Pre-Season Review: Part I
It’s been a while.
As Adam says, “can’t say I’m happy to be back, but fun while it lasted”. On the basis of our pre-season form, however, maybe I’m being a little harsh on ourselves. We have hit the ground running this year, earning two solid victories and conceding two close defeats as we reach the halfway mark of a very challenging run of fixtures. Amidst the flurry of games, it’s been a pleasure to see our new manager and club icon, Jack, take the helm as we begin a new era of all things salad.
We kicked off proceedings against local opponents Chiswick Athletic, who are due to play in Division 3 this year. We have been moved 3 times in the past 7 days, so ours is as of yet unclear, but it’s safe to say they were a great test and a good way of getting our sharpness back. Goals from Rory and Marcus ensured a clean sheet win on Jack’s debut, with a tidy performance to boot.
Following this, we returned to Bedfont, a side with whom we drew 6-6 last season. It was another solid performance, although heavy experimentation and rotation late in the game saw us concede two goals shortly before the final whistle to end the game at 4-3 to the hosts. The quality of the football was impressive, however, and it was great to see Jeff net yet another hat trick for the blues.
The next game was our biggest challenge yet. Brentford Town, who were impressing last season with huge score lines - with some games even reaching double figures - would be up there with the best we’d played in our history. But the boys rose to the occasion, and after a few defensive mishaps early on in the game we looked every bit as good as them, with Sina getting on the scoresheet midway through the second half before the final whistle blew to end the tie. We felt that a draw would have been a fair result, especially after Joel launched a screamer that somehow bounced off the wrong side of the post, but the performance is all that matters in pre-season and on that front we had little to complain about.
The week just gone was another good test against old opponents Harrow Hive. Having been comprehensively beaten by them on several occasions, it marked a significant step in our development as we ran out deserved 6-0 winners. Jeff, Sina (2) and Marcus (3) all netted to bring home a comfortable victory on our new home turf in Gunnersbury in a flawless performance.
We have seen some new players coming in that have been keen to make a good impression. The dissolution of last year’s league rivals, After Hours, has been our benefit as we’ve welcomed several players from their ranks. Midfield dynamo and Sol Campbell impressionist, Sina, has come back with a point to prove and has been making a great impression off the back of his departure last season. A few more newbies have emerged as well, and I look forward to formally introducing them to the blog in the months to come.
There is a real buzz, and a real feel-good atmosphere at the club right now. Let’s hope we’ll be feeling the same way come part 2.
