24.01.15: With Mid Somerset sitting toward the bottom of the table one might be forgiven for thinking this would be a routine outing for the high flying Mendip. However, it was anything but and they were made to work extremely hard for their victory.
Things started well enough and Mendip had the better of the early exchanges with the midfield quartet taking control and breaking forward at every opportunity. They moved the ball well with slick passing and the front two were lively and probed for an opening but the host’s defensive unit was well drilled and remained unbreached, soaking up the pressure and hitting Mendip on the counter attack.
The game flowed from end to end with both sides enjoying a fair share of possession but goal scoring opportunities were limited as the two sets of defences had the upper hand.
It took a short corner to break the deadlock with a piece of magic from Steve Smith as the first shot was well saved only to be parried out to Steve who pirouetted onto his reverse stick and coolly flicked high into the net.
That ignited Mendip who finished the half in the ascendency and but for a superb save onto the crossbar from another Steve shot, the visitors would have gone into half time with more than their narrow one goal lead.
The second half was a very different proposition as the hosts came out strong and immediately put Mendip onto the back foot so their defence became stretched and gaps started to appear.
Put under pressure, Mendip’s play became a little fragmented and the hosts started to have more success going forward as they repeatedly overturned possession and midway through the half Mendip were punished when a forward lost his marker in the D, and one-on-one with the keeper, calmly converted to level the scores.
A short time later things went from bad to worse as Mid Somerset went ahead from a short corner when Mendip were unable to clear their lines and a mishit shot wrong footed Leigh Taylor in goal and the awkwardly bouncing ball found its way across the line.
Feeling a little shell shocked Mendip went about trying to force their way back into the game and the free running midfield took up the reins, taking it in turns to take on the opposition with their solo skills but all too often the well-disciplined home defence was able to break down the play and despite all their calculated approach work Mendip were not able to unlock the door in the all-important final third.
Rich Briscoe and Josh Sutton started to become more and more prominent and they pulled the strings as Mendip continued to attack so that the hosts were penned back in their own half. Chances inevitably came the visitors’ way but as the shots whistled narrowly wide it was looking like it was not going to be Mendip’s day. However, with time running out, Mendip finally reaped their reward as Liam Young and Will Lawton combined down the right and when the ball was crossed into the D, Steve was well placed to manufacture enough space to fire home for the equalizer.
In the dying minutes Mendip had to withstand one final onslaught from the hosts and as frustration spilled over they were reduced to 10 men for an inexcusable act of dissent and with that perhaps their chance had gone and yet, not to be denied and with a last rally Mendip went down the other end and were awarded a short corner which afforded them a chance for redemption.
Now sometimes sheer power is a better option than finesse and cometh the hour, Tim West stepped up to drive a venomous shot into the back board and with that throw of the dice the game was won.
This was not a vintage performance but Mendip did play well enough throughout the match and all said and done……..a win is a win.
The Team was: Leigh Taylor, Andy Flint, Giles Denning, Tim West, James Lovell, Rich Briscoe, Andy Wood, Josh Sutton, Will Lawton, Liam Young and Steve Smith.
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