Hands up who saw this one coming? Ruislip’s fine start to the season came to a very emphatic but very much deserved halt at the hands of a very very impressive home side.
So what went wrong? Defenders made wrong decision after wrong decision. A disjointed midfield that was unable to change the flow of the game and a toothless frontline that posed minimal threat all morning. There was a visible lack of leaders on the field and worst of all, other than a couple of exceptions, a criminal lack of effort all round. Add all that together and the answer is generally going to be a total slap in the chops!
From the moment Penn & Tyler took the lead on 5 minutes when a poor clearance was returned with interest as a tremendous swerving drive gave the keeper no chance, this game was only headed one way. It was key to the outcome that Ruislip got to the break only a goal down but two goals just prior to the interval left them with a mountain to climb and only flip flops on their feet. The second goal was poorly defended but well finished and although the third was a bit fortunate as a deep cross from the left sailed in at the far post, the home side deserved any luck that went their way.
In truth, Ruislip appeared to start the second half on the front foot but within 10 minutes of the restart it was 5-0 as some real rank bad defending allowed two of the easier goals the grateful hosts will score all season. Game over and it was damage limitation time. In fact, Ruislip had their best spell of the game and should have got on the scoresheet at least once, including one miss which totally summed up their dismal morning, but this was a game where the final whistle couldn’t come soon enough.
One defeat, however bad, does not break a season. How the boys react to it is the key and if they learn from it, notably that you have to be fully committed every single week, then maybe this might even be a blessing in disguise.
MoM only two players came out of this with any credit. Mark Webb who never stopped running and probing from the first whistle til the last and Finn Edwards who despite playing in two unfamiliar positions grafted as though the game was always on the line. Neither let their head drop and both would’ve earned their opponents’ respect.