Two big wins boost Mead's title hope

Local team two points clear with one game left

Amateur Football Combination Premier Division
Old Meadonians 7 Old Danes 0

Insatiable Old Meadonians gobbled up three more points and in the process tore relegated Old Danes to pieces in a seven goal spree at Riverside Lands on Tuesday evening.

Meads have now, albeit temporarily, overhauled league leaders U.C.L. with 39 points to the latter’s 37. In theory Meads have only to draw on Saturday to take the title for the second successive season as they have an eight goal difference over the Accies but they are unlikely to take that chance.

Striker Colin Hawkins, back from a club suspension for a sending off, teamed up with partner Ed Glover in a romp which tore great holes in the visitors’ defence through which Meads swarmed like angry bees.

Before half-time goals came from Danny Bond, Hawkins and Kevin Quinn and in a second half, when the visitors became ‘open season’, and it could have been a dozen, skipper Jack Costello (2), Hawkins and young sub Albert Adomah completed the rout.

Meads: Sayers, Williamson,(Wapshott), Jordan, Hanley, Rhone, Costello, Bond, Quinn, McGuinness, Glover, (Adomah), Hawkins.

Amateur Football Combination Premier Division
Old Aloysians 0 Old Meadonians 4

Old Meadonians continued their relentless pursuit of league leaders U.C.L. with a four goal demolition of mid-table Aloysians at Highgate on Saturday in a game where the score-line, which allowed Meads to overtake the league leaders’ superior goal difference, was more significant than the method of its achievement.

Neither side truly mastered a lively ball, which on yet another singularly small pitch, was rarely allowed to come down by a capricious cross-field breeze. Meads’ defence, however was uncompromising and unyielding and, although put under early pressure, soon mastered the home attack to the effect that keeper Kris Sayers had to make only one save, and that in the first ten minutes. With ace striker Colin Hawkins laid low by a virus, his partner Ed Glover was teamed with centre-back Len Wapshott and although they won plenty of high ball, they found it difficult to feed off each other to capitalise on the visitors’ overwhelming share of possession.

It was Glover who broke the deadlock on twenty minutes with a piece of bravery in challenging Aloysians’ keeper for a fifty/fifty ball and getting a kick on the knee for his pains. The resultant loose ball was bundled in by Kevin Quinn. Meads’ second came fifteen minutes after the interval when centre-back Brian Hanley’s excellently timed run enabled him to head in skipper Jack Costello’s free-kick.

Ten minutes later Wapshott’s non-stop performance was rewarded heading in after his fifteen yard shot had been parried and finally with five minutes to go Quinn’s twenty yard free-kick found an unguarded corner. The visitors did have time to blood seventeen year old striker Albert Adomah who showed himself no stranger to the required work ethic and slotted in comfortably. Finally, Meads applauded Aloyssians’ retiring skipper, Steve Surridge, off the pitch and presented him with a bottle of champagne.

Meads: Sayers, Williamson, (Butler), Hanley, Jordan, McGuinness, Rhone, Costello, Bond, Quinn, Wapshott, (Adomah), Glover.

If you feel you would like to be a member of this progressive and friendly club why not visit their web site www.omfc.co.uk

David Stanners

May 11, 2005