Match Report : Ben Berndes-Cade

Result : WIN 5-2 vs Crostyx

The 4’s on the weekend took on a mid table Crostyx 2’s team that were in the ascendancy after stringing 2 wins together in previous games.
4’s were coming off from a big defeat at Barnes so it was vital that we got back on the horse and could defend our fortress at home.

It didn’t help that Akshay Palaniappan turned up to the game wearing his FULL Crostyx’s kit underneath his keeper pads, being a former member of the opposition.

The game started strong we had a fair amount of possession and were creeping closer and closer to their 23, that would be to our detriment… a quick, speedy break saw Crostyx’s stun the 4’s early on in the first few minutes of the game, a game plan that we would see throughout the game from the opposition.

Frustration ensued, passes from both teams, but unfortunately, mainly the 4’s could not seem to string passes together after being stung early on with that dynamic goal from the opposition. Our attempts at short corners were even more futile… going wide or directly at the keeper. Our left slips were incapable of working as well, Lik being unable to pass to the ever-idle Angus Burns on the left saw more annoyance creep into our game..

But we stayed in the fight, our quality increased and our passion took us through on goal again in the form of Andy Buckle, managing to slot 2 passed their keeper before half time. An agitated Crostyx team with little possession were getting more desperate for the ball as the half went on and we asserted our dominance. A confrontation with Ben Berndes-Cade and a Crostyx player saw them receive a green card, an interesting point that would come up later in the second half….

At half time, although we were up 2-1, it felt like we were 3-1 down… an annoying first half, we pushed through that feeling and grit our teeth for the second half.

We carried our passion over from the first half into the second, but this time we were more confident and were getting more results out of our 50/50’s. A very strong performance from Kiran Ghost down the left side both defensively and offensively down the wing saw us dominant comfortably.

However, we did not learn our lesson from the first half. A rare slip up from Will Biggins as the 4’s were crowding the D saw Crostyx 3v1 against Akshay Palaniappan and was there any doubt that the inside man would concede in such a convenient way…. 2-2

We returned back to normality as Andy Buckle was taken from behind by a dangerous tackle from a Crostyx’s defender, giving us a flick that Lik easily dispatched middle-left. 3-2

Then again, a comfortable game turned uncertain by Kabir Bowry almost running down the same Crostyx’s player who got themselves sent off in the first half, a yellow card for Kabir put us under a bit of pressure. Despite being up 4-2 at that point from what can only be described, as an Angus Burns classic.

In this period of the game we still dominated the ball, but conserved our blistering attacks for when all of our attackers were back on the field. Some fine transfers and passes round the back from Ivan Stark, Kosta and Will Biggins saw Crostyx become even more annoyed.

Annoyance turning into abandonment as Andy Buckle scored once again for his 3rd from a sublime pass from Ben Berndes-Cade, turning and finding the pitch had parted into 2 giving free reign to slip Andy in. Making it 5-2.

A shaky start saw the 4’s regain control and assert their quality over Crostyx as they prepare to get payback against London Royals 1’s this Saturday at 1pm!