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The
Hamsters returned from an 18 month hiatus in
typical fashion, with stunning victory over arch
rivals the Diamonds and a sun drenched Hamsters
Cage. The 11-1 victory was not as
straightforward as the scoreline would lead you
to believe though, as the visitors controlled
the first 15 minutes and had they have been at
full strength it would not have been such a
compelling return to action for McCarthy's men.
It
was a back-to-basics look for the Hamsters, as
they stuck with the more traditional pool of
players for this encounter. With only Kieran
Elliott, who is on international duty in
America, missing, it was a straightforward
selection for Scott McCarthy. He himself began
in goal, with Bert Lloyd and Dougie Lane, making
his first appearance since successful knee
surgery last summer, at the back. Club captain
Robert Jones filled his familiar defensive
midfield role alongside Ian Simpson, while Peter
Chapman began in an advanced midfield role
behind Dan Collin.
If
the Hamsters line up was relatively straight
forward, then for the Diamonds it was a polar
opposite. With manager Oli Wright missing, the
normal deadly attacker Tom Binstead began in
goal, with Joe Sturgess and brother Sam
returning for the visitors. Tom Still and Mark
Potter partnered each other at the back, while
Thom Brown, himself also returning from injury,
dictated play through the middle.
McCarthy
was keen to point out to his troops that this
was a very different Diamonds side to the one
his team last faced in December 2007, and they
came into the match with back-to-back victories
in their Sunday night league. The warning ran
true with just five minutes on the clock - a
shot from distance from Joe Sturgess was spilled
by McCarthy, and as the keeper went to gather
the ball the second time, Lane inexplicibly took
the ball out of his hands, before his attempted
clearance fell straight to the feet of Sam
Sturgess, who drilled the visitors into the lead
The
Hamsters lack of match practice was telling, as
the Diamonds continued to dominate. Had they
have been able to play Tom Binstead in attack
from the start, it may have been a different
story, but desperate defending ensured that the
yellows remained in contention. Following his
knee surgery, Lane was invigorated, and it was a
typically powerful run that should have seen the
home side get back into it, but he saw his shot
from distance fly just wide of Binsteads goal.
The
Hamsters were all over the place at the back,
and they failed to deal with another cross into
the box, this time from Brown as the ball evaded
everyone except the outstretched arm of McCarthy
who just managed to push it around the post. Sam
Sturgess then found himself one-on-one with
McCarthy, but saw his shot fly straight into the
outstretched arm of the Hamsters number one,
before Lloyd went close with an effort that
Binstead did well to push around his post.
The
Hamsters finally got back into the game when
Simpson, who had been pushed forward into an
unfamilliar midfield role, fed Collin, and the
all time top goalscorer at the Cage made no
mistake, cooly slipping the ball past Binstead.
With the yellows feeling a swing in momentum,
Dougie Lane went charging forward once again,
and this time a stunning rifled effort from
distance flew into the top corner of the net to
send the Non-Clock End into raptures. Lane
almost added his second, when he brilliantly
bought a high ball under control with his chest,
his chest, and then his knee, before releasing a
rapid volley that Binstead was relieved to see
blocked by Potter. Clever link up play between
Jones and Collin then saw the Rhonda Ripper
presented with an open goal, and the captain
duly stuck the ball home to put the Hamsters 3-1
up.
The
Diamonds showed they were far from finished
though, as clever work from Brown played in
Still, and he shot just wide. From the resulting
goal kick, Lane played a sublime ball the length
of the pitch, from which Lloyd duly volleyed in
a fourth for the home side. The favour was then
returned, as Lloyd played in Lane who had gone
charging forward on the right, only to see his
shot well stopped by Binstead. Unfortunately for
the stand in keeper, Collin was on the goal line
to ensure that the rebound was tucked in to give
the Hamsters a 5-1 half time advantage.
The
second half began with an injury to Jones, as
the River Taff Terrorist flew into a challenge
and ended up only succeeding in taking out his
team mate Collin. Potter saw his effort
smothered by McCarthy after a trademark jinxing foray
forward. Chapman should have opened his account
for the season twice in quick succession,
firstly with a ghastly miss following good work
from Collin, and then with an audacious lob from
just inside the oppositions half that fell
agonisingly wide of the post. Collin did
eventually make it six after being played in by
Lane, and a slide rule pass from Lloyd allowed
the Swansea sex pest the opportunity to net his
second of the game past the advancing goalkeeper
Brown.
Collin
gave the Hamsters a 7-1 lead on the counter
account after a corner was well claimed by
McCarthy, who in turn used his sizeable throwing
out ability to put the forward in, before the
keeper himself earnt his wage - firstly pushing
away a goal bound effort from Joe Sturgess, then
diving full length to tip an awkwardly bouncing
shot from Sam Sturgess around the post. He saved
the best until last though, as Joe Sturgess
effort from the edge of the box looked destined
for the top corner the player manager somehow
managed to palm it around the post.
Collin
then set up Lane for his second, before late
goals from Lloyd and Simpson sealed an emphatic
11-1 victory and a fine return to the game for
the Hamsters
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