by Gavin Warren
We were back in league action this Sunday in a game where the priority was giving a few lads a well-earned rest and, more importantly, showing loyalty to those players who haven’t had much game time recently but continue to turn up in all weathers for training. It was a fixture I’d have liked a run out in myself, but it was only right to put others first.
We took the lead early on, with Mannion opening the scoring after 8 minutes with a clean strike, assisted by Palms. We continued to press, moving the ball well and trying to break down an Albert Village defence that had plenty of bodies behind the ball. Chances came, but efforts either went wide, over, or were saved.
On 20 minutes, Bailey went on one of his trademark driving runs through midfield, pulled the ball back for Mannion, who smashed a low shot into the bottom corner to make it 2–0 and give the keeper no chance. The pressure kept coming, with Ridgway going close with a header over the bar and another effort drifting wide.
We won one of many corners, and from Lilly’s delivery into the mixer, a bit of a scramble followed before Mannion nodded home to complete his hat-trick — just the confidence boost the lad needed. With minutes remaining in the half, Mannion turned provider, doing great work down the right, outpacing the full-back and delivering a perfectly weighted cross for Bailey to head home.
4–0 at half-time.
A few changes at the break saw Dom, Alton, Mannion and Lilly make way for Quig, Sav, rock and Jones.
The second half followed much the same pattern, with us dominating possession and continuing to create chances. We hit the post and crossbar, and their keeper pulled off a couple of cracking saves. Credit to Albert Village — they defended in numbers, stayed organised and never gave up.
They did break on the counter and were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box after a foul. The strike took a slight deflection (so I’m told) and sneaked into the bottom left-hand corner to make it 4–1. Fair play to them.
We then switched to a back three, with Kris coming off, Clifton moving out left and Palms pushing into a more attacking role. We continued to press and had plenty of joy out wide, delivering dangerous crosses. Sav headed over, Palms had a good chance saved, and Ben fired straight at the keeper.
We eventually added a fifth when Palms whipped in another cross that fell to Carter, who smashed it home to cap off the performance.
Final score: MFC Vets 5–1 Albert Village
Three points secured. Full credit to Albert Village — they never gave up, defended in numbers, played in great spirit and are a top bunch of lads. We wish them all the best for the rest of the season.
Goals:
⚽ Mannion x3
⚽ Bailey x1
⚽ Carter x1
Man of the Match: 🏆 Mannion