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 Meanwood are still without their first win of the season and after the diabolical performance against Real Oriental last week they will need to improve drastically if they are to compete with Park Lane yet alone match them. Meanwood's season can only get better and performances can only improve…will Meanwood be able to catch up to the top two before it's too late? All was to be revealed on a bitterly cold night…
Meanwood started with their usual five players. Aydan Fertug retained his place in net and joining him were Woody, Bissitt and Mckieth in defence with Gafa playing as the lone striker. However, Gafa might have to alter his position throughout the match to compensate for Meanwood's new signing Nathan Williams who starts on the bench. Welcome aboard Nathan! Park Lane have no injury concerns and have a full strength squad to choose from. They are also accompanied by their mouthy manager. Park Lane kicked off the first half and immediately took the game to their struggling visitors. After an attack down the middle, Aydan was forced to make save early on. Meanwood seemed a bit shaky in defence and after three minutes they conceded an early goal when some sloppy defending left Park Lane's striker one on one with Aydan Fertug. Despite Aydan's best attempts to block the ball, Park Lane's striker comfortably slotted home to give them the lead. Meanwood's confidence seemed to take a real knock and they quickly conceded a second when a long distance shot found it's way into the top corner of the net to give Park Lane an early 2-0 lead.  Things got even worse as Meanwood conceded another goal in quick succession after a Park Lane player gained possession on the edge of the box and fired home to put them three nil up. Meanwood were getting crushed but debutant Nathan Williams had a low shot and almost pulled one back. Unfortunately, Park Lane counter attacked straight away and added a fourth when their defender broke away and sent a thunderous shot that deluded Aydan. Meanwood were four nil down within the first eight minutes and looked to be heading for their heavyest defeat. Meanwood tried to regain their confidence while passing the ball around and keeping it simple. Meanwood then had their first major chance of the match when Richard Bissitt sent a powerful driven shot goalbound. Park Lane's keeper had no chance and Meanwood pulled one back. However, the lead didn't last for long as a deflected shot landed in the path of Park Lane's striker who made no mistake from close range and once again added to their total to make the score a miserable 5-1. Gafa then came on and decided to play as a sweeper in order to stop his team from leaking even more goals. Meanwood seemed to regain some of their shape and went on the hunt to pull a goal back. Gafa sent a shot heading towards the bottom left hand corner from distance but it unfortunately hit the post. Woody then powered forward but his shot hit the crossbar. The shot rebounded back into the path of Woody but he once again hit the woodwork. Meanwood's luck was preventing them from getting back into the game and everything was denying them. The remainder of the second half saw Meanwood keeping possession but failing to shove the ball into the back of the net. The score at half time was Park Lane 5, Meanwood 1.
Meanwood kicked off the second half and set about restoring some pride into their performance. Nathan Williams almost pulled one back for Meanwood when he smashed the ball just over. Mckieth added some more pressure when he wormed his way past Park Lane's defence.  However, the last defender tackled him and his trickery didn't materialise. Meanwhile, Gafa was stiffening things up at the back and he was using every ounce of his small amount of strength to keep Park Lane at bay. Mckieth was once again close to pulling one back but his shot also hit the post. Meanwood seemed be hitting the woodwork more than anybody can imagine. Mckieth's determination to score paid off when he sent a low shot past Park Lane's keeper to make the score 5-2. Meanwood kept on attacking but they were cruelly punished when Park Lane hit Meanwood on the break and sent their striker one on one with Aydan. Park Lane weren't going to miss that opportunity despite Aydan's best efforts. Meanwood spent the remainder of the game trying to bridge the gap but they were cruelly denied by Park Lane's keeper or the woodwork at every opportunity. Woody almost scored another cracker but he was once again denied by the crossbar. Meanwood then finally scored when Nathan Williams sent a low driven shot into the bottom left hand corner to pull a goal back and make the score 5-3. One of Park Lane's players than got sent off with a minute remaining for a series of reckless fouls. However, the goal and the sending off came too late as Meanwood had very little time to capitalise and they lost 5-3.
Man Of The Match- Gafa Man of the Match- Gafa Gafa played a blinder when he switched to playing as a sweeper. From that moment, Meanwood only conceded one goal when they had previously conceded five. However, Gafa was helped enormously by his teammates who managed to keep their heads up and try and take the game to Park Lane. Gafa has now produced two top-notch performances in a row; lets hope it lasts- it won't. Conclusion A game of two halves? It was more like a game of ten minutes as Park Lane disposed of Meanwood before they even got started. To come back from 5-1 down is a tall order by anyone's standards. However, Meanwood gave it their best shot and if it wasn't for some terrible luck and some of the shots that hit the cross had have gone in then it could have been a remarkable comeback. Meanwood played a lot better when Gafa switched to sweeper as he was prepared to stay back and let somebody stronger lead the front line. More disturbing news is that Meanwood have failed to record a single victory in their first three games and find themselves eight points off top place Lawnswood Arms. Meanwood's season is quickly disappearing and they need a victory next week against an inconsistent Kelly's Heroes if they are to rescue their season. |