Old Boys Sit Alone On Top
Jared Cuff
With Southend coming away during the midweek game with a shock win against Queens Park, the Donald Grey lads knew that it would be more of a battle than first perceived about the young Southend team. Under the beaming sun on the Saturday afternoon on the freshly mowed field, Old Boys knew that if we were to win this game we would have a more comfortable buffer on the Table.
The team went in with some quick attacks down the wings in the first 15 minutes, and Cuffy driving a shot straight at the keeper and a couple of shots from the starting strikers Mani and Brandon that unfortunately did not find their mark. But the breakout happened when Cuffy received the ball on the right wing than cut in past his defender and struck the ball with the outside of his right foot to give Old Boys the lead 1-0. Jono Ross came close with a header which unfortunately hit the post and then Cuffy was there with the follow up which he drilled into the outside of the net for a goal kick.
Just a few minutes later and the skipper himself went on an attacking run and found himself in a crossing position where he received a through pass and drilled a cross in at chest height towards Mani and his defender which lead to a debatable goal on who touched it last before the ball passed the line. The game slowed down until fill in Ref Jeremy Dix called the game to a halt to end the first half.
The second half started slowly with both teams being cautious of the stand in ref from Southend and how he would officiate the game. Both teams had their chances with free kicks during the second half which in the end came to nothing, it wasn’t until youngster Ben Clixby was subbed on that the game changed. Ben came on and started running rings around the Southend defenders and a couple of minutes after he found the back of the net which gave Old Boys the 3 – 0 lead.
3 nil win to give Old Boys another 3 points on the table, plus a helping hand to prepare for their first Chatham Cup game of the 2017 campaign against Northern.
