An away match against Mogador who are a league above us on an uneven pitch at Walton on the Hill
With Cranleigh having just the 9 players and some of those having to play out of position we knew it was going to be a tough game. From the first whistle we were under pressure as we struggled to get to grips with a quick Mogador team. After 10 minutes a great save by Izzy Denton Miller in goal unfortunately fell straight to their centre forward who finished to put us 1-0 down.
With Cranleigh 1-0 down however the players started to take control a bit more and started to create a few chances with Charlie O brien inches wide with a free kick from outside the area . Isaac Ginger Holt was deputising for an injured Buster Boomer at centre half and it was his through ball which put Deon Mubaiwa through 1v 1 with their keeper . Deon calmly finished which shows hes finally getting the hang of these 1 v1 situations ….. finally.
Ethan Payne and Sullivan Howick who had moved to centre midfield started to find parity in the middle with some clattering tackles and a very high work rate getting up and down the pitch in support of the attack and defence. A great through ball from Charlie O brien again saw Deon 1 v1 with the keeper and he again beat the keeper to put us 2-1 ahead. The game was a real end to end affair with Izzy producing an amazing save from a free kick and even managing to clatter their forward. With 5 minutes till the end of the first half Deon passed to Toby Davis on the edge of the box who controlled the ball and spun to hit a first time effort inside the post 3-1 to Cranleigh .
It had been a tough half but Cranleigh worked hard after a slow start and played some great football. At the start of the second half Mogador really came at us and a goal mouth scramble ended up with the ball squeezing over our line making it 3-2. Within 2 minutes it was 3-3 Mogador equalising with a shot from outside the area After conceding 2 in quick succession I was a bit worried that we would start to fall apart and heads would go down. I need not of been concerned however as the team proceeded to encourage each other and battled hard. Mogador really fancied themselves to grab the win but with our defence led by an outstanding Isaac Holt with Charlie O brien and Jack Westerman and great saves by Izzy held firm.
Cranleigh really worked hard and towards the end the lack of substitutes was starting to tell but they all dug very deeply and scrapped and fought for every ball. I was very pleased to hear the final whistle as we deserved the draw and the players were out on their feet at the end . Every player had given all they had for each other and the team and as a coach I couldn’t of asked anymore from them . So 3-3 at the end and an amazing team performance and a very proud coach.
Man of The Match – Izzy Denton -Milller . Outstanding performance in goal
– Isaac Ginger Holt – First game at centre half and looked like a natural
Scorers
Deon Mubaiwa 2
Toby Davis 1
Player of the month – Charlie O Brien
