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Match Report
Saturday 3rd August
Old Parmiterians Reserves | 3 - 1 | East Barnet Old Grammarians |
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Friendly (A) KO 1:00 PM
Referees: Manager: |
Team:
Goals: Man of the Match: |
Assured Performance Shows Progress
Old Parmiterians Reserves continued their pre-season preparations with a stern test at EBOG FC's ground in Barnet. The new faces were starting to become a little more familiar, and an excellent performance in the middle from new boy Nawab Ahmed and established general Atiba Jackson had you thinking they had been playing together for years. A solid base of Joey Bartram in goal, Chris Kane, captaining the side for the day alongside Yassine Yahia at centre back, gave platform to build from the back and a lot more height than recent seasons. From there, Zach Harry and Danny Isichei were superb at full back, and ran riot down both flanks all afternoon. EBOG had actually started the brighter, and attempted to press Old Parms high to disrupt their passing game, but unlike the OPFC 6th XI last week they struggled to win the ball, and only succeeded in tiring themselves rapidly. Once the visitors had established a rhythm EBOG began to drop further and further back, giving the space necessary for Ahmed and Jackson to run the game from the middle. They often found Harry and Isichei galloping into space on the switch, with Yahia also switching the ball out to Harry to good effect. Mike Ramsay had the first chance, sending a left footed effort just wide, before Steven Kennedy-Clarke almost started his Parms career with a goal, but fired over from inside the area. Ramsay, Kennedy-Clarke and Mehdi Krissane combined to good effect in the first half to keep the ball on the edge of the EBOG penalty area before looking for that killer ball or turn that would create the space for the shot. Harry delivered some excellent crosses into the box, both from deep and the byline, that deserved better, with Isichei getting in down the other side to good effect and even letting fly with a shot from a narrow angle that went wide. The tactic of finding the opposite full back continued to open up the hosts, and it was Harry who opened the scoring from one of these, galloping into space down the left before letting fly with a left footed effort into the bottom corner. Despite their dominance, Yahia and Kane allowed one through ball to find it's target and allow the EBOG's striker to have a one-on-one with Bartram, who channeled his inner Peter Schmeichel to save the shot. The second half followed mucht the same format, with both full backs proving a danger. Harry again found space on the left and delivered a cross that Kennedy-Clarke smartly left as he was offside, so that Ramsay could round the keeper and slot into an empty net. The hosts were then offered a route back into the game with a dubious penalty, which they took, while Mo Camara was denied what seemed a certain one at the other end, but the result never seemed in doubt. Substitute Sami Bekir made it 3-1 from another cut back, which ended the game as a contest. Bekir, Camara and Kennedy-Clarke all had chances to extend the lead thereafter, but the reserves will be pleased with how they are shaping up on this evidence.