ENTERTAINING OPENER FOR THE SEASON AT UXBRIDGE

Uxbridge 2

Cirencester Town 2

Tom King saved an early penalty for Cirencester Town on a day when the opening match of the season took the Centurions to the losing play-off finalists in the League last season. A gritty defensive display was needed to counter the passing accuracy of a mobile, free flowing home midfield. It was delivered.

The only disappointment was conceding two goals to pin-point crosses, both delivered after swift passing had sent the crosser clear on the flanks. It was a part of the game where Uxbridge were far more effective than Ciren who by the time the match ended had sent seven, clean, crossing chances off target with men free in the box.

Uxbridge played a lot of neat, quick football on the deck but very soon it was obvious that their main idea was to find their front man, Charlie Hill, and then feed off his lay-offs. Within just a few minutes Gary Thorne and Kes Metitiri had sorted out that route and Uxbridge were stymied on how to penetrate the Ciren defence.

Nathan Haisley very early on set himself the job of closing down the rangy, dangerous Dave Warner who was floating free to try and get onto the end of the Uxbridge midfield feeds from Kevin Warner and Frazer Toms.

With Andy Robertson finding his feet in the Ciren midfield and showing well to control the ball then pass wide to Steve Davies and Adam Mahdi, Ciren should have exploited that advantage and been ahead early on.

On 3 minutes, Matt Williams was quick to challenge a hesitant Uxbridge defence when a Mahdi pass speared through, sending a rebound narrowly wide with Paul McCarthy helpless in goal and the Uxbridge bench fuming.

Julian Alsop moved fast on 6 minutes to connect with a fierce low cross from Matt Williams, driven across the box after he was freed by a sleight of foot by the elusive Steve Davies, and forcing McCarthy to a brave, scrambling save at the foot of the far post.

A minute later, Uxbridge had their first shot, Dave Lawrence surging past Andy Robertson through the middle of the park to collect a neat pass from Kevin Warner and sending a 20 yard swirler to dip under the bar only for Tom King to make a confident catch.

Encouraged, Uxbridge upped their midfield pressing and suddenly Ciren were now chasing the ball. On 11 minutes, Mark Dennison collected a loose forward pass, fed Wayne Carter who passed Frazer Toms away through the centre circle.

He looked up and sent Dave Warner racing through the right side channel with Ben Pugh fatally stranded upfield after Dennison had cut off his attacking pass. As Warner burst into the area he knocked the ball too far. It looked as though he had lost control but when Gary Thorne clipped him the referee, well up with play, pointed to the spot.

Warner took the penalty himself but Tom King had concentrated well and read it correctly. He dived across full stretch to tip the low shot onto the post and out.

Gary Thorne hit the bar at the other end minutes later, just off balance as a half cleared Ciren corner came back to him, only for the ball to bounce down and be cleared desperately.

On 15 minutes Adam Mahdi, offering for the passes and being found with increasing regularity by the calm, accurate play from Andy Robertson, scorched past Gavin Brown and hit his shot across Paul McCarthy only to hit the far post with the Uxbridge ‘keeper beaten.

The Uxbridge probing through midfield was still coming, neat control by Kevin Warner and simple first touch lay-offs by the steady if one paced Wayne Carter getting them through the Ciren midfield with ominous regularity. Gary Thorne and Kes Metitiri were getting themselves first to the final pass but the clearances were not being controlled by Ciren and Uxbridge were turning the screw on Ciren.

On 24 minutes they cracked. Quick feet by the Warner pair through the centre circle gave Dennison, supporting the surge, possession and with a huge gap visible up the right flank.

With Frazer Toms already on the run from midfield he was beyond Ben Pugh to collect in acres of space on the right and send in a perfect far post cross. Dave Warner, involved in the build up, had burned to get there and steadied to nod back beyond Tom King and net the opener unopposed from 10 yards.

Ciren now had to work hard to stay in the match. Their early attacking flow had now stuttered and they needed to calm down, control the ball and make Uxbridge think about defending the space behind them.

To their credit, Ciren weathered the Uxbridge storm. But having made three openings in the next 10 minutes wasted all the set up effort and passing by sending wayward crosses in.

Julian Alsop and Matt Williams were left forlornly watching the ball sail into nowhereland when they had worked so hard to get the defenders out of position before making their change of pace to dart in and attack the nasty places.

Right at the death it took a superb stop by Tom King on 44 mins, off a full blooded shot from Charlie Hill when the ball rebounded to him off a Dave Lawrence miscontrol in the box to keep Ciren in the match.

In the second half Ciren, with Kes Metitiri and Gary Thorne upping their focus and effort to keep solid at the back, Uxbridge lost control. Andy Robertson had got himself into the pace of the game, was taking up good positions in space and was being found with simple, crisp passes.

He was starting to thread good passes through midfield, Steve Davies and Adam Mahdi were linking more effectively with their wing backs and very visibly Ciren got on top of an Uxbridge who were now running out of ideas.

Matt Willams moved quickest to collect a half cleared corner on the right side of the box on 58 minutes. Checking inside he tempted Frazer Toms into a rash challenge and was first to the ball and past him before he was crashed down to earth.

