Men's 3rd XI vs Sutton Valence 4

MEN’S 3RD XI

Oppo:             Sutton Valence 4, Home

Final Score:    W 5-2

Goalscorers:  Rob Macer, Ollie Todd (2), Asa Foster-Troy, Noah Soames.

 The end of January saw Cliftonville 3’s Development face Sutton Valence. Closing out the dark month under the lights on the home pitch was something to relish. Cliftonville were in a solid second place in the league looking to gain some distance from third and forth. Their previous meeting was a match of uncertainty but nevertheless, a confident win. A good crowd leveled up at opposite ends as the teams took to the pitch.

 With some 11th hour injuries meant that the home side had to step up and step into some unfamiliar cover positions. These changes showed both the resilience and desire to do the best for the home team. Confident in the last few games, Cliftonville set off with some rapid movement and great link play moving the ball with great intent. After settling into their stride, Cliftonville found an early opening from a series of defended balls coming off the keeper to land perfectly for Macer to bed home past the keeper for an early lead. After a bit of a juggle in defence defending a short corner or two, The Ville were quickly pushing back into control. The ball was cleared straight up the field from Aron to Asa just above halfway. With his back to the goal, he sent Ollie on a clear path through the high defence for him to skill it past the keeper to make it 2-0. Ollie was never too far away from an opportunity and the link work from Ollie and Aron in the middle, this duo was setting themselves up for anything on offer. Moments later, Aron careered through the visitors defence with some silky skills only to have a shot saved by the keeper. Within a flash, Ollie had pounced on the deflected projectile for his second and Cliftonville’s 3rd. It was all ticking along nicely in an oddly quiet way before the break. Sutton were always pushing and had some great quality in their ranks which was noted in their last meeting. A couple of feet in the way and some other decisions against Cliftonville saw the home side giving a series of short corners away “like it was candy”, said the injured Jude. The visitors connected well to put one back against The Ville dampening the vibe. From the reset, Cliftonville were on the break again with Kit to Archie on a surging run and unsurprisingly goal hungry sent the ball towards the goal to be knocked wide… but not off! With a wild reaction from Noah, he kept the ball in play and somehow found Asa who was in his normal position and made no mistake getting himself on the score sheet. Back on the defence again saw Cliftonville in the pocket of the dreaded short corner. This time it was only one to defend but a crafty wide pass to an eager Sutton attacker gave way to a 4-2 lead into the break.

As both sides headed into the break, a mildly subdued home team had time to grab their breath. This wasn't the moment to back off but to step back into control of this game and put it out of reach from the travelling team. The second half was well controlled and some lovely stretching play saw the wingers and midfield working well together. Opportunities presented themselves but with players stacking up to strike, it was as if there were too many options to pick the right one. Some lovely play and positive determination put the moderately quiet second half well into the late afternoon. With efforts fading, saw a bright moment ignite from Noah crossing a peach of a ball to the captain who followed his own rebound up, pinning the ball in the backboard to hit home a 5-2 win. A last-minute disallowed goal would have given The Ville an extended lead but they settled happily for what they had in their hand. A safe win and some well-deserved points. Up The Ville!!