COMPREHENSIVE WIN TAKES US INTO NEXT ROUND OF PREMIER DIVISION CUP

To quote an old cliche if this had been a boxing match the Referee would have stopped it after half an hour to spare the opposition any more damage. By that stage we were 3-0 up and the chances of us not progressing to the next round were about as likely as the Russian President being a decent bloke. As it happened we only scored one more goal in the remaining hour but it was still our best ever result at Haywoods Way and equalled our best result this season to match the 4-0 win at Cockfosters in the FA Vase back in November.

Three goals in just under 15 minutes blew away the challenge of our hosts who included 6 former Athletic players in their squad. The first came in the 16th minute when Ronan Hutchins slipped a lovely ball through to Leo Farruch to finish clinically, followed by a second goal 10 minutes later when Adam Sawyers lovely ball found Godlove Oppong who controlled the ball superbly on his chest before slickly shooting past the keeper. The third goal came 4 minutes later and what a goal it was with Ronan Hutchins smashing the ball into the top corner from a free kick outside the area.

The home side looked shell shocked and we could easily have added 2 or 3 more goals before half time. One tweet suggested it was like a knife through butter as we continued to slice through the home defence. HT Score 0-3.

The second half nearly started off disastrously when Jake Alley came out to gather the ball but ended up touching it just outside the area. Most of us feared a red card would be produced but much to our relief the Referee flashed a yellow one instead presumably because there were other players near by so Jake did not stop a clear scoring opportunity. After the game the Referees Assessor said he agreed with the decision.

Dynamos came out strongly after the break desperately looking to get a goal back but we defended superbly with Harry Seabrook, who donned the Captains arm band in the absence of George Carbery, leading by example. Our hosts were dangerous from set pieces with Jake Baldwin whipping in some lovely balls into our area but we were solid and Jake Alleys handling was assured.

In the 66th minute we added a 4th goal when a defensive error was seized upon by Leo Farruch who slipped a lovely pass through to Godlove Oppong who finished smartly for his 2nd goal. With Ollie Butler and Adiel Mannion missing Godlove was moved from his normal wide position to centre forward and he responded with probably his best game of the season.

Our hosts kept going and in time added on at the end of the game they created their best chance of the game when one former Athletic player Will Mullarkey produced a super cross for another but Chris Stapletons header flew over the bar.

A terrific performance from the lads but we face a tough challenge in the next round with a trip Baldock Town the scene of probably our worse performance of the season, lets hope we can put that right. But first we have the chance to pick up some points after losing our last 2 league games with a trip to London Colney on Saturday.

Teams:

AVD:D McAteer, W Mullarkey, Alex Mitchell, P Bagatti, J Aldridge, D Brown, A Touceda, J Baldwin, J Chott, Ollie Lawford, C Stapleton. Subs I Otono, R Byron, C Shortt, J Weatherill.

TA:Jack Alley, Eli Hearns (Matt Ellis 72), Harry Seabrook (Capt), Adam Sawyer (Harrison Cornick 61), Jack Stevens, Lennie Armstrong, Charlie Miller (Tommy Twelves 74), Frankie Hercules, Godlove Oppong, Ronan Hutchins, Leo Farruch. Sub not used: Luke Peerless.

Scorers:

AVD:-

TA:Leo Farruch (16), Godlove Oppong (26, 66), Ronan Hutchins (30)

Crowd: 82

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