RCF went top
of Division two and moved to within a point of the league
title, after
a rousing display to overcome promotion chasing Woodford
Hammers.
With
Micallef, Tilbury and Collins missing, Fantana still had a
strong line
up and after
two previous encounters with Woodford, they knew they had to
be
at there
best.
Woodford were
without Skipper James Clarke, and Dani,
who had
scored a hat trick of penalties in the corresponding
fixture. But
welcomed back
Ben Stocker in the middle. The playing surface was in great
condition for
two sides that like to play good football.
Fantana
got off to a flyer. Maskell picked the ball up in front of
the back
four reversed
the ball into the path of Clarke on the right. He whipped
in
a low ball,
and Spicer
got in front of his man to toe it into the net in the
second
minute.
The game
took time to settle in the next fifteen minutes. Both teams
were working
hard, and
some nice football was being played. A couple of half
chances
went begging
at either end. The racing captain worked 3 or 4 great
openings,
only to
be
wasteful, including two shots
that went for throw-ins!!
Woodford
exerted good pressure, but the RCF defenders dealt
magnificently
with the
arial threat of the opposition while looking to counter, and
on the
half hour
mark, Racing doubled their lead. Again it was the
treacherous
trio, with
Maskell finding Spicer, who turned and played a wonderful
defense
splitting ball to
Clarke. With pace to
spare he carried the ball,
before
lofting the ball eloquently into the far corner.
The half
continued at a good tempo, but no real chances came either
way.
Half Time
Woodford Hammers 0 - 2 RCF
The game
was far from over, as Woodford had been unlucky not to come
back
from similar
defecits in the other encounters, and next goal was going to
be
crucial.
Clarke went
clean through shortly into the half, only to see his shot
saved
well by Nick
Ritchie. Clarke
was released again shortly after
by ???????,
and despite
being hacked at in the box, he stayed on his feet and
slotted it
away for 0 -
3.
On the
hour mark, Gary Foster pulled one back for Woodford. A mix
up up
between Prati
Junior and Bhuwanee left Foster free at the back post, and
he
rifled in a
great low volley from 15 yards.
1 - 3.
This
seemed to get their tails up briefly, but the RCF midfield
were still
dominating
the game and refused to be pegged back. Maskell went on
beat his
man to the
biline and whipped in a low ball. With the goal at his
mercy,
Waife spooned
the the ball over the bar.
Cue - The
Greek Scuffer. Within a minute of coming on, Leiter
released
Pedonomou
with a great weighted pass. One good touch took him into
the
box, and he
whipped the ball into the roof of the net with his second
touch
on the park
for 1 - 4.
The rest
of the game was filled with cameos and fooball that was
pleasing on
the eye. A
Marauding run from Maskell took him from the half way line
into
the box but
he beat one man too many and was tackled at the last
hurdle.
Keiren King
embarrased Leiter with a trick often seen in La Liga on a
Saturday
night.
The icing
on cake came with 5 minutes left, as the blistering
Clarke
completed a
fine hat trick. Released by Bhuwanee he raced through the
inside right
channel, and despite support, drilled an angled drive into
the
corner for
1-5.
Pedonomou
couldn't let the game slip by without missing a one-on-one.
Maskell sold
the kind of dummy not available in your regular Mothercare
store to
whoops of delight from the touchline, and as Gallagher fell
on his
ar5e, Pedros
raced through. After trying to put the keeper on the floor,
he
drilled a low
shot, which was superbly kept out by Ritchie.
With May
and Bakers losing at home to Ladzio, promotion was secured.
Having
only dropped
points in two games this season, only a fool would bet
against
Racing
bagging a point in their last 3 games. And performances
like this
one, have
endured that they
should be crowned worthy
winners.
Full time
Woodford
Hammers 1 (Foster 60) Vs Racing Club Fantana 5 (Spicer 2,
Clarke
30, 50, 85,
Pedonomou, 66
Racing
line up: Dawes, Bhuwanne, Field (Salmon 75), Prati. T,
Prati. R,
Waife,
Clarke, Stimpson, (Sack 52) Maskell, Leiter, Spicer
(Pedonomou 65),
