KJM SPORT REPORT Millbrook AFC 2 Wellington AFC 2
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- Created on Tuesday, 15 March 2022 08:46
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 March 2022 08:48
- Published on Tuesday, 15 March 2022 08:46
- Written by KEVIN MARRIOTT Cornwall football's touchline ace
The next time you are in action, you’re winning 2-0 with four minutes to go on your own, admittedly waterlogged, pitch and somehow manage not to take all three points.
Your opponents, in this case Wellington – how apt on a mudbath of a playing surface – come from nowhere to score two goals, the last with almost the last kick.
Suddenly the rest of your weekend is not as good as you were expecting it to be.
Such is the rollercoaster of a first season in the Western League that Millbrook are enjoying, or enduring, depending on your outlook on life.
Even Macca Brown, an intelligent, deep thinker on football and a fine coach, was flummoxed by this game.
He said: “In our last fixture we were celebrating a last minute equaliser and on Saturday we were on the receiving end of that sucker punch, and it feels slightly different to say the least.
“After the game I was more sympathetic with the players given the farcical conditions both teams had to play in, but as the hours have ticked passed I get more and more frustrated at the outcome.
“And when you consider with five minutes to go and 2-0 up, against a team playing into a horrendous wind that saw them struggle to get out of their penalty box for most of the second half, we somehow haven’t won the game you can understand why.
“It’s pointless trying to analyse the game as a spectacle given the atrocious conditions. 30mph winds and driving rain on an absolute marsh of a pitch meant there was no football played at all so it was hard to say any team deserved to win the game based on football.
“The four goals were the only moments of quality, it was all about managing the conditions, and we got ourselves into a fantastic position, our two best players on the day Ryan Knight and Sean Thompson getting two fabulous goals and there is no excuse for not finishing the job off, simple as that.
“Knighty was superb all game, it was his best performance for as long as I can remember and he will be delighted with his goal and assist.”
Brown felt his players managed the awful conditions brilliantly and said: “Our keeper Chris Wearing didn’t have a shot to save and we had a couple more chances to put the game completely out of reach with good openings for Morcs (Sam Morcom) and Thommo (Sean Thompson) and they proved costly.
“In the last 15 minutes we stopped doing the basic things that we did so well for 75 minutes. That brought Wellington onto us and they punished us.
“The late goal lifted them and again it was a poor response from us with just a few minutes remaining.
“We know better than anyone this season, if your mentality is right you’ll always get another chance unless you run out of time and full credit to Wellington, they moved the ball really well in the last 10 minutes in terrible conditions and their equaliser was a well worked goal.”
Brown admitted that given the conditions, injuries to key players and the lack of action for a fortnight, Millbrook would have been with a point before the game.
He added: “But the manner of the result naturally makes it hard to stomach, just like it did for Shepton Mallet a couple of weeks ago – that’s football!
“It’s another rollercoaster moment for us in a season where we couldn’t buy a win in the first couple of months despite brilliant performances, then an incredible winning run and clean sheet record up to Christmas and since the turn of the new year we seem unable to turn one point into three with a number of draws.
“I just now need to keep reminding myself for the next week that I said we’d enjoy every point this season and I suppose that’s the same even if it means throwing two away at the same time.”
Next ride on the Millbrook rollercoaster is this Saturday against Keynsham Town at Jenkins Park (3pm).
Best not to leave early.
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