2023_24 Season – Match Report 13
Date – 30th September 2023
Competition – Staffs County Senior League – Premier Division
Venue – Hillsfield, Rocester
Rocester FC v Foley Meir FC
Kick-off 2:00pm
Result – Rocester FC 0-1 Foley Meir FC
Disappointment as the Romans fail to take a point, despite a valiant effort, in this keenly contested game……
Having won 7 of their 10 games thus far, Foley Meir FC find themselves in third place in the league and are early promotion hopefuls. As a result, Rocester were in no doubt that this fixture was going to be a tough test…
Although the Romans endeavoured to stamp their authority on the game, Foley definitely shaded the initial proceedings as they forced a corner on the left in the 8th minute…
Rocester countered, however, just 4 minutes later and Foley started a good run up the left which ended with them being awarded a free kick, well into Rocester’s half following a late tackle…
Fortunately for Rocester, the free kick came to nothing, however, Foley were soon pressing forward once more and they were awarded yet another free kick – this time on the right and once again, deep into the Rocester half…
Once more, the set piece came to nothing as Rocester countered and pressed forward deep into the visitor’s half where they were awarded a free kick out on the right…
Once again, the set piece came to nothing, however, Rocester now appeared to be ‘finding their feet’ as they quickly regained possession and saw Ollie Davies running up the right before crossing to Jordan Dodd – who saw his shot saved…
Just 2 minutes later and Foley were pressing forward up the right. The move saw their forward find enough space and time to unleash a shot which glanced off the far post to save Rocester’s blushes...
However, just seconds later, and Foley regained possession to play their forward through into a ‘one on one’ situation right in front of Rocester’s goal. Fortunately, Lewis Jackson was more than up to the job as he made not one but two brave saves in quick succession to once again, save the Romans’ blushes…
Rocester were living dangerously, however, they countered, and the next 5 minutes saw the Romans really pressing as they saw 2 great shots saved and a Jordan Dodd ‘header’ just clearing the opposition’s ‘bar…
The following 5 minutes saw yet more pressure from Foley as they managed to force corners on both the right and the left before Rocester got ‘back into their stride’ as Mo Al Amin played Luke Smith through to force yet another good save…
Rocester kept up the pressure as a cross from Scott Bew out on the left found Mo Al Amin in front of a crowded goal and Mo saw his powerful shot deflected out…
Rocester maintained the pressure and just seconds later, Izaak Walsh saw a shot just clearing Foley’s crossbar…
The final 5 minutes of the first half saw more of the same – with both teams contributing to a feisty and entertaining performance…
Half-time Score: RFC 0-0 FMFC
The second half began with Foley applying the initial pressure as they secured a free kick well into the Romans’ half with just 35 seconds on the clock…
Once again, the set piece came to nothing, however, Foley maintained the forward momentum and just 3 minutes later, they forced yet another corner on the right – only to see the ball headed out for a goal kick…
Foley quickly regained possession to see their left winger put in a shot which fortunately went wide of the goal on the right…
Rocester replied with a concerted effort and for the next quarter of an hour, they really ‘took it’ to the opposition…
In the 52nd minute, following a throw-in from the right, Jordan Dodd saw his shot ‘palmed’ out for a corner…
Just 3 minutes later and Doddy was once again in the thick of the action as Rocester continued to force the pace in front of Foley’s goal…
In the 58th minute, with Rocester ‘giving their all’, Luke Smith saw his shot from within Foley’s 18-yard box blocked by one of their central defenders (Sam Di Marco) - who as a result, sustained an injury which prematurely ended his game…
Following the restart after the injury, Rocester continued to press forward and in the 65th minute, a throw-in from the left, deep into Foley’s half, found Mo Al Amin who’s shot was deflected out for a corner, however, the ‘keeper safely collected the resulting corner kick…
Rocester soon regained possession around the halfway line and the ball was played up the left to Scott Bew who played Doddy ‘through’, however, his shot was saved…
Two minutes later, and Rocester were pushing forward yet again as Mo Al Amin saw his shot just clear the ‘bar…
Following the extended period of Rocester pressure, Foley responded with a run of their own up the right. Rocester appeared to have left themselves exposed at the back and Foley took full advantage of the situation as Tom Wakefield’s shot gave Lewis Jackson with no chance of saving…
This was a real ‘hammer-blow’ to the Romans, however, credit where credit’s due, they carried on pressing forward as Charlie Lucy and Lewis McMurdo were brought on to ‘beef up’ the attacking options, and although scoring opportunities were created, it was just one of those days when a single goal was enough to secure all three points…
Full-time Score: RFC 0-1 FMFC
Today saw a ‘hard-working’ performance with no rewards, and clearly, the Guys were bitterly disappointed with the result. However, we were playing a ‘top-three’ team and on reflection, a cigarette paper couldn’t really separate the two teams in terms of performance and ‘goal-scoring’ opportunities created – which shows just how far our young team has come!!!