Falcons v Great Linford Sharks   (a)   2 – 2

What a match!

With undoubtedly our best performance of the season so far we were unlucky not to defeat Great Linford, who remain unbeaten so far this season.

A very cold Saturday morning saw the team, coach and die-hard supporters leaving Ampthill shortly after 9:00, to arrive somewhat early at Great Linford. Kevin and Andy did a great job in keeping the boys warm without tiring them out too much before the match – perhaps us supporters should have joined in because it was COLD!

Ampthill kicked off for the first of four quarters and were immediately on the attack. A familiar looking line up to start saw only one noticeable change, with David at the back for the absent Eric – the starting seven being Mikey, David, Niall, Harry, Rupert, Charlie and Will (the old 1-3-2 formation Kevin favours). On the bench we had Matty and Keir.

Although we had the majority of the early play, we were unlucky to go one down after an attack by Great Linford resulted in the ball flashing past Mikey off one of our defenders (I won’t embarrass the defender by naming him but he did say he was going to score today). A bit of a fluke but the lads didn’t let it faze them at all and renewed their siege of the Great Linford goal. After some good work down the right wing, forcing several corners, Harry found himself with half a yard of space in their penalty area. Although it was on his weaker left foot, rather than trying to tee it up onto his right he made the most of the opportunity by immediately lashing it past the keeper for the equaliser.

Ampthill kept pressing until half-time, having the majority of the play and with David only being called into action occasionally. The start of the second half saw the introduction of Matty for Niall in midfield and a swap between Mikey and Rupert, with Rupert pulling on the ’keepers shirt and Mikey slotting into the left side of midfield. Keir also came on up front for Will.

The Falcons started off where they finished the first half – on the attack. The corner count was mounting, although Great Linford’s defending was good and their ’keeper for the second half was outstanding. The pressure eventually told, however, and – of course – the scorer of Ampthill’s second goal just had to be ….. Charlie, with another excellent finish after some good work from the midfield.

Great Linford aren’t unbeaten without a reason though and they weren’t going to let this one slip away, especially as we couldn’t find a third to give us some breathing space - some robust defending and superb goalkeeping keeping them in with a chance. And, unfortunately, they managed to carve out a chance in the final quarter, squeezing the ball past Rupert for the equaliser.

2 – 2 and the final whistle blows after a great morning’s entertainment – a shame we couldn’t just get the third goal to clinch it but every single one of the boys played superbly, individually and as a team, and I’m sure that they are only going to get better and better playing like this. Credit too to the coach, Kevin, whose hard work is so obviously paying dividends on this showing.

Man of the Match:  Harry Peacock

Louis