Page 22 - Raynes Park Vale vs Sheerwater FA Vase

MaTCH rEPOrT

RAYNES PARK VALE 1

BADShOt LEA 4

CCL • Saturday 24th of October 2020 • Grand Drive, Raynes Park

It was was seen by some as a must win game for Vale

The lay of the (pretty muddy) land was ed to the spot and the penalty was cooly
visible from early on in this match that dispatched by Badshot's Nick Medcraft.
was being seen, around the stands and 10 minutes later a free-kick near the
the touchline, as a must-win game for edge of the RPV area again exposed the
Vale. home-team's problem dealing with any-
Recent defeats were hanging over this thing out of the ordinary from Badshot.
encounter with Badshot Lea as ominous- A well-rehearsed two-man dummy saw
ly as the clouds that had been dumping
enough rain on the Grand Drive pitch to
raise questions about whether the game
could even go ahead. A pre-match in-
spection confirmed that the match was
on and Vale's fate was sealed. In these
muddy conditions the ball tends to get
hoofed into an attacking position and the
Vale defence are usually adept at dealing
with this with good, solid heading and
volleyed clearances. Even without the
height and robust presence of Danny
Alderton, Vale have enough defensive
strength to see off most long-ball chanc-
ers. What we have less of, as became ap-
parent, after a quarter of an hour, is the
ability to take on pacey wingers and jink-
ing strikers. This weakness was exposed
in the 15th minute when Badshot broke
into the box. A delicate brush with the
Vale defence sent the runner crashing to
the ground. Inevitably, the referee point-