Match Report: OTFC IIs 4-2 Wandsworth Borough FC IVs

Saturday 13th Sept 2014

OTFC IIs capped off the 2014 pre-season with a dominant win over 6th division rivals Wandsworth Borough FC. The players arrived at fortress Grist’s to find skipper Dickie Bostelmann adding the finishing touches to an ambitious, attack-minded formation – apparently inspired by hours and hours spent studying Pep Guardiola and his revolutionary philosophies. With a similar calibre of player under his charge, the omens were good for Bostelmann, and OTFC began the match dominating possession and creating a number of half chances in the first 10 minutes. Brant, Avery, Forsyth and Hutcheson pressed high up the pitch in support of lone front man John Edwards, who spurned a decent headed chance from an inviting Avery cross.

The breakthrough seemed inevitable, but when it came it was very much against the run of play – Wandsworth benefiting from some questionable defending during their first meaningful foray into the Tiffs half. The purple-men didn’t give up, however, and after some neat interplay on the right hand side between Forsyth, Avery and Hutcheson, Edwards put OTFC level. 1-1.

To the utter bemusement of everyone involved, however, the home side were not level for long. With their second attack of the match Wandsworth’s left winger found himself with the freedom of Hampton Court at the back post to pick his spot and give the away side a quite remarkable 2-1 lead at half time.

The second half was punctuated with niggly fouls, slightly worse fouls, and Roy Keane-esque assaults, but among the scrappy football and often misplaced passes Alex Hollamby took it upon himself to put an end to OTFC’s frustrating profligacy. First a crisp strike from 25 yards that whistled into the top corner of the net, and then a firm effort that proved too hot to handle for the Wandsworth keeper. 3-2 Tiffinians.

The closing stages were marred by a flare up involving, well, everybody, which left Wandsworth down to 10 men and rattled. In a moment of rare cunning, vice skipper Forsyth offered to switch sides, deploying himself in the heart of the Wandsworth midfield, and promptly allowed Avery to slip the ball through his legs and seal the match and a thoroughly deserved 4-2 win for OTFC.

More performances like that, and the mighty purps are bound to be right up there come the end of the season.

Goals: Edwards, Hollamby (2), Avery

MOTM: Hollamby