|
Hachioji Park, Sunday 29th November.
RW Clash and Yabe FC fought out a goalless draw in the Sunday evening kick-off at Hachioji.
Nil-nil draws are very unusual in the TML, from a quick review of the results from all three divisions this season, only one other game has remained goalless. Whether the lack of clean sheets is due to the attacking flair of the league's strikers or the ineptitude of its defenders is open to debate. In this case it was certainly a case of the defenders having better control of the game rather than a lack of effort from the forwards.
The first half provided both teams with what would prove to be their best chances of the game. The Clash were the first team to go close when a slick move down the right culminated in a low ball across the six yard box, unfortunately Rob Keyworth was unable to keep his shot down as he stretched out his right leg directly in front of the goal.
Shortly after, Yabe had their best effort when a hard and low shot from the right hand corner of the penalty area struck the inside of the near post. The move was created following a surge by the Yabe central midfielders which left the Clash defence temporarily over run. The danger was cleared from the resultant rebound, the warning was heeded by the defence and the Yabe attack would not go as close again.
The first half drew to a close in controversial fashion. Keyworth had knocked the ball past the Yabe right back and was heading towards the by-line to collect the ball. Yabe's captain and centre back had sprinted across the pitch to launch his shoulder directly into the Clash forward's shoulder. He achieved this with such force that Keyworth was sent flying off the ground, collecting the right back with as he did so. The result was a yellow card, the Yabe right back requiring a spell off the pitch due to a blow to the head, and an irate Clash forward. The incident appeared extremely cynical and violent and there was surprise in some quarters when the referee produced only a yellow card for what looked to be a deliberate attempt to take out an opponent
That incident aside, this was a hard game played in good spirit with only occasional moments when sportsmanship was questionable.
The second half continued much like the first. The Clash had the better possession and territory, however they could not string the final passes together effectively enough to seriously test the Yabe keeper. Yabe, for the their part, continued to occasionally break the Clash's backline and were frustrated by the ever alert Simon Sanders in the Clash goal who put in a man of match performance to ensure that Yabe were unable to capitalize on their counter-attacks.
When the final whistle was blown it was the Clash who were the more frustrated at not being able to break the deadlock, however this was a good performance by both teams and a draw was far from a travesty.
Report by Andrew Welch
|
