v Epsom Eagles 04/11/07 Won 3-1

Feltham entertained the unbeaten Eagles, who had conceded only one goal this season, at their new home Blenheim Park on a bright warm afternoon. What followed was their best performance as a team in which everyone of the 14 boys played above themselves and their parents can be extremely proud of each and everyone of them.

  Feltham attacked the stadium end in the first period and Epsom soon settled into their passing routine as they knocked it around nicely. However all the Whites were closing down and pressurising all over the pitch which unsettled the visitors. A fortnight ago Lee was often isolated up front however today he and Turnell saw much more of the ball and their pace was unsettling the Eagles Central defenders. Halfway through the half Lee fired home the opening goal as he outpaced the defence and scored past the advancing keeper. The Eagles upped their game and soon had the home side under pressure hitting the post although Ryan dealt comfortably with the long range shots. Just before the break Epsom were awarded a penalty and as the home crowd held their breath Ryan stood tall and saved the resulting kick. 1-0 to the home side at the break as the teams left the field.

  Epsom started the second period as they had ended the first pushing the Whites back and Lewis, Anis, Daniel and Matt were defending like lions. They were ably protected by the midfield of Charlie, Leon, Jack and Paulo who chased everything all day. Half time substitutions saw Nathan and Anthony introduced and this gave us a bit more going forward as the pair quickly produced some good link up play down the left. Defending always starts from the front and Turnell and Lee worked hard to stop the defenders of Epsom from playing balls forward. The Eagles equalised ten minutes into the half with a scrappy goal as the ball was poked home from close range. Many a teams heads would have gone down at this point but this galvanised the Whites to produce a magnificent last quarter of football. Right from the kick off Feltham pushed Epsom back and soon good work between Anthony and Nathan saw a cross delivered from the left which Turnell lifted over the keeper for 2-1 . It was soon 3-1 with a similar goal as Jack found his way into the box to lob the keeper. There were 10 minutes to go as Ben came on to stiffen the back four but the Whites snuffled out any danger Epsom threatened although they did strike the post again. The final whistle saw great scenes as the players and supporters of Feltham absorbed the magnitude of this victory. Epsom are serious title challengers this season and this was a great result for the boys.

  I cannot praise this bunch of players high enough after today. Six weeks ago we were hammered by Hayes and then unluckily beaten at Bedfont Green by the odd goal. Since then they have won 3 out of 4 games and narrowly lost to Epsom away. That is a sign of great character. We must now push on and try and get a consistent run going. Well done to each one of you today.

  Thanks to Bill for Refereeing today and to Nick for running the line. A big thanks to all of the parents who came out in good numbers for this game and were very vocal. Thanks to Jim and the Epsom lads for a great game of football played in a competitive but fair nature. Most of all thanks to 14 boys from Feltham who gave this coach his most satisfying result too date and which justified all the long hours and work he puts into running this team.

Squad – Ryan , Lewis , Ben , Leon , Charlie , Matt , Lee , Anthony , Anis , Nathan , Daniel , Jack , Paulo , Turnell

Scorers – Turnell , Lee , Jack