New Blood brings fire back to the Heart of Mayfield

A truly memorable game, that some believe could mark a new era at Mayfield Athletic Football Club, and see the one time giant of Saturday League football awaken from the depths of despair and return to ultimate domination.

Debuts for Andy 'the silks' House and Alex 'the rock' Buckland, and a second appearance for young starlet Russell Winborn (brother of Team Captain Jason Winborn), inspired a convincing victory that saw Mayfield leap-frog their bitter rivals, the Old Edmontonians, on a boggy pitch at Firs Farm.

After some deliberation, Jason decided to start the Irish Maverick Gus Joyce between the sticks, after his original choice, Vas, showed signs in the pre-match knock-up that he may be of more value to the team on the field of play. Jason opted for a 4-5-1 formation with view to keepings things tight in the first half , by dominating in midfield, and to see how the match panned out. (Learning from last week when an early goal was conceded and needless pressure applied from the off)

Mayfield could not have got off to a worse start, as an Old Ed striker found room between the two centre backs, got on to the end of a perfectly threaded pass, and sent a low hard shot accurately towards the far top corner. Gus was able to more than match this magnificent strike, with a fine save, diving to his right. The ball rebounded back in to the danger area, and the first to react was Dave. Unfortunately Dave's successful reading of the rebound was not matched with a successful clearance, and the ball ended up in the back of the net. 6 mins in and it was Old Ed's 1 Mayfield 0.

Lesser teams may have crumbled, but Mayfield were not disheartened by the opposition's early advantage, and soon came close to levelling the match, when after 10 mins Andy went through one on one but his delicate chip was some what fortuitously blocked by the out-rushing keeper.

Mayfield dominated possession, working from the back and dominating in midfield. A wave of corners, 4 in quick succession, really applied the pressure, but no break through was made. On 30 mins, a quick counter attack by Old Eds, found their striker bearing down on goal, one on one, to make the score 2 - 0. Gus was quick to react, closing down the angle and making things difficult for the striker. The shot hit the foot of the post and went out for a goal kick. This would have been a cruel blow, and Mayfield really would have had a mountain to climb.

It was a turning point in the game. You could sense the frustration of the Old Ed's side, as they knew how much pressure they had been under, and this near miss instead of inspiring them seemed to serve to deflate them. Mayfield continued as before, and in the 38th minute the equaliser came. A glorious strike from the edge of the box by Stevey Kill. Old Ed's 1 Mayfield 1.

The teams went in all square at half-time, but with Mayfield having recently equalised and having enjoyed the majority of possession and attacking endeavour, the impetus was on them to take control of the match.

HALF TIME

Nigel's dodgy hamstring was giving him problems again, so Jimmy, a natural striker, was brought on as Mayfield opted for a more adventurous 4-4-2 formation.

Mayfield picked up where they had left off in the 1st half, and in the 52nd minute an exquisite ball from Dave, sent Stevey Kill bursting down the left flank. Stevey managed to pick out fellow striker Jimmy in the box, who expertly rolled the ball in to the bottom right hand corner. The ball seemed to take about 15 minutes to find it's way over the goal line, but Jimmy knew what he was doing I am sure. Old Ed's 1 Mayfield 2.

From this point on Mayfield dominated in some style, and the back four could only watch and admire as the midfield pushed on in search of the killer 3rd goal, bringing a string of fine saves from the Old Ed's keeper. Steffen and Jason were the architects of each move, and Andy's presence on the right flank caused the Old Ed's no end of problems.

In the 60th minute Vas stepped out from the shadows to make his presence felt. A slightly over hit corner from the left, found Alex at the far post, who showed great composure in bringing the ball down and bided his time before picking out Vas on the edge of the six yard box. Vas's first touch was a little flick directly up in to the air, after which he was able to slip on a six pence, and send massive confusion through the heart of the Old Ed's defence by laying flat on his back just beyond the penalty spot. Foolishly the Old Ed's defence stood off, assuming that the ball would merely fall back down to earth and hit the floored player, but they had fallen in to Vas's trap. Lifting his legs vertically, Vas was able to perform his speciality, the lying down overhead kick. To add another layer of majesty to this move, and further confuse the opposition, Vas uses the studs of his boot rather than the foot, to meet the ball. He picked out Jason, also in the six yard box, who managed to pick out Jimmy, also in the six yard box, who was able to find the back of the net! Old Ed's 1 Mayfield 3

The game was as good as over, when with 75 minutes on the clock Stevey Kill managed to match Jimmy's double strike, with a sweetly struck free kick from a good 35 yards. Old Ed's 1 Mayfield 4

FULL TIME

A convincing victory, with debutants Andy and Alex providing a youthful energetic and classy edge that may have been lacking in recent weeks. The presence of Gus in goal should not be underestimated, as his competence allowed for the rest of the team to concentrate on playing the game that is Mayfield TOTAL FOOTBALL.