Let. Them. Cook.
Sandgate 3 GPR 2
After a heroic three game run the Salads finally came undone against title hopefuls Sandgate in a close 3-2 defeat that went the distance, on a day when plenty of our friends and fellow players were running for far more important causes than three points. Despite the result, it was a passionate display of resilience against a rampant offence, balanced with some clever counter-attacking play that meant the game never felt truly secure for either side.
Our late season points haul has been brilliant for our growth in mentality and approach to games recently, so we went into the weekend’s game with equal parts caution and confidence. We had to give our opponents the respect they’d earned, but find ways of hitting them hard when we got the chance. The first half was played in such a way, trying to stifle chances and using Joel - playing on his full debut - as an outball to begin counters down the left flank. On the right, Doug had a career game as he moved brilliantly between the lines of midfield and attack in transition play. The back four of Adam, Julian, Jack and Bart were holding a solid line and swatting away many of the attacks in a gutsy, bodies-on-the-line display.
But the real hero was Greg. We give him a lot of stick for just about anything, but it was comfortably his best game as a Salad. Sandgate started to put together some brilliant moves but for every effort, seemingly, there he was, parrying every shot. He did almost let a tame effort spill into the back of the net, but we won’t mention that. His masterful performance culminated in a beautiful double save as their winger cut in for what seemed like the opening goal, only for our no. 1 to spread wide and deny him twice. We were holding on until the break, and looked set to go in level, but with the final touch of the first 45, a loose pass was picked up by the opposition midfielder, who rifled a quality effort into the corner to put the home side up.
It was disheartening, but the lads were feeling good and knew we’d done the right things in the first half. We had had fewer opportunities than Sandgate, but each had looked dangerous, and with striker Marcus cleared to play the second half, we adjusted and put ourselves in a position to counter with more threat. The move worked almost immediately as, five minutes in, a searching long ball wasn’t dealt with, and Marcus’ determination down the right wing found Joel. He took a touch, and fired it past the keeper to equalise to open his account for the Salads. I don’t know why he was thanking us for the opportunity to play after the game, but I love the mentality.
The counter to this leveller was that it did open the game up somewhat. Ten minutes after, Sandgate broke quickly from our free kick and having committed too many forward, we found ourselves a goal behind again. Minutes later, they were in again at 3-1, only for it to be brought back for offside in a decision that left everyone, including our team, completely confused. But the opportunity steeled our back line, and we re-organised well. We found a few chances go begging however, including a spilled defensive error that found Rory in front of goal. It took him by surprise however, and we were unable to draw the game back.
With 20 minutes remaining, Joel was in on goal, and brought down in very suspicious circumstances. We were shocked that no penalty was given, but at least the officiating decisions were fair to both sides in how little sense they made. 5 minutes later, Marcus was in on goal only to be bundled down - again questionably - only for the ref to wave away any protests. At this point, club anti-authoritarian Oli was a bit of a silly goose and got himself sinbinned for his friendly debate with the ref. We fought well with 10 men, Luke covering brilliantly in midfield with every ounce of energy he could muster, but an outswinging corner dropped to the opposition midfielder to put Sandgate went 3-1 up. The boys did brilliantly to keep their heads up, though, and in the final stages of the game Jack was fouled in the box and, mercifully, the ref pointed to the spot. Rory converted the effort with ease, and we spent the last few minutes piling men forward. With a few more minutes the outcome may have been different, but the final whistle was blown.
The lads had smiles on their faces, though, a sign of a job well done - despite the scoreline. It was another marker of progress that we took the league leaders to the death, and we will look forward to seeing them again for the final game of the season. Credit goes to all the guys for their work rate and discipline. It was great to see Gavin and Joel make their full league debuts. Even if we didn’t get the rewards for it, everyone left the pitch with heads held high. The Salads are cooking…
MOTM 🤌 = Greg. For all our mocking, Greg has been one of the most consistent players since inception, and this week’s performance was a timely reminder of how lucky we are to have him. I’m only being this nice because Sandgate tried poaching him mid-game, but it’s the thought that counts.
DOTD 💀 = Oli. The silly sausage was still hurting from Max Kilman’s disallowed equaliser on the Saturday.
