OTFC IIIs v John Fisher Old Boys IIs (H)

15th November 2014

OTFC IIIs 2 - 9 John Fisher Old Boys II

Old Tiffinians IIIs 9-2 John Fisher IIs
Langford 2

“At least we had pizza and beer.”

A late change in venue, owing to a waterlogged John Fisher pitch, saw OTFC IIIs suffer a heavy 9-2 loss against John Fisher IIs at Grist’s.

Despite the scoreline, it is hard not to think ‘what might, and perhaps should, have been?’ if concentration and communication levels been slightly higher.

A bright start saw Tiffinians race into a 1-0 lead, with some neat build-up play across the midfield finished by Aaron Langford. Fisher pulled one back quickly, but Langford added to his burgeoning tally for the season after being put through on goal and chipping the ‘keeper in delightful fashion. Lead restored, it looked as though the stage was set for a convincing victory – it was – just not in the way expected.

And so it begins…

Fisher equalised with a goal that stemmed from a clear foul-throw and with that bitter taste still lingering, were awarded a penalty despite their own centre-forward’s protestations to the contrary. A fourth goal came for Fisher and the half ended with a not-insurmountable scoreline.

Sadly, the second-half continued much in the fashion of the tail of the first. The midfield and defence didn’t click, with inadequate protection given to the latter by the former, and despite some good battling from Langford and Jon Angell up top, supply to the front was limited as the midfield struggled the get a grip on the game in wet and skiddy conditions. Fisher pulled away with a steady stream of goals and the rest is history.

In essence, it was a bad day at the office, but there is plenty of room for encouragement. Basic errors aside, this was a game that was well within our grasp and the return fixture will most likely be a much tighter affair.

Congratulations to Rob Mitchell on a solid debut.