The Double Is On

Norwich Hotspur 5 - 2 Archant
(Death, Jennings, Miller, Newman, o.g.)
27/09/2009

Our first ever cup victory means that a league & cup double is very much a reality this season.

Ian 'Hamster' Cresswell, the Freddy Starr looky likey ref was late.

Guzzy won the toss, pitch was even harder underfoot than 2 weeks ago, but at least no wind.

Starting formation was a solid looking 4-4-2 from the start, big guns Baylis & Death waiting in the wings for the game to open up.

First half.

Frantic first 20 minutes with the ball bouncing all over the place, Hotspurs having trouble finding their rythym.

Unlucky deflection leaves Walters & Manley flat footed and punchy Archant No.9 capitalises on the loose ball, 0-1.

After that Hotspurs start to find their feet, Baylis and Death come on for Miles and Newman.

Lots of pressure on the Archant goal, Hotspurs looking dangerous at set pieces.

Corner on the left, Walters makes a good challenge, ball drops (eventually) to Death who powers home with his left foot from close range, 1-1.

Should have had a penalty after Baylis had burst into the box only to have his shirt lifted, Ref blew whistle and awarded a ........ indirect freekick, hey? Apparently it wasn't a malicious shirt pull and therefore not a penalty - f*****g idiot.

Oakley, Blazer & Cox join the fray to see us through to half time.

Second half.

We totally dominated the second half our smart use of rotation tactics and fresher legs really paid dividends.

Four goals without reply left us 5-1 and cruising.

1. Kerpow - whipped cross from Death shinner into his own net from Archant full back, and no Deathy you cannot claim it.
2. Bish - Newman burst into the box and powered one into the far top corner, just like Stevie G, and no I never had a doubt unlike some as the pub talk would have it.
3. Bash - Miller from 30 yards, one touch, half volley, keeper off his line, lovely, and no it wasn't an overhit pass as the pub talk would have it.
4. Bosh - Jenning from 30 inches, following more set piece pressure, an no it wasn't going in as the pub talk would have it.

From there onwards it was just a case of seeing it through to the end, they scored one after some powder puff defending and their punchy No.9 got sent off for having a swipe at Freddy Starr.


Ratings
Doy (7) - comanding in the box, kicks much better
Bird (7) - very busy in midfield, great going forward, lacked composure in front of goal
Walters (7) - very solid, tactical genious, showed good pace at times
Kitson (6) - much better, looked nervous early on settled well
Baylis (7) - caused Archant lots of problems, final delivery needs to be better
Death* (8) - comanding, chipped in with a goal & a couple of assists
Miller (7) - good all round performance, lovely goal
Miles (6) - showed nice touches again, great back pass
Guzewich (7) - some great team play, needs a goal
Jennings (7) - caused problems in the air, fox in the box for his goal
Oakley (6) - steady, worked well with the rest of the back four
Culling (6) - solid, a couple of computation errors
Cox (6) - calming influence in the centre of defence, sweet drag back
Manley (6) - missed a couple of tackles, but generally a safe pair of feet
Newman (7) - worked very hard for the team, and a great finish for his goal
Blazer (6) - good contribution through the middle part of the game, not ready for 90 mins just yet

Overall Team Rating (8)

Starting to show what we're really made of, a very good squad performance with everyone making a contribution. We stood up to the physical challenge of both the conditions and the opposition and added the killer instinct in front of goal that was missing last time.

Next time out - West Lynn away - bugger.

Jem
Head Coach Director of Football Manager
Norwich Hotspur

Comfortable Two One

Norwich Hotspur 2 - 1 Norwich Rovers
(Baylis, Cox)
13/09/2009

We're off to a winning start with a comfortable 2-1 win over new boys Norwich Rovers.

Baylis lost the toss, very strong wind against and bobbly pitch.

Debuts for Miller, Jennings and Bird.

Experimental new 4-3-3 formation, ala Chelsea.


First half.

Lots of early pressure with no end product, in fact lots of airy fairy swing and a miss shooting in front of goal.

Horrible Kitson mistake, 1-0 down.

More pressure, long throws and whipped corners but no goal.

Abandoned experimental formation for the traditional 4-4-2, much better.

Equaliser - good wriggly work from Guzewich and a great cross, eyes closed point blank header from Baylis 1-1.

Second half.

Now we have the wind.

Even more pressure. Bombarding the Rovers goal.

At last 2-1, toe poke from Cox after a goal mouth mely.

Horrible Culling mistake, let Rovers in but fortunately they didn't capitalise.

More Hotspur pressure but no more goals.

Result never really in doubt, great to start with a win. Happy days.

Ratings
Doy (6) - fairly solid, some dodgy handling, kicks interesting
Bird (7) - very good debut, long throw will be a real asset
Walters (6) - steady, showed good pace at times
Tink (7) - comanding performance, unlucky not to score thanks to Millers goolies
Kitson (5) - one horrible error led to Rovers goal
Baylis (6) - looked heavy legged, took goal well considering eyes closed
Death (7) - very solid in every way
Miller (7) - good energy, driving force going forward
Miles (6) - showed nice touches, but struggled to make an impact
Guzewich* (8) - some great work around the box, a constant threat, lacked the finishing touch
Jennings (6) - caused problems in the air, another solid debut, more to come
Oakley (6) - struggled with conditions early on then settled into a steady performance
Culling (5) - left back in tricky conditions does play to his strengths
Cox (7) - imposing and Johnny on the spot for the winner
Manley (6) - effective, the archetypal stopper
Newman (6) - lots of energy and commitment

Overall Team Rating (7)

Lack of the killer instinct in front of goal could have been costly and spoilt an otherwise solid team performance - win was well deserved.

Jem
Head Coach Director of Football Manager
Norwich Hotspur