A cold winter's night in Epsom

[Fuzzy Royal]

So, Epsom away, still with players out against the top of the table team....a draw would suffice.

 

To start off the drive there was quicker than I imagined and the M25 well behaved, can't ask for more than that.

 

And a well done to Ian for hanging his flag over the gap in the fence used to retrieve the ball!!!!!

 

So the game kicks off, a bit of a midfield battle, Windsor come close with a free kick sizzling over the bar and it looks like a tight game. Unfortunately epsom decide to up the pace and put Windsor under pressure, they hold possession and a barrage of chances lead to goal line saves and clearances, the post being hit and Rob making some decent saves.Windsor decide if Epsom don't want to score then we might have a go. A decent shot hard that bounces in front of the keeper, it comes off the keepers chest and the defender miskicks it straight to Laza I think it was (I can't remember right now, how rude) and it is driven into the back of the net. 1-0 Windsor, against the run of play.

 

Epsom take the game to Windsor and have a few decent chances to equalise but genuinely don't appear like they want to score....

 

The second half starts with Windsor applying some pressure, a couple of chances from the thorugh ball open Epsom up, but weak shots and penalty appeals are waved away by a ref who had a decent first half but appears to find it offensive to give Windsor a free kick. Windsor look like they may score but Epsom are starting to look like they will score. After numerous very poor attempts to score (where you would probably put money that they would score) Epsom get a deserved equaliser. I have to say I thought that was it, we hadn't looked like scoring at that point and they were surely going to get a handful.

 

Then a crazy 5 minutes that changed teh game. Jake Lovell is put clean through, as he pulls his leg back to shoot with just the keeper to beat and is brought down from behind. a penalty is given, but only a yellow card. I would love to get an explanation as to why bringing down the forward 8 yards out in the middle of the goal,with only the keeper in front of him is not a goal scoring opportunity and not a red card. The referee had been declining in the second half and this topped it off perfectly, he either lost his bottle, was incompetent or just a cheat; so I guess we'll get him a few more times this season!!!

Literally a few minutes later Harry Pearse hits a shot from the corner of the edge of the area and it bends first towards the goal and then away from the goal deceiving the keeper and effectively ending the game. Epsom seemed to slump and Windsor seemed to believe they had won.

The bite in the game seemed to rescind and Windsor played out a win that was hard fought. Epsom will no doubt feel they should have got more from the game, and i wouldn't argue with them. how they didn't score more goals will be a mystery, but our boys never gave up and worked 100% throughout the game.

 

Another great result, well done to the team, but it was bloody freezing and my toes have only just thawed out

[Rother]

Thanks Fuzzy! How were the new boys at the back?

[Mrs_Cat]

Considering the players we had missing, last night was an amazing result. We effectively had an entire back four not playing, yet the guys who did play looked like they had been playing together for ages.

 

As per usual with Windsor nowadays it would be unfair to pick out individual performances as they were all superb, it really was another great team performance.

 

The boys showed great character to bounce back from Saturday's defeat, Epsom were a different type of side to Molesey but a good side nonetheless and it was easy to see why they have been on such a great run recently.

 

Although Epsom had more chances and a lot more possession I still thought we were good value for the win. I know it might sound obvious but defensively we looked more solid than them and offensively we looked more dangerous than them, hence the 3-1 scoreline. That's the only stat that counts.

 

It would be interesting to know the average age of the starting line up from last night, did it eclipse Badshot??

 

Running out of superlatives to describe the management and squad at the moment.....

[Windsor_Sec]

Starting line up average was 22, squad average 21.06. It's the 'Old' men like Bully 33, Butch 26 & Sheehan 24 that push the average up though. LOL.

[Fuzzy Royal]

The one thing about this team that shines the brightest is the team spirit and togetherness. They always come across as a team, united. The way the youngsters have stepped up when required was especially prominent on Saturday. We have key players out injured turning up to cheer on the team, play darts with the fans and generally enjoy being at the club; they attended the quiz night and just appear to be enjoying it here.They are gutted when we lose and love it when we win, that may seem obvious to say but not every player has always cared.

 

Tuesday was a new level, we were resilient and didn't get frustrated or crumble when under pressure, from a pretty good team lets not forget. A great deal of maturity was shown, we did ride our luck, but that was also down to good defending, goal line clearances are good defending.

 

Mrs Cat is right, we are running out of superlatives to describe what has happened since Mick took over. But what a tough decision Mick could have if he gets a fully fit squad to choose from!!!!

[Don't Blame Me]

I must admit that I had forgotten all about this one as I have been really busy with work. After Saturday's result, I feared the worst but once again, Mick and the guys have done the business. I am so proud of this result and even more proud of what has become of our club. Fuzzy's first para in his last post speaks volumes about how united we have become.