Thrapston Town Blue 0 - Weekley Rovers Purple
1
In the week that saw the passing of a great
hero to men of a certain age and with a preference for the
right sort of red, we wondered if our boys could display the
character, attitude, effort and love of the sport that Emlyn
did, to lift our spirits on a cold November morning.
If there was a Table (which there isn’t of course,
and no one keeps records!) this would be a clash right at
the top of it – two teams with impressive starts to
the season coming together in a test of supremacy at the Glebe.
Every chance would be hard won and couldn’t be wasted,
every tackle important, and a midfield packed full of energy
would be necessary to keep the Purples at bay. Play on.
Predictably, the match started as a tussle between two competitive
midfields. Thrapston matching Rovers in all departments. Indeed,
Thrapston might have taken the lead on a number of occasions;
Tom Alsop was thwarted by some great last ditch defending,
just as he was about to pull the trigger, and a number of
well placed Chandler-Abbott corners deserved to be put into
the onion bag, but alas were not converted.
Then, a hopeful cross, come shot from about 20 yards eluded
a bemused Alex Vitue in the Thrapston goal, to give the Rovers
the lead. The last time Thrapston had been behind in a match
was way back in September, when their heads dropped and they
went on to loose heavily. Not Today! Visibly, across the pitch
players rolled up their sleeves, determined to put things
right.
So the first half was 50:50, but with the all important goal
to Rovers. The second half was if anything slightly more in
Thrapstons favour, but they couldn’t break through the
well organised Rovers defence which stood resolute throughout.
At the other end, Josh Scarbrow, turned in a man of the match
performance at centre half, giving little away, while Vitue
made one superb point blank save to deny Weekley a second.
Despite the best efforts of everyone, the six game winning
run would end today.
As the game ended the Thrapston lads were congratulated by
the Weekley manager, who commented that today had been the
hardest game of the season for his team. All of the players
can take great heart from the fact that Thrapston can now
compete with the best. That is testament to the work and effort
that people put in week in, week out, working to improve their
skills, as well as the much improved tactical discipline being
shown this season, particularly in defensive midfield where
Jordan Bateman and Sam Gallagher have been superb all season.
As for the character, attitude, effort and love of the sport
we hoped to see today – yes, Emlyn would have approved.
Final score Thrapston Town Blue Nil, Weekley Rovers Purple
One.
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