Red action finds no equal Reaction

PFFC 4 London Reaction 1

Tom, 16 February 2009

 

The shortcomings of the midweek league were once again brought into focus before PFFC's latest match at the Capital City Academy in Willesden. With five minutes to go before kick-off it looked as though the Thinkers would have to take to the field with only eight men, two of whom were walking wounded. Blame cannot be laid entirely at LondonFootball's door, but erratic fixture lists, combined with an even more erratic public transport system, will all too frequently cause disruption. Regular Sunday fixtures at a reasonable time can’t come soon enough.

By kick-off, however, the squad had grown to ten and, with some swift positional juggling from the captain, PFFC started with Damo and Ron in the centre of defence, flanked by Owen on the left and Tom on the right. In midfield we had Andy on the right, Mike on the left with Lucasz and Conrad in the middle. Kieran would start alone upfront. As always, Matt was between the sticks.

London Reaction, fielding the correct number of players, were to have their best spell of the match whilst holding the numerical advantage. They had the lion's share of the possession in the early stages but did little to trouble PFFC's tenacious defence with Ron very much setting the tone: he had an exceptional evening. However, ten minutes into the match the defence was breached with a headed goal from a corner: 1-0 to Reaction.

Moments after falling behind PFFC were bolstered by the introduction of Andrea. Conrad moved forward to join Kieran in attack and from that moment the balance of power changed. The Thinkers took almost total control, playing some lovely football that was just too quick for Reaction to deal with and, although a handful of good chances went begging, heads did not drop and PFFC were duly rewarded with an equaliser, courtesy of Conrad, shortly before half-time.

This pattern of play was to continue throughout the second half. Philosophy's defence comfortably broke up any attack Reaction could must muster and with the midfield working hard to pick up the pieces, Reaction's goal was under constant threat. To their credit they held firm for a good fifteen minutes, but it really was a question of when, not if, PFFC would score again. So it was of no great surprise when Conrad got his second of the night. London Reaction duly crumbled, allowing Damian to score from the penalty spot and Conrad to complete his hat-trick. 4-1 to the Thinkers.

Pleasingly, with the hard work done, Philosophy did not rest on their laurels but stuck to the task of keeping Reaction at bay for the remainder of the match with excellent commitment and some strong tackling. This all bodes extremely well for the next fixture, against OMD, who will no doubt prove stronger opposition but should hold no fear with PFFC displaying this kind of form and effort.