WORSTEAD RAMS MATCH REPORTS

The Rams have kicked off the 2000/1 season already and with 2 friendlies, 1 County cup match and 3 league outings its been a busy couple of months. The first game was a friendly match away to Mundesley Sunday and with a big squad of players available everyone was able to get a run out. On a nice playing surface we were able to pass the ball around well and with the finishing being excellent we turned out 9 -1 winners.


The second friendly was away against old rivals Dilham Sunday who had a strong squad of players to choose from. This game was never going to be as easy as the previous match and that was how it turned out to be with Worstead running out 3 - 1 winners. The landmark to this game was that new manager David Foreman had to come out of retirement to referee this game; there were no bookings!

The first serious game of the season came in the County Cup when we had to play against Fosters Sunday Reserves at home. With Fosters having to travel from Kings Lynn they had to get an early start to be there for kick off. After arriving and giving us a good game we managed to hold on and win 5 - 3 .
In the next round we are drawn against Festival House from Norwich and the game is due to be played on Sunday 15th October at Worstead playing field, Please come along to support us.

For our league debut we couldn't have started off with a harder game against North Walsham away, and to make matters worse all the previous days league games across the County were postponed due to the petrol crisis. The knock on effect was that North Walsham 1st team hadn't played on Saturday and were therefore available for selection on Sunday. With at least eight senior players in the team it made the game even tougher than this fixture would normally have been. Worstead started off well and played some good football for the first 20 minutes but some bad defending on Worstead's part let Walsham go in at half time with a comfortable lead. The second half didn't get off to a very good start with Worstead conceeding early goals and with some indescisive defending, especially at corners, the game was always out of reach for us. After a late rally by Worstead we ended up losing 10 - 4 our first defeat of the season.

The following Sunday we played Trunch Social club at home, They were newly promoted to Division 1 this year and we didn't know much about there style of play. With Cooper and the recalled Williams back to shore up the defence, the main aim in this particular match was to keep a clean sheet after last weeks result. The first half was tight with Worstead struggling at times to show any composure on the ball, and with several missed chances it was looking like we would probably pay for it in the later stages of the game. In the first minutes of the second half Trollope latched onto a poor backpass by a Trunch defender and cooly placed the ball into the back of the net. With Worstead starting to take control of the game, Trunch had a rare attack on Worstead's goal and with Blackwell's late challenge on the Trunch striker in the area, the referee gave a penalty with which they converted. Blackwell worked hard to make amends for the penalty and made several blistering runs down the wing. There was still not a great deal in the game when Babb excellently headed in Trollope's cross. Rams went 3 - 1 up when Trollope got his second from Yaxley's long ball which the defender failed to clear and Trollope placed the ball round the keeper.
Final score 3 - 1 to Worstead.

Rams looking to build on last week's victory over Trunch soon got stuck into Cromer Town who were playing their first league game of the season. Most of the attacking was via the right wing with Blackwell finding lots of space to run at the defence and cross into the box. Trollope and O'Connor looked very sharp up front creating chance after chance from nearly every ball played to the pair. Cromer too had some early chances, but the Rams defence defended very well and went to the interval 3 - 1 up. The second half was all one way traffic as Worstead applied more pressure and after scoring another seven more goals with only one in reply, we comfortably won this game 10 - 2 .
The scorers were: Trollope (3), O'Connor (4), Mewies, Yaxley and Blackwell.

Training sessions take place each Wednesday @ 7-00pm on Worstead playing field.
Anyone wishing to play for the club please come along as you are most welcome.
Young or old, Fit or Unfit don't worry, just get Training.

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Worstead Rams Vs Festival House
Sunday Intermediate Cup Second Round
15th October 2000

The Rams were pitched against Festival House in the second round of the
Sunday Intermediate Cup. The team had to re-organise due to the absence of a
couple of key players. Rams didn't start too well with Festival House
applying a lot of early pressure and they soon took the lead from an early
strike. Trollope equalised soon after but the Rams were being overun by the
Norwich based side who scored twice more and looked very strong to win this
match.But Rams managed to pick up their game and Mewies scored with a
glancing header from Blackwell's free kick. Rams equalised when Mewies
intercepted the keeper's clearance and found Trollope who fired in his
second of the match.
In the second half Rams battled hard but Festival House were always that
little bit stronger and managed to score a further three goals. Rams pulled
back a goal when Cushion blasted the ball from 25 yards. Final score 4-6.
It was a disappointing end the the match as we played some good football at
times but just lacked a little more stamina in this match.
The next game is on Sunday 22nd October and we are away to Stalham.