| Match Report |
Caradons mens 2's travelled to Tavistock to play their 3rds. It was the very first game on the Tavistock pitch that was only completed at 6pm the night before. In the corresponding fixture last season a young Caradon team, in their first season, were handsomely beaten 7-1. With the core of that team present this time the improvement made in the last year was highlighted by the complete turnaround in fortunes. Caradons youngest league players, some playing their first league game, went above and beyond, wrestling control from an experienced Tavistock side. After an even first 15 minutes in which Tavistock were unable to utilise two short corners Caradon began to gain control and from their first short corner, which was initially cleared, Ben Hedley worked hard to drive the ball back into the D where Dave Lockett was on hand to force in the first goal of the season from the penalty spot. In the second half Caradon maintain control with Lockett smashing in a second from a short corner when the defender on the post went missing. Caradon seemed to relax at this point which allowed Tavistock to take over for a while and a slight bit of mis-communication at the back gave Tavistock an easy goal and way back into the match. Liam Champion then took over and his control at the back inspired the team as he broke up the oppositions attacks, plucking the ball out of the air on more than one occasion (earning the man of the match award in the process). With the clock running down Ben Hedley, only 4 days over the age eligibility criteria of 13 years old, then beat two defenders and reverse flicked the ball over the keeper to give Caradon breathing space again. Caradon were then able to comfortably see out the final 5 minutes to get the season off to a great start. With a mix of young and old blending well the difficulty this season will be giving all 24 members of the squad enough opportunities to demonstrate their potential. What looks inevitable is that come the end of season this team will not be finishing bottom of the table again.
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