Day 203

My Reserves hosted Hednesford in a friendly match this evening. It was a chance for a few fringe players and new boys Mark Halstead, Toumani Diagouraga, and Benjamin Laurant to get match fitness. I put Alex Billington and Ben May in from the start, too, in hopes that they’ll start to push for a place in the starting lineup (of the senior squad).

We started poorly. I doubted that my players were taking the match seriously. Hednesford made them pay from a 15th minute free kick. Drysdale chipped the ball into the box where an enthusiastic Lee Tillson was ready to nod it beyond Halstead.

Sam Smith tried to single-handedly bring scores level three minutes later. He stormed forward with the ball, going toe to toe with the Hednesford defence and trying to force his way through to the goal by sheer force of will. He nearly made it, too, only foiled at the edge of the penalty area.

We looked likely to equalise. Laurant’s mazy runs along the left wing caused problems, but nothing came of it.

Hednesford countered well, slicing through my defence like hot butter. Striker Chris Taylor doubled their lead after giving Watson the runaround.

We pulled one back on 37 minutes. Cunningham drew a man out of position, then passed short to May. May slipped the ball sideways to Smith, whose shot from the edge of the box easily beat the out of position Hednesford keeper.

Halstead made a brilliant save in the 50th minute to keep us in touch, diving to his right to block a close-range strike.

Hednesford had a man sent off in the 64th minute for a horrendous challenge on Smith. A quick attack from Laurant then set the striker up for his second of the game. With scores level and a one-man advantage, we looked set to take control.

We squandered the advantage. Hednesford hit us on the break with a great long ball. Ansell beat Watson in the foot race, then fired past the stretching Halstead.

Hednesford held on for the win. They deserved it. We were awful—absolutely terrible. If that were my first team, I would have been breaking chairs and wringing necks. Heads would roll, and players would be banished.

Being a Reserve-team friendly, the situation is a little different. Billington and Robson did themselves no favours with their nightmare displays, while Laurant, May, and Diagouraga will have to do better if they want a starting berth. Smith impressed, but he’s got his work cut out for him if he wants to break back into the first team.