First Qualifying Round of the FA Vase.

And breathe….

We started the game playing exactly the opposite of how we want to play, we didn’t try to play we didn’t communicate well enough and we played right into Longwells hands. They were a strong and experienced team and were on on the front foot from the get go. We turned the game into a battle which we were not strong enough for. We found ourself 1-0 from a number of poor decisions from a number of individuals.

Half time approached, and I can only apologise to peoples ears during the team talk. It simply was not good enough. New signing Josh Grant made his debut and come on at half time to slow the game down which was what was needed. We started the second half playing our football and looked the better team. However a moment of ignorance saw us 2-0 down.

With nothing to lose we brought on Fin Baker and Conor Harris to give the team more engage and change the dynamic in midfield. With some hard work came a bit of luck and Freddie Kennedy pulled 1 back. Longwell started to drop off and it was our chance to put the pressure on and with some patience and some quality we were level from a absolute screamer from Kieran Cooper.

With a lot of tired legs we found ourself in control of the game for the first time in the game. We arguably deserved a winner however it was not meant to be. The game finished 2-2 and to pens we went.

Kicking towards the wind was a challenge and the players thrived. Conor Harris scored the first penalty to get us going and with a save from Timmy Mungall we won 4-1 in the shootout. The boys gave absolutely everything and sometimes when you play that bad and still grind out a result it shows real character.

A special shout out to Conor Harris who made his 50th appearance for the club after a long time out with injury.

There is no rest for us as we travel to Pershore on Monday to play one of the league favourites. We will rest up and go again.