Match Report: Men’s 4th XI 4 Nov

Sonning 0-1 Yateley

After recovering from the effects of Storm Ciaran, Yateley M4's embarked on a short journey to Sonning to face their M5 counterparts. Having faced the Sonning M4's the previous week, the team felt relaxed and quietly confident.

Following a brief team talk, we welcomed Dom back from university and quickly got the game underway.

We started brightly with excellent movement from our inners, Isaac, Adrian, and Oliver. It didn't take long before we began delivering quality balls into the D. Jacob, Dom, Dobbin, and Josh linked up nicely, maintaining pressure and earning short corners, one of which led to Adrian smashing the ball, only for it to be saved on the baseline.

Fortunately, the rain held off, and we reached halftime with a score of 0-0. The second half began with a pre-planned aerial pass from Mark to Dom, keeping the pressure on the Sonning defenders. Our wing backs, Ben and Byron, worked hard, making good runs, marking their attackers, and keeping the ball out of our half. Our defensive trio, Tom, Jason, and Tony, held firm, thwarting off any attacks.
Alfie, too, had to make some crucial saves to keep us in the match. Deep into the second half, Sonning won a short corner, and Ben, unfortunately, took a hit to the foot. Despite this, he stood strong, remaining on the field, only for the ball to bounce up and to be hit for a second time on his face mask. However, Ben kept smiling, displaying great composure and a positive 'dont give up' attitude.

With approximately 5 minutes remaining, we earned another short corner. After a quick discussion with Mark, Jacob and Josh decided to attempt the short corner variation they had been practicing in training. Instead of Jacob injecting it to the main castle, he passed it short to Josh, who waited for the perfect moment to pass it back to Jacob on the near post, who swept the ball in for a glorious goal, making it 1-0 to Yateley.

Some last-minute pressure from Sonning proved futile, and Yateley won the match 1-0.

The votes for the Man of the Match were tallied up, with Josh receiving 1 vote, Jason receiving 2, Tom securing 3, and this week's vote ending in a joint tie between Jacob and Ben, both receiving 4 votes each. Congratulations to both Jacob and Ben for a well-deserved Man of the Match.