FINAL SCORE:

Hardley.........................3 Tantamount FC...........0

Report by Sam Charman Tantamount FC delivered their best performance of the season so far against a team with a reputation as the dirtiest in the league, comprised of balding overweight players and so providing an intriguing and very close contest. The first half was a decidedly cagey affair with composed defending from Pilcher and Howarth feeding balls forward to a lively and freshly confident Jacobs who was finding a lot more room to exploit against an obviously weaker team. Rose played excellently getting forward to help in attack and rattling the bar with a curling left foot shot, all this despite being victim of the worst tackle of the season, so atrocious in intention the ref “Had a Word” to calm things down. After testing their goalie several times and restricting them to half chances James Spencer put in a man of the match performance with a string of world class saves to keep The Mount alive in the game, Half Time: score 0-0, the first ever goalless half and it was anybodies for the taking.

Second half and Moody continued the good attacking play of Jacobs yet a succession of poor finishes from Moody, Charman, Rose and Pilcher, were eventually to cost The Mount. Halfway through a second half, that was more open as players fatigued further, a defensive mix up gave their striker more time than he needed to finally sneak a shot past Spencer. Having to commit more men forward allowed more space and a quick second followed. A heavily hung over Charman then gave away a penalty trying to make up for a defensive error from the second goal kick off, the pen was dispatched and at the final whistle The Mount has lost 3-0. Yet this performance was by far the strongest of all four games, The Mount looked lively up front, organised at the back, and thankfully have discovered that there is at least one team who aren’t far superior to them. This opposition can easily be brushed aside at the next meeting.

Spencer - kept Hardley at bay throughout a tight first half

LINE-UP: Spencer; Howarth, Pilcher, Rose; Jacobs. SUBS: Charman, Moody

SCORERS: None

Manager's Comments:

"It was a great first half performance. We were organised defensively, closing players down quickly and limiting their options, and we were more than a match for them. If Jimbo's rocket of a  shot had gone in rather than hit the upright, I think we'd have got something out of the game. Their first was well taken but even at 1-0 we had the chance to equalise. The second goal, which came fairly late into the game, killed it off as a contest.  The goals seemed to be a result of us losing our shape after the substitutions which seems to be happening frequently,  but it's all part of the learning process. The penalty award was fair enough, Sam's admitted he stepped in the area,  and we were already out of the game by then.   They were a very physical team, as proved when Jimbo was forcefully pushed through the fire doors; there isn't much point in having a sin-bin system if players are getting away with "challenges" like that! Despite their size and physical game, we didn't back off them and we got stuck in. Spence  was on fire and was close to saving the penalty, and I think everyone gave a good account of themselves. The ref said afterwards that they're one of the stronger teams in our division and will be looking for promotion, so we can take heart from giving them a game. This performance is definitely a step in the right direction."