Old Meads turn up the heat to defend league title

Amateur Football Combination Premier Division - Old Albanians 0 Old Meadonians 7

Old Meadonians turned up the heat in defence of their league title with a first half demolition job on a hapless Old Albanian side which is languishing at the bottom of the table with just two draws all season.

Meads blooded second team players, keeper Travis Glenn and midfielder Gilmour Saaiman who both had extremely promising debuts, with Glenn pulling off a superb point blank save during the lull before the storm to prevent the hosts from taking an early lead. With probing over, fifteen minutes in, Meads skipper, Jack Costello, got free on the right and his cross was irresistibly volleyed in by Alex Hugh Jones for the first.

Twenty minutes later six more had been piled into the Albanian net and Costello had five to bring his season’s total to eighteen. For his first, Costello cleverly drifted to the right on the edge of the area allowing him to direct a cross from the left back across the keeper into the far corner. Then came two volleys from outside the area, the second of which was a thirty yard effort which cannoned over the line from the cross bar. His next was a lob with the keeper in no man’s land and his fifth was provided by the pace and strength of blossoming striker Leon Smith whose cross was tucked in at the near post. The hosts’ cup of woes finally overflowed as a disoriented defender headed into his own net.

The second half was understandably a bit flat following this firestorm as with the aid of the slope Albanian did manage to regroup and put together some attacks. It was still the visitors who could, with luck have notched another three. Meads iconic skipper Jack Costello was named MoM.

Team: Glenn, Salanson, Jordan, Hanley, Saaiman, Rhone, (Jakobssson), Pointer, Gerrish, (Lovell), Hugh Jones, Costello, Smith.

December 5, 2006