Year 10 vs Rainham Mark

The Year 10s travelled to Rainham Mark for their second game of the season, looking to build on their draw with Brompton 2 weeks ago.

Strood started the game strongly and Francois and Cinar both went close in the first quarter of an hour. Rainham launched the odd counter attack, but Pratt, Burgess, O’Keeffe and Chapman were dominant at the back and Strood were in control, playing some good if sometimes frantic football.

For much of the second half, Strood were in danger of repeating their mistake against Brompton, as they failed to make the most of their possession with a goal, failing to capitalise on some good balls into the box and well made through balls. Cinar and Isaacs were looking dangerous from wide positions, and Neal and Francois were getting in behind the Rainham defence, but a goal was not forthcoming. Then, with half-time approaching, Francois picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area and curled a looping shot past the despairing Rainham keeper to give Strood a deserved lead. The message at half time was more of the same, with a little more composure on the ball.

The start of the second half saw Strood withstand some pressure, managing to keep Rainham at arm’s length, with no shots of note made on Morgan’s goal. Ten minutes into the half, an impressive counter attack finished with Francois burying his second of the game into the left corner. Smith and Surry completely dominated the midfield from this point onwards, with Strood bringing on the fresh legs of Parmnter, Lemoshe, Carter and Staples-Devine. Strood began to play the ball more freely in midfield, and some neat interplay saw Lemoshe released to finish neatly for the third goal in the last 5 minutes.

This was another fantastic team performance and if Strood can play with a little more composure, they will push for top spot in the Medway League this year.