FINAL SCORE:

Shotgun.........................2 Tantamount FC........... 0

Report by Ben Howarth

Another Jekyll and Hyde week for Tantamount, as they put in a much better showing in their second fixture. The difference between the teams was that Shotgun slotted two of their chances away, whilst the Tantas couldn’t quite find the net. The first half was a great display. Defensively, Ollie Howarth and Michael Pilcher were both excellent. Niether seemed troubled and both read the play well. Spencer had another solid game in goal. James Ward impressed, and this time he reigned in the flashy flicks and concentrated on getting the ball forward. He seemed disappointed to have missed one chance, but given a few games to adjust to the ultra-bouncy ball, goals are a near certaincy. Moody was once again tireless, and produced by far his best ever performance. If he keeps it up, he may well have a ‘Player of the Season’ trophy to go with his Rookie award. On a couple of occasions he produced a shot at goal  from nowhere, and was very unlucky to not hit the target. 0-0 at half time, and Tantas looked good.

As is so often the case, the opposition improved after half time. They scored two goals, both from the left, and these wide shots are proving to be Spencer’s weakness. However, considering that he is rookie keeper - and considering that he has shown himself to be a natural shot stopper - this is a fault that surely won’t last. The solution is probably that he needs to come off his line and narrow the angle. Tantamount’s best moments came when Ollie Howarth and James Rose linked up on the left. Rose has a direct approach, whilst Ollie Howarth prefers to make angled runs with the ball at his feet. Both approaches worked well, and Ollie was really unlucky not to score when he lashed one in from distance. Only the post came between him and a wonder goal. So, a 2-0 defeat. But Tantamount had remembered how to play, and had shown once again that with a bit of luck, and a tweaking of some of their skills, they will be competitive in the LLC league yet.

Pilcher- read the play well

LINE-UP: Spencer; O.Howarth, Pilcher, Ward; Moody SUBS: B.Howarth, Rose

SCORERS: None

Manager's Comments:

"We were much better than against Modbury earlier in the day and the big difference here, as is so often the case, was in the finishing. They had two decent shots that went in, whereas Ollie hit the shot of the day from distance which hit the post, and that just about sums up our luck. Fair play to the lads, we usually get stuffed by Shotgun but today a 2-0 score flattered them and that suggests a vast improvement against a side who are just one place above us in the table."