The only way is up
Atholl had an experimental look about them as they lined up on Saturday looking for the first win of the season on the coldest day of the year so far. Ross in goal and Tom at right back making their first starts of the season, Stu and Dennis forming a little and large partnership in central midfield and an unusual ‘no subs’ approach were the main surprises on the team sheet.
The match began in a familiar manner with possession changing hands regularly and no one team on top. Having looked comfortable for twenty minutes Atholl then fell behind. A breakaway on the right wing resulted in a cut back which struck (or rather stuck to) a hand on the six yard line. A more obvious penalty you have never seen and the ball was struck into the bottom right hand corner. What followed was all too typical of the Atholl season so far. Two attacks, two fairly speculative shots which Ross couldn’t do much about and all of a sudden we were three nil down from nowhere. Oddly we seemed to regain a bit of confidence after that. For the next ten minutes Atholl had most of the possession, keeping hold of the ball well in midfield and putting a bit of pressure on them. Then from nowhere we were 4-0 down. Their forward broke away on the half-way line and with no real pressure on him had a fairly easy job of putting it in the bottom right hand corner.
The half-time atmosphere was surprisingly upbeat. We were playing pretty well, in no way deserved to be so far behind and most people were enjoying themselves. We went into the second half with confidence. Then incredibly we went 5-0 down with the first attack of the second half. A good corner from the left landed straight on the head of their man twelve yards out and his header squeezed in under the bar. But the Atholl heads didn’t go down. Possession for the next 44 minutes was pretty even and some good moves were put together. With the opposition happy with the score and Atholl looking good on the ball it turned out to be a pretty comfortable second half. Some free kicks in and around the box created a few half-chances, bringing one great save from the keeper. But unfortunately we couldn’t make the break-through. The usual lack of fitness at the end didn’t really show and it ended 5-0. About as enjoyable as a 5-0 defeat can get and strangely encouraging. With a bit of luck this game could easily have turned out very differently.
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Atholl 1965 FC Vs Clissold Park
04 September 2010
Scrubs
Meeting Point:
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West End 0-6 Atholl 1965 FC
Sat May 22, 13.30pm |
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
GD |
Pts |
| 4 |
Milton Rov |
14 |
-5 |
19 |
| 5 |
Iranian As |
14 |
-11 |
17 |
| 6 |
Atholl 196 |
14 |
-19 |
16 |
| 7 |
Northern T |
14 |
-10 |
15 |
| 8 |
Olympic Wa |
14 |
-15 |
10 |
 |
