[Spartak] Friendly with Cherryfield

My second friendly of the new season was last night. It could not come quick enough. I have trained hard in this pre-season, but I started to get training-fatigue from the lack of matches.

Last night we played Cherryfield up in Tibradden. I did not feel good at the start of the match. My stomach has been giving me some trouble and it was tough to tune into the match.

The starting lineup was Massey, Greene, Cooney, Keane, J. Tannem, Kelly, Gibney, D. Tannem, Reid, MacAuley, Dawson.

We started poorly and I was very unhappy with my first-half performance. I was off the pace for much of the first half and would ruin my good play with a sloppy pass at the end of a sequence, losing possession.

Once we got over that initial stutter, things improved, but I still did not feel comfortable. Frustrated with my play, I decided to compensate by getting forward as much as possible and lending some bite to our midfield.

I had a big hand in our first goal, taking a crossfield pass down in a fifty-fifty ball. The ball then broke and Alan Foley latched onto it, shooting into the net.

My one big mistake led to their second goal. A header from Dex (Keane) went behind me, forcing a chase. Instead of letting it go out for a throw, I tried to pass it back to Dex, but underhit it. With the ball live, the cross was blocked by John Tannem, who had put his arms in the air. The penalty was duly scored, and the game was level again at 2-2.

The second half was much better. Relieved at not being substituted, I settled much better in the second half as my fitness began to show. I supported the attack a lot, won a few headers once I moved into midfield, and even had a shot on goal that just went wide of the post.

Cherryfield were a poor side, and we should have won by much more than 4-2, squandering quite a few chances, especially as the game wound down.

The best moment of the game came from Frank McNamee, still recovering from a broken leg last Christmas. Always full of effort, he was running into the middle of the box, hotly pursued by myself, both trying to support Alan Foley's running down the right wing.

As the cross came in, Frank could not get his head to it, so flung himself bodily at the ball. Hitting his chest the ball slowly crept into the corner of the goal. Inexplicably, despite the howls of protest from our line, the referee gave a free out. I can only assume it was for offside, despite Frank being behind his marker as the ball came across. The referee is poor, so it might have been anything.

I also feel that the midfield lacks bite. Dan Tannem had a good game, harrassing the player in possession and managed to steal it far more than he had any right to. Other than that, despite having some very talented ball-players, I still need to question our tenacity, especially in the tough battles that are to come.

Still, a win is a win, and we managed to score some goals. Things need to improve, we still need better training attendance, but I remain optimistic for the coming season.