Away day to forget for Blues

A dank cold dreary evening at Wimborne with a very wet heavy pitch and a slope few of the Met players will have encountered previously in their playing careers. The evening did not start well with the news that goalie Bertie Schotterl was unable to play due to a knee injury and that Max Blackmore might not arrive in time due to a work commitment. So with stand-in keeper, Luke O’Reilly and an unusual 4-5-1 formation Met set about tackling in form Wimborne, unbeaten in 10 and with one of the best home records in the League.

The home side started well with an early threat to the Met goal but Met weathered the storm and gradually the Met forced their way into the game and played the better football. On 20 minutes Met saw a goal chalked offside when the ball was poked home following a parry by the home keeper. Two minutes later Jack Mazzone saw the home keeper make an unbelievable save from a close-range header. Wimborne’s threats were limited to their quick forwards chasing long balls. A good half from the Met. So the teams went in 0-0 at half time.

The second half started with a Met changed system to 4-4-2 and the introduction of Max Blackmore but within a minute, as in many games this season, the Met were punished as a doubtful offside decision went against them allowing Holmes to run on and finish with an angled drive. The lead became a massive spur for the home side who now had much more room in midfield and on 53 minutes it was 2-0 as Met defence failed to clear a ball on their left allowing Burridge to finish from close range.

Further substitutions saw the Met change formation again to 3-4-3. The outcome of the game turned on the 65th minute as Jack Mazzone turned on the edge of the area only to see his left foot drive slide the wrong side of the post with the goalie nowhere. This was not going to be Met’s night. The home side were by now in control and it was no surprise when on 89 minutes Holmes broke free to finish in similar style to his first goal.

Plenty of effort from Met but their second-half performance was possibly their least effective of the season.