DUNDONALD CHASE F.C.
NEWS ARCHIVE

1 December 2002 - Morden & District League Division 10 v. Roundshaw Village (at Dundonald Road Rec.)

(80 minute game)

DCFC 2 (1)
Richie 23, Dan 41
Roundshaw Village 7 (4)

Our good run of 4 consecutive wins came to a sad end, after we were outclassed, outplayed and most sadly of all, we didn't give anything like the sort of performance that we are capable of.

Right from the start of the game Roundshaw took control, we just never looked like the same team that has put in impressive performances against Mitcham Strollers and FC Torres of late. A number of players were missing and out of those that were there, hardly anyone gave enough to have said that they performed to the best of their abilities.

It didn't at first look as if the game was going to go ahead, as our pitch was unplayable, due to large puddles in the center of the pitch and the Dundonald Road end penalty area. It seemed as if Roundshaw's long trip was all for no avail, but perhaps unfortunately for us, there was another pitch spare and both sides agreed to play the game on Pitch number 2. This was of course the pitch that saw us start our good run, after beating Euston Road in hurricane winds back in October. Today, the wind wasn't the problem, but the heavy pitch made it a scrappy game and playing with 10 men for a large part of it, also didn't help.

Roundshaw took the lead with a shot from outside the box that found the bottom corner, early on in the first half. Number two was a goalkeeping error, after Matt was beaten with a shot that bounced off his chest. It wouldn't be fair to blame Matt, as he made up for it, pulling off a couple of top notch saves later in the game, which prevented us getting totally slaughtered. Our defending may have been poor, but Roundshaw seemed to be asleep at the back when Richie got us back in it, as he cooly redirected Ed's through ball, with a casual volly.

Unfortunately numbers three and four followed for our visitors, before half-time and we knew this game was all but over. However an immediate reply within 30 seconds of kick-off from a storming run, which Dan converted, gave us some belief and it was in this brief period, that we played well. However more half-hearted defending invited Roundshaw to add to their tally.

Roundshaw again had a player sent off, this time late in the game, for putting in an awful challenge on Adrian, having already been previously booked.

The only positive thing to reflect on, is that we lost to a side who will almost certainly win Division 10 this season. We just need to go back to playing like we did prior to today, forget about today and with a bit of luck, at the end of the season, we should finish somewhere up there, hopefully not to far behind them.