev Brooks- 7- Did very well and could not be held responsible for any of the goals, kept going when others gave up.
Tarik Foley-6- Committed to the cause, put the team first and deserves a gold star.
John Curson-7- Composed, kept the ball well and good in the air,
Liam Dodsley-6- Reading the game well, impressive positioning.
Rob “slide show” Bentham-6- Always dependable, well it depends if hes able, he delivers down the channels, like sky digital and cable.(A song for the fans)
Ollie Patterson-6- always the strongest in the tackle, left alone in the middle for the last 30 minutes.
Elliott Denahey-6- fantastic running in the first half, drifted a bit in the 2nd half but then again who didn’t.
Jamie Hawthorne-7- Scored and hit a screamer but it wasn’t enough. Played well though.
Tim Brown-7- Unlucky to be substituted, more hits then the cheeky girls, Ran the middle with ollie for the first 60 minutes.
Ross Evans-7- Cooly taken penalty, showed glimpses of his best in the last half hour, when others were giving up.
Kyle Moss-6- Took his goal brilliantly but took his foot of the gas, when things weren’t going well.
Substitutes
Stu Nicholls-5- Not on for long enough to make an impact, made a good interception.
Troy “the Future” Hawthorne-5- looks like Kieran Dyer, a bright future.