Period 1

Once again Meds faced promoted opposition, this Time Unicorn Athletic. Meds kicked off and kept possession well but found it difficult to break down the Unicorn defence. On 2 minutes Jayson had the first attempt at goal; the goalkeeper fumbled the shot and only just got the ball under control before the advancing Meds attackers. Soon after, Nathan Carr was testing the Unicorn goalkeeper after a good pass from Eddie Brown. Unicorn were playing on the counter and looked to bypass the Meds midfield but Tom Pye managed to delay the attack and allow the Meds midfielders to get back into position. Meds next attack saw Eddie with a chance at goal, but the Unicorn defender made a good tackle to prevent the shot. Meds were committed to attack and this left gaps at the back which Unicorn exploited and got one v one with James Wight, but James stood up to the challenge and closed the attacker down to make a good save with his leg. Meds broke the deadlock soon after 10 minutes, Jayson switched the ball to James McGovern who cut inside and shot, the goalkeeper looked to have it covered but the ball crept under him.  However, James Wight was soon called on again, making a good save low to his right. James rolled the ball out to Nathan who ran with the ball to halfway and passed to James Mc. James beat his man then pulled the ball back for Eddie to shoot, but the shot went just wide. The last action of the period saw Eddie shoot from distance, but the speculative effort was easily stopped by the unicorn keeper.
Red Star 1-0 Unicorn Athletic

Period 2

Meds started off better in this period and won possession from the kick off. Sean Flynn, Alex Eccles and Harry Quick linked up well to create a shooting chance for James Wight. Soon after Harry Quick did well down the left cutting inside but his shot was pushed wide by the keeper. The resultant corner was taken by Sean, Unicorn defended well but the ball fell to James W; his first shot was blocked but the rebound was on target but saved by the keeper.   Unicorn looked content to soak up the pressure in this period as Meds missed a host of chances. However, 8 minutes into the period Meds won a corner. Alex and Harry Quick worked a quick one and crossed the ball which was initially defended by the Unicorn defence. The ball fell to Sean Flynn who clipped the ball back into the mixer and Tom Pye nodded home from close range. Soon after, Meds looked certain to increase their lead, Harry Dodgson showed good skill attacking down the left and producing a penetrative pass to James W. James squared the ball to Alex unmarked  5 metres from goal, but he somehow managed to miss kick and the ball went harmlessly wide. Unicorn did show some ambition later on in this period, but Eddie (now in goal) rushed off his line to warn off the danger. Late on in the period Alex intercepted a short back pass, the Unicorn keeper did well to save but the rebound fell to Harry Q who laid James Wight on but his shot hit the side netting.
Red Star 2-0 Unicorn Athletic

Period 3

Meds won the toss and kicked off. Reece Martin now playing in centre midfield had the first effort at goal but the shot rebounded and Unicorn countered. However, Nathan was equal to it and his recovery run got him goal side of the attack and was able to make the tackle and pass back to James W. James launched the ball up field, and this was handled by a Unicorn midfielder. Sean Flynn took the free kick and fired the ball in to Harry Q. His first touch was good and his side foot shot found the corner for 3-0. Soon after, Harry D set up James Mc, his right foot shot was good but straight at the   goalkeeper. The same players linked to create the fourth goal, this time Harry D finishing with a good shot. However, substitutions halfway through this period seemed to unsettle the Meds pattern of play and Unicorn struck back twice in the final minutes. The second Unicorn goal was a great individual run and finish into the far corner.
Red Star 4-2 Unicorn Athletic

Coaches Summary
We remain unbeaten this season, but I feel we will need to step up our efforts to maintain this against some of the stronger sides in our division. The team played within themselves today, but Nathan continued his rich vein of form and Sean had an assist in three of our four goals. Tom is still finding his feet after illness, but I’m sure his goal will build confidence. The two Harry’s both notched today and showed some good skills from wide positions. James Mc played well in midfield and got us on our way with the first goal. Reece, Eddie, Alex and Jay all contributed well to the team’s performance.

The honours this week go to James Wight. James played exceptionally well in goal in the first period, making three really good saves but also distributing the ball well to the full backs. He played up front for period two and showed some good touches, setting up Alex for what should have been a goal and really should have scored himself toward the end of the period.