Falcons put in their most dominating display of the season on Sunday as Phoenix were despatched 7-0 on Wandsworth Common.
There were quite a few absentees for this game as Jimmy, Stevie and Elliot were unavailable while Jack joined Paddy on the injury list. Fortunately we were able to welcome back Olu and Kieran from their aches and pains and there was the added bonus that the opposition were also missing some key personnel.
The start couldn’t have been much better as Pete’s cross found John in the box and his layoff was curled beautifully into the goal from the left foot of Chris with only three minutes gone.
All the signs were good as the strikers didn’t let the opposition defence have a second to breathe, the midfield worked hard and Duncan was majestic bringing the ball out from the back with confidence.
The second goal came on 20 minutes, Chris taking advantage after a free kick rather bounced off the back of a defender and finishing calmly. His hat trick wasn’t too far behind either. Olu’s long throw-in caused havoc in the box and, seconds after telling the manager to get the fuck out of his way, the manager got the fuck out of his way and a low shot from 12 yards made it 3-0 on 30 minutes.
Kieran and Matt made their way onto the pitch either side of half time and the scoring continued. A wonderful team move that started from the back culminated in Chris’s fourth of the day on 55 minutes. Just a minute later, the high-pressing game forced an error in the Phoenix defence and Francesco struck a beauty from the edge of the box to make it 5-0.
Last week we had a bit of misfortune when a mis-hit cross gave Soho a goal but it was our turn to be fortunate this time as Olu shanked a cross from the left and it went straight over the goalkeeper’s head for the Falcons’ sixth on 70 minutes.
Both John and Pete had further chances to extend the lead but it was Duncan who wrapped things up with a few minutes to go. A free kick found him completely unmarked and, after his initial shot was saved, there was no mistake with the follow-up and the defender got the goal his performance deserved.
Final score 7-0.
On a beautiful day in Wandsworth, this was the very best performance of the season, the team finding the pass and move football that was a characteristic of matches back in September. In the battle for the golden boot, Chris has now given him a three goal lead over Olu with three games to go, while we hope the long wait for our next fixture against Stonewall will give Jack and Paddy the time they need to shake off their injuries.
Squad: Conal, Duncan, Andrew, Ritchie, Pete (Kieran 35), Olu, John, Alex (Matt 46), Brady, Chris, Francesco.
Scorers: Chris (3, 20, 35, 55), Francesco (56), Olu (70), Duncan (85).