Matt Williams is deadly from the spot and sent McCarthy the wrong way as the ball whistled into the bottom corner for an equaliser that fairly reflected the way play had gone since the break..

With the Uxbridge attacking pattern now effectively stifled as Kes Metitiri refused to allow Charlie Hill any time or room, Uxbridge were taking pot shots from distance, much to the dismay of the Uxbridge bench.

But, with nothing on in front of him on 61 minutes, Wayne Carter let fly an absolute purler from outside the far corner of the box and arrowing to the top corner. It looked in all the way.

Tom King was right on top of his concentration and was up and across to knock it around the angle and keep Ciren at parity. Superb save and showing the value of thinking quick and acting quicker.

A goal had to come and the constant Ciren passing pressure, much more accurate and much more probing, had the visitors on top in front of an increasingly creaking Uxbridge back line. When the goal came on 66 minutes it was through a peach of a pass from Andy Robertson.

It came at the end of a calm clearing up of play at the back, with Uxbridge chasing in vain as Kes Metitiri, Gary Thorne and Lee Spalding crisply sent a triangle of perfectly paced and placed passes through on the deck. Matt Williams and Julian Alsop were taking the defenders away as Adam Mahdi drew Brown in to him down the left.

Robertson had seen Steve Davies on the opposite side of the field start his run down the blind side angle up the right beyond the already overlapping Spaulding. One touch control on the pass up to him then a spin and reverse pass by Robertson had Davies clear beyond the defence up the right channel and McCarthy far too late to read the pass.

Steve Davies was already inside the desperately covering Dave Thomas, collected, steadied and calmly sidestepped McCarthy before rolling the ball into the back of the net from 16 yards with The Muppetts and a raucous cluster of Centurions behind the goal already up in the air. It was a cracker; and the lad was justifiably chuffed with that one.

Uxbridge had already replaced the very effective Kevin Warner in midfield with their veteran goal scorer Lee Tunnell in a brave bid to rescue the match. They had to respond and did so with an immense effort to counter attack through their wing backs.

Dave Thomas worked his buns off to get himself free up the left when Wayne Carter had a momentary gift when a miscue from a team mate left him in space in the middle.

He at once arrowed a pass back up the line and Thomas, in space, measured a lovely cross into the middle where Charlie Hill was the lone target but close enough to make something happen as it dropped.

It did not quite go to plan as the ball broke off him, ugly but bouncing out and away from the defenders.And Lee Tunnell was in the right spot at the right time to drill the loose ball home to make it 2 – 2 on 70 mins.

Ciren could have won it in the last 20 minutes. Even though Uxbridge stuck on yet another forward to replace Hill for the final five minutes they had not been allowed in the Ciren box.

With Tom King calmly pouching every single optimistic cross floated in and Gary Thorne not allowing Tunnell a single touch in the closing stages all the flow was towards the increasingly nervous McCarthy. Replacing Matt Williams with Adam Heath, Ciren played the pace card in place of the control and pass card.

It needed good crosses. And players in place to challenge for the knockdowns and increasingly frantic clearances from the red defence. We only got three clean openings as Uxbridge pulled all back and lunged desperately but effectively to keep the sparky Heath and Davies at bay.

Alsop just got too far under a Davies cross and headed wide. Mahdi fired wide from an angle after Alsop neatly headed him through off a beautifully placed pass from Robertson.

On 80 minutes Adam Heath, 12 yards out, turned calmly in the box onto an Alsop nod down to beat the ‘keeper from an angle. Only for the woodwork to save Uxbridge, for the third time, in this end to end and always entertaining season’s opener

Uxbridge: Paul McCarthy, Gavin Brown, Dave Thomas, Ryan Wharton, Mark Dennison (c), Wayne Carter, Frazer Toms, Kevin Warner [Lee Tunnell 62], Charlie Hill Y51 [Chris Fermie 86], Dave Warner, Dave Lawrence

Subs: Dave Everley, Tommy Howe, Rob Bullivant (g/k)

Centurions: Tom King, Lee Spalding Y51, Ben Pugh, Gary Thorne (c) Y11, Kes Metitiri, Andy Robertson, Steve Davies, Nathan Haisley Y81, Julian Alsop, Matt Williams [Adam Heath 71], Adam Mahdi

Subs: Andy Minturn, Harry Etheridge, Paul Hunt

Ref: Mr T Power (Tottenham) Did well. Always in position, decisive and worked well with two very good linos. Calmed things down when they got hairy, as happens when two teams go at it like these two did, and involved both captains to apply the Respect campaign. And ignored the increasingly frantic appeals of the Uxbridge bench as their team conceded free kick after free kick in the final 20 minutes.

Att: 131 Solid Centurion showing, close to 30 of them, though the Muppetts possibly made a tactical mistake by placing themselves on the wrong side of the pitch second half. Though, to be honest, even John would not have phased the very capable lino at 'our' end second half. We had a couple of Centurions making their first away trip ever. On this showing, I guess they are likely to be looking forward to the next away trip to Cleeve on Bankie Monday afternoon.

Ciren MoM: Mentions for Kes Metiteri, solid and quick today, for Gary Thorne and for Julian Alsop but the majority of the Ciren away fans went for Tom King. No arguments with that at all.