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Sat 24th Oct 2009
League
Langford 0-2 TAFC First team
TAFC goals: Mark Burfoot, Vincenzo Iannone |
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The maxim which states that “the ends justify the means” could be aptly applied to this game after a solid performance enabled us to pick up 3 points that pushed us up to 4th place in the table. The first half was a non event as both teams found it hard to string many moves together but we improved after the break with goals from Mark Burfoot and Vinnie Iannone clinching a merited victory, our 5th from the last 6 games.
We were missing quality players like Andy Mullins, Neil Roberts and Chris Salmon but we still had a good line up which shows our strength in depth. We started quite positively and did most of the early attacking but the game soon deteriorated and it became very scrappy and disjointed. The wind was clearly affecting the home side as they constantly over hit their passes and Tom Vincent spent most of the half fielding the ball. Our promising moves were either spoilt by a lack of accuracy or an over ambition with the final pass.
But there were some good moments in the first half with Mark Burfoot knocking a tantalising ball across the area from a throw which went unclaimed. Later Tony Fields robbed a defender in the area and with colleagues waiting in the middle an opening goal looked on the cards but he delayed just a fraction too long and his pass was cut out. From a sloppy throw we presented Langford with the ball which was knocked across to the far left where Ross Scotney was waiting unmarked. The winger ran towards our area but pulled his shot wide of the far post. Luke Nichol dragged a shot well wide of the goal after a corner was cleared to him then later his namesake Ryan Nichols picked up one of our loose passes and advanced towards our goal, but his shot went straight at Tom Vincent.
Mark Burfoot drew a diving save from Langford keeper Scot Walters and Ashley Addison was inches away from connecting with a David Whicker free kick. A long throw presented Mark Burfoot with a shooting opportunity but the big man sent his effort wide. With many of Langford’s moves breaking down because the wind was carrying the ball too far, their skipper Adam Pitcairn decided to take matters in hand and make better use of the conditions by striking a good long range shot which Tom Vincent turned over the bar. From the corner Tom spilled the ball as he fell but the danger was quickly cleared. Right on half time a deflected cross flew across our area for Langford’s 2nd corner, which came to nothing. To the relief of the spectators a turgid first half came to an end unsurprisingly goalless.
HT: L 0 TA 0
With black storm clouds gathering as the second half got under way we might have thought that this was a bad omen for the next 45 minutes or so. But the sun came out and similarly there was a brighter performance from our players. Ross Scotney had an early opportunity but he over ran the ball and Tom Vincent was out quickly to gather up safely. A goal was desperately needed to lift the game and fortunately it fell to us in the 55th minute. It came from a corner sent over by Danny Gray which Mark Burfoot headed in from close range without any challenge.
The Langford manager responded by shuffling his side around, pushing Adam Pitcairn from left back into midfield, moving Ross Scotney back to left back and swapping Gus Stewart from right to left wing. The changes didn’t noticeably improve the home side’s situation and it was Ashley Addison who went close twice to extending our lead. Firstly he volleyed just over after Tony Fields had nodded back across goal a Danny Gray free kick then he latched onto a Mark Burfoot flick and lobbed the keeper but it just cleared the bar. Again the Langford manager responded this time bringing on Andy Gordon for Mark Whittiker and moving the tall Gus Stewart to centre forward. Phil Casserley also made a substitution, Vinnie Iannone coming on for Danny Gray to join Mark Burfoot up front with Ashley Addison moving to the wing.
In the battle of the substitutes Phil can take the greater satisfaction as within 3 minutes Vinnie Iannone scored a crucial 2nd goal as a result of great play by Matt Myatt. The midfielder is one of the team’s unsung heroes, working hard for the side, clearing the danger and protecting the back four. In the 72nd minute he latched onto a loose pass and threaded with great precision a superb pass to Vinnie who held off the defender and coolly slotted the ball past the keeper to put us into a commanding 2-0 lead.
Langford pushed forward but we defended very well and gave the opposition very few opportunities to pull a goal back. Tom Vincent had to punch a difficult cross off the top of the lanky Gus Stewart’s head and later he scrambled across his goal to make a save from a free kick but he wasn’t called upon to make use of his considerable talents. In fact he nearly turned provider on 2 occasions with his long clearances. Firstly he sent Mark Burfoot through to lob the keeper but Steve Starling did well to get back and prevent a 3rd goal. Then Darren Franklin nearly benefited as he bore down on goal, but he fell and his pained expression suggests he felt he was pushed from behind. Darren had come on for Mark Burfoot and it was good to see him back in action after missing 7 games.
There were a couple of moments of danger, Ross Scotney hitting a shot well wide from a corner and Lee Pateman would have latched onto a well struck free kick had Steve Smith, who had another great game, not read the situation and cleared the ball. There was one unfortunately incident which seemed totally out of keeping in what had been a very clean game when Langford’s big centre back Gary Watts took out Ashley Addison with a terrible tackle and rightly got red carded. The last word went to Ashley whose shot went well over and the final score remained 2-0.
FT: L 0 TA 2
Forde Park is becoming a bit of a happy hunting ground for us as we have now won on 8 of our last 9 visits there. Never-the-less Langford are always a tough outfit to play and this was a good result. The performance may have been less than satisfactory in the first half, which was probably down to the conditions, but we perked up in the second half and deserved our win. Our defensive performance was very solid and it was good to keep our 6th clean sheet of the season, with Tom Vincent being required to make only 1 meaningful save in the game. We are on a good run so let’s hope we can keep it going.
Teams:
L: Scot Walters, Andy Carter, Adam Pitcairn (Capt), Gus Stewart, Joe De-Le-Salle, Steve Starling, Luke Nichol, Ryan Nichol, Lee Pateman, Mark Whittiker (Andy Gordon 67), Ross Scotney. Subs not used: Gary Watts, Kevin Lane, Paul Wright.
TA: Tom Vincent, Dave Salmon, Rob Duncan, Graham Hall (Capt), Steve Smith, Matt Myatt, Tony Fields, David Whicker, Mark Burfoot (Darren Franklin 70), Ashley Addison, Danny Gray (Vinnie Iannone 69). Subs not used: Keith Eldridge, Henry Thomas
Goals:
L: None
TA: Mark Burfoot (55), Vinnie Iannone (72)
Crowd: 66
L Website: http://langford.intheteam.com/modules/page/page.aspx?pc=home |
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Matt Myatt sets up Vinnie with slide rule pass
Vinnie Iannone coolly scores the 2nd vital goal
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