With only 3 games remaining and having see a couple of great results over the last couple of weeks, the team arrived very feeling optimistic that we were going to walk away with a high scoring win.
As the opposition players started to arrive, we soon came to the conclusion that this might not be as straightforward as we thought. From the whistle, the pace was quick and the pressure was on. The ‘easy win’ mentality going into the game clearly caught us out and for the first quarter of the game, we did not look like the team who are lying 3rd in the standing. Towards the end of the half, it seemed we managed to turn this around and we started to apply the pressure. This however did not stop Trinity from putting the first goal in.
At the half time whistle, there was a ‘strategic’ decision from our captain, he was no longer going to sub himself off but instead stay on. This was an unusual move but we needed to try new things if we were going to end the game with a win. The second half really saw Epsom really kick it into top gear and apply constant pressure on Trinity. With the relentless pressure and 70% possession, along came opportunities. One being a deflection off a short corner, which was picked up by Grant missing the target by 1mm. Another was a shot across the goal, again picked up by Grant but unfortunately just wide of the goal. Unfortunately, the player who missed a couple of tough shots was rewarded with the opportunity to write the match report (even though NO formal voting took place). A player (no name mentioned) who missed a number opportunities, managed to bypass this honour. Finally, the determined focus of Epsom paid off…a ball was passed down the left and Grant moved it at pace towards the goal. With a swift, accurate pass the ball was fed to Darron who made no error and shot the ball straight into the back of the goal. With minimal time left on the clock, Trinty fought back and scored their 2nd goal. End result saw Epsom conceding a very unexpected loss with the final score 2-1 to Trinity.
Key learning’s:
1. Never walk into a game thinking it is going to be a straight forward win.
2. Never assume that Carlos is going to sub himself off.