[Greyfriars Bobby]

Saturday, 22 November 2014

St Andrews v. Holmesdale
FA Vase, Second Round

We welcomed Holmesdale, a good Level 9 side, to Canal Street for a FA Vase tie. We're catching them in a poor run of form, so I liked our chances today.

4-4-2: Ward; Foley, Calvert, Blackburn, Ricketts; Smith, Collis, Huckerby, Blankley; Thompson, Hackett.

This time we pounced as soon as the opening whistle sounded, hitting Holmesdale with a barrage much like the one we got from Kimberley MW. Alfie Hackett struck first, barely a minute into the game. Alfie then turned provider, teeing up Tony Thompson.

I then decided to change our style of play a bit. I instructed them to play out of defense, and had the goalkeeper distribute it with short kicks to the center backs. Would we do a good job of keeping the ball, or would we simply lack the technique to play this way?

The results were very, very satisfying. Hackett played in Thompson for a second time. A Holmesdale defender fluffed a clearance and headed it into his own goal. We won a corner, the ball bobbled around for a bit, and then Steve Calvert beat the 'keeper with a powerful drive.

We cruised through the second half for a 5-0 victory that puts us through to the Third Round. Even better, our victory put another £1200 in our bank account. For an amateur team, paydays like these make a long run in the FA Vase well worthwhile.

We played a passable imitation of possession football, too, completing 77 percent of our passes.

And, while we were taking care of business, Radcliffe Olympic were beating Graham Street Prims, allowing us to stay three points clear at the top of the table after 12 games.