Mighty 2s continue undefeated run on Halloween weekend.
30th November 2021
Bristol & West 2nd XI [8-0] Cardiff Medics 1st XI
Report by: Simon Barrett
A beautifully sunny Saturday greeted the Mighty Bristol &West 2nd XI as they arrived at their home fortress looking forward to a battle for another 3 points. Cardiff Medics teams of the past have been a mixture of young students and old heads, but what turned up was a bright-eyed team of youthful, energetic students, this looked like it would be a good, tough challenge.
After another excellent warm up B&W came out of the blocks at a million miles an hour, stunning the students and making camp in their half. Pinned back, the students made mistakes and B&W opened their account though Joe John slotting it behind the keeper, 1-0. Soon after the restart Dave Vernon popped up from midfield to claim his first goal of the game, after some lovely support play by the midfield of Phil Brown, Simon Barrett and Kian Goodwin, 2-0. For the remainder of the half B&W remained dominant on the ball and controlled the pace of the game, until the final 5 minutes when Cardiff Medics woke up and managed a short period of sustained pressure, but the always cool back line of Tom Seager, Rob Hazelwood and newcomers Charlie Blandy and Gary Iles, absorbed the pressure and turned it into attack, allowing Joe John to get his second, 3-0 going into the half time break.
A positive and relaxed team consumed their oranges with glee, listened to the ever-positive Skipper encouraging them to keep playing in the same vein, and to drive home their advantage, the Team entered the second half refreshed and eager.
Cardiff Medics tried to replicate the start B&W had in the first half but fell a long way short with the B&W front line of Joe John, Jake Seager and Rohan Rai applying swift pressure onto the Cardiff Medics back line. With some silky link up play between the forwards, Jake Seager got a goal in his last appearance for the team, 4-0. From then on the fight had gone from Cardiff Medics as poor decisions were made allowing the inform Joe John to claim his third goal, then shortly after his fourth when he was quicker than all other players around him to slam a bullet into the back board, a record haul in the 2s for Joe, 6-0.
With B&W dominating, their first clean sheet of the season was on the cards until a very nervous moment when Cardiff Medics put together a break away, forcing goalkeeper Wayne Manton into his first touch of the game where he deflect a shot and Gary Iles cleared it at head hight off the line. Heart in the mouth moments, but no goal for the visitors.
After this minor scare it settled back into B&W dominance. This is Dave Vernon’s first season in the Mighty 2nd XI and he has grown form strength to strength, not known as a goal scorer, he bagged another two in clinical fashion to record his first hattrick for the club, 8-0. The final score reflected the total dominance the B&W team had over the opposition, with goalkeeper Wayne Manton only touching the ball twice.
MOM: Gary Iles for the save off the line (much to the shock of hattrick man Dave Vernon and top goal scorer in the game Joe John with 4)
DOD: Simon Barrett, after finishing in a tie with Jake Seager……the Halloween Do games decided that one.
