CM v Garsington Youth

11th November   Away   Result 0-2
Scorers for CM:  Jack Hitchen   Jamie Smith

Garsingston's ground in Denton Lane has good facilities and even a dugout for the teams but it's on the top of a hill and the wind can blow a gale. Luckily the weather for this game was excellent with only the low sun causing occasional problems.
Garsington are expected to do well this season but haven't had the best of starts after four games and are lying in mid table. They have however, let in just seven goals which is the same defensive record as Cumnor indicating it was going to be a tight match.
Following a minute's silence Cumnor won the toss and elected to play with the sun behind them.
The game started evenly with both teams creating chances. The pitch was rather bobbly making passing difficult and it was Garsngton who managed the conditions well and strung some good passes together. Cumnor's passing was rather disjointed and on occasions they gave they ball away rather too easily but their play did look to be more effective.
It was Cumnor who broke the deadlock at 41 minutes when Jack Hitchen pounced on an error in the Garsington penalty area and slotted the ball home. Overall it was an even half and Cumnor were rather fortunate to be 0-1 up.
Pete's half time talk suggested that the pitch conditions meant they shouldn't be afraid to play the long ball and reminded all to concentrate on controlling more of the midfield, playing it tight when they didn't have the ball.
The second half started with Cumnor much more in control and they payed much better allround football. It became one of those games where the ball would not go into the net with Robble, Zak, Cameron Jamie and Obaida all going close. The Garsington keeper had a good game and denied a number of chances. Jamie also had a very strong claim for a penalty when seemingly upended as he was through on goal, although to be fair the referee in general had a very good game.
Eventually Jamie Smith eased any Cumnor's nerves and got the second goal with a carefully lobbed shot from just outside the penalty area.
Garsington had their chances in the half and didn't allow their heads to go down, battling to the end. They couldn't get past a resolute Cumnor defence and the game finished 0-2.
It was Cumnor's second clean sheet of the season, so very well done to the defence. The first half was rather uneven from the the rest of the team but they certainly made up for it in the second with some excellent quality football.
Special mentions go to Jack Bowler who had a great game at left back, Kane who was solid in goal, Cameron Craig who battled well, and the two new signings Zak and Mark who both had good debuts. Man of the match goes to Jamie Smith for his great all round play.