Having made several acquisitions before the transfer window slammed shut, the Eagles were looking to give their new players a run out and see if the promise shown in training would come to fruition on the pitch! With some regulars missing it meant a start for 5 new players and a new look Eagles front line desperate to get off to a flyer.

With no deadline beating deal for a new keeper happening, it was back to basics with Ben starting in goal. With an aggressive 3-5-2 formation selected the line up was:

Ben in goal, Jarrod, Nick and Gareth as centre backs. Masa and Ryan out wide on the flanks, with Luke, Shaun and Matt making up the central three. Mark and Pete looked to make the dream team pairing up front. On the subs bench, waiting for the chance to strut their stuff, were Tom, Adam, Enda and Matt Neil

The Eagles kicked off and within the opening minutes there intent was clear. The ball was played from the back, to the midfield and on to the forwards. The passes were firm and accurate and played in to feet and the Eagles instantly looked to carve there way through their opposition.

Several chances were fired in within the opening few minutes before the first goal came. A lovely slotted ball to Mark saw him left with a one on one with the keeper and a coolly side footed shot saw the Eagles take the early lead.

Goals two and three followed soon after with Luke burying a right foot shot from the edge of the box for goal number 2 and Mark getting his second on the night, but I can’t remember how!

At 3-0 up the Eagles eased of the gas a little and allowed the opposition to advance on their back four. The two or three times they got forward the defence coped admirably and the first half saw only one pulled shot across the face of goal from the AYA.

The confidence throughout the team was evident, with the ball being passed across the back four with ease and with the midfield happy to lay the ball back to the defence if under pressure.

With 10-15 minutes to go in the first half the Eagles started to build the pressure again and more shots reigned in on goal. A long through from Adam into the penalty box, saw Matt time his run perfectly, but having allowed the ball to bounce over the first defender, he didn’t see the second guy coming in and the ball was cleared before a shot could be fired!! The corner flags will be thankful for that!

The fourth was only denied by some suspect handling from the keeper and a lack of a linesman to confirm that Pete had bundled the ball across the line.

A halftime score line of 3-0 didn’t reflect on the Eagles superiority, but there was a feeling in the air that this could be a big score.

The Eagles made four changes for the second half and started off like they were on fire. The passing was excellent, especially considering that they were playing into a strong wind. The defence again did a good job and the goals soon rocketed in. with so many going in I couldn’t possibly remember them all, but the best goal of the second half came from a left wing cross to Mark, which he chested down supremely past the last defender, before smashing his shot into the back of the net. Ben also broke his year long duck with two goals!

At the other end, the only incident of note was a pull by the keeper (by now Matt Neil) on the opposition striker and the awarding of a penalty. A well struck penalty saw a decent attempt by Matt who got his hand to the ball, but this wasn’t enough to keep it out.

Fortunately, the 13 goals at the other end of the pitch really deemed this meaningless!!

The final score of 16-1 saw Mark knock in tally of 8 and Ryan, Gareth and Pete all open the Eagles accounts on their debut!!

 

This bodes extremely well for the forth coming season, although the Eagles are under no illusion that the League games will be anything like that! If a keeper can be added to this impressive squad, then success in the League or a Cup must surely be on the cards!!

 

I’ll even go so far as to say that if the club manages to win a ball in one of the monthly League raffles, for the first time since the very first draw 8 years ago, then it will be an omen that the League Title is ours!!!

 

Come on the EAGLES!!