What a difference a week makes and what a message we have sent to the rest of the league, as we dismantled Windsor Road 9-2.
With Ryan back from injury, and with not having played this season yet with this team, it understandably took us time to gel, but from the outset it was clear to see that there was more passing and the runs being made were being taken advantage of. We were also able to mix things up more, with the option of playing it out from the back, as well as being able to play it long.
Despite this, it was Windsor Road who took the lead, Hudi once more coming back to haunt us as he rolled the ball in. But we did not let our heads drop and started to put real pressure on, although the keeper was equal to these.
But three goals from an unlikely source gave us a 3-2 lead at the break. Yaakov picked up the ball on the left-hand side, holding on patiently until the run from deep from Gary enabled him to pass across, and he finished superbly. We kept up the pressure, with an increasing number of shots, and a corner from Yaakov allowed Gary to hit the ball first time into the far corner, giving the keeper no chance. And then a cross from Aron saw Gary complete his hat-trick.
Although Windsor Road halved the deficit before half-time, the second half was mainly one-way traffic. Having already hit the outside of the post, Ryan made space for himself to get his first goal, and then an exchange of passes with Aron gave him his second. Aron then got in on the action with a shot from distance, and then, following his own shot off the post, won the ball back to finish again.
Windsor Road were visibly deflated at this point and, although they had a few chances they were really snatching at them, and Ryan took the opportunity to grab his third and fourth goals.
So we head into the Rosh Hashana break top of the league, albeit having played a game more, and with a healthy goal difference. But more importantly, we had a real understanding of what each player needed to do, as well as adding another dimension to our game, and have laid down a real marker to the rest of the league.
Results:
Young Lubavitch 11-0 Adas Yisroel
Shrubs 3-2 Vine Street
Heaton Park 9-2 Windsor Road
Lubavitch Boys Minyan 10-3 OJ
NO GAMES 6th OCTOBER