A clean sheet is exactly what Manager Andy Foster wanted to start this season’s campaign. Alleyns thought that they just about deserved a point and, maybe, they have a point (well, they don’t ‘cos they lost 1 – 0) but it was a closely fought game and both sides hit the woodwork late on.

The majority of the action was in midfield and it wasn’t pretty to watch as the visitors committed enough niggly fouls to sink a battleship. Play was constantly interrupted by the referee’s whistle – a goal never really looked a possibility as the ball hardly ever reached either penalty area in the first half hour. A goalless draw looked a big possibility.
Alleyns came nearest to breaking the deadlock when Leo Webster, making his league debut, tipped a long range shot around the post. This was the only direct shot that Leo was required to make and it was one shot more than the visitors keeper had to save in the whole 90 minutes.

I turned round just in time to see Matt Waite open the scoring for the Vets on the outside pitch when a huge roar went up from the crowd. I turned round to see if we had scored but the cheer was for the arrival of the Pukka Pie delivery van. Now it was really exciting.

Normally we make plenty of chances but we never looked like scoring until the 29th minute when Sam Murray broke the deadlock.

This was a bit of a strange goal because it came from an unthreatening situation. Muzza beat a couple of players on the edge of the area but there was no clear pathway to goal. His chipped shot looked a bit hopeful – it looped up towards the top left hand corner of the goal and there only appeared to be two possible outcomes..an easy catch for the keeper or a minor disturbance of the hawthorn bushes behind the Silver Lane goal. Neither occurred – the ball beat the keeper’s outstretched arms and dipped below the crossbar and the deadlock was broken. I’ve no doubt that Muzza applied backspin to his shot and he’s back on the Trail of the Golden Boot.

For me, Alleyns were the better side in the first half hour without being dangerous but the Bluebloods settled down after they scored with Ollie Clarke orchestrating the midfield action and we went in at half time one up.

The Wickham back four had already put the shutters up – Doyle, Freeman, Williams and Askew (sounds like a shoe shop in Maidstone) were impossibly impassable although Alleyns did put a long range shot against the outside of Webster’s left hand post. Ollie Clarke was patrolling the area in front of them and the visitors ran out of the few attacking ideas that they started with.

The introduction of McGeary, Boyes and Byrne livened our under par attack up. A sharp cross field pass from Macca reached Boyes on the left flank—his first time effort 25 yard beat the onrushing keeper but hit the post – then Byrne’s header from a right wing corner was deflected for a corner on the other side (that’s the left hand corner in case you’ve fallen asleep by now).

It ended at 1 – 0 in a typically tight game between two sides who will be hard to beat this term -- they are young but don’t lack experience and they will both soon find their goal scoring form.

Man of the Match was sure to be a defender – and I couldn’t separate Jack Doyle from Adam Freeman nor Mark Williams from Jamie Askew and Ollie Clarke hardly put a foot wrong. The Manager gave the gong to Ollie but I gave it to the 5 man unit as not many teams keep Alleyns goalless and these five never gave them a sniff.

Both the Waites were on target for the Vets against The Village People and Matt and John were joined by Geoff Airey, Neil Owlett, Lee Jones and Andy Newton. They won 6 – 1 and I’ve no doubt that keeper Mark Owlett (signed recently from St Kilda Islanders) was MOM – because when he played for the First team he claimed the award after every game.

The Reserves, with a mixed squad, went down 5 – 2 to Old Blues first team with Joe Kemp scoring both our goals whilst the Fives beat Brent FC 3 – 1 with goals from Joe Ivory, Luke Skelly and Josh Travers.

Next week the First team travel to Actonians Association – a game that I will miss but I will do a Match Report as usual. I don’t really need the facts --they sometimes get in the way of the story and this Week’s Big Story was the arrival of the Pukka Pies at Tracey’s “Blueblood Kitchen”.