Wanderers M6s 1-1 Cheam M3s

By Chris Blackmore

On a chilly Saturday morning, Cheam 3s became their own little wanderers, making their way into the big ol’ city for the first game of 2017. After a festive period to relax and slouch around with good food and wine, this game was a shock to the system for many players on both sides. However, after a gruelling seventy minutes, each team went home with a point a-piece, which in honesty was a pretty fair result.

On a pitch that was harder than Donald Trump when he looks in the mirror, Wanderers’ home ground was looking rather treacherous upon arrival. However Kennington’s own magical micro-climate meant that most of the pitch had thawed out, and the remaining frost wasn’t slippery (Even Taylor managed to stay on his feet!).

With the game underway, the rustiness was shaken off and Cheam took the upper-hand early on, with some lovely build-up play. The unconventional strike partnership of Pearce and Cresswell proved themselves to be an admirable duo, jinking and dinking their way towards a whole host of decent chances. But the breakthrough came when Koen had enough of missed chances and decided to just go it alone… Nicking the ball from Wanderers’ 16, Koen powered his way through a bunch of defenders before striking a crisp reverse-hit that rocketed past the keeper. Like an angry bull in a Spanish ring, all it took was a sharp exhale from the nose, a narrowing of the eyes, and the bang! Koen was off, goring his way through Wanderers’ defence, and managed to get Cheam off the mark.

Cheam could have gone further ahead, with another goal ruled out for back-stick. Bender, Smeagol, Pearce and Trambath all wooed their way into the opposition D, but unfortunately their sumptuous play was not rewarded, as the umpire blew for a debatable foul. Bender, who was gutted not to get on the scoresheet, spent the rest of the match trying to coerce the DotD vote, leading to him receiving the DotD vote… This was followed up by a well-worked short-corner routine which saw Wanderers’ level before half-time, to set up a challenging second half.

After the break things turned rather sloppy as tiredness set in, and there were as many poor runs as a diarrhoea clinic, with passing also becoming rather haphazard across the pitch (this is part where I tug my own collar…). However, excellent work by Molly and Root in the back created a solid base, and adding Blossom into the mix, the goal was in fine hands. Molly actually got the shared MotM vote (with the skipper) for a variety of tackles and interceptions against a tricky bunch of Wanderers’ strikers. He mopped up everything that came his way… Just like they do at the diarrhoea clinic (I’ll stop using that analogy now).

Whilst it might feel like two points dropped, I’ll take a point and cherish it. After a lengthy winter break, and a lack of training/matches so far in 2017, Cheam showed their spirit and determination by putting in an enormous shift. Everyone must be knackered today, so take a break and look forward to next week!