Walcountian Blues at home, Prem - 4 Mar 2006
The Blues arrived with only 9 players, and though Purley let them off the offside (i.e. 3 players in defence and 2 in attack as opposed to the usual 4 and 3) it was always going to be an uphill struggle for them. However they started brightly, taking first a 1-0 and then 2-1 lead. It has to be said Purley didn't help themselves by over pressuring the ball no matter whether their defence had set up or not, which allowed the Blues attack a good shot after a single dodge.
However after Purley settled down it was all one way traffic, as Purley took the quarter 4-2, and were up at the half 9-3. The Blues battled hard thoughout the game, but couldn't stop the Purley goal spree – final score 18-3.
For Purley Dave Arnot filled his boots with 11 (yes that's eleven) goals – obviously the lack of any goal hungry Canucks agreed with him (Jamie is out with a knee injury, and Nige was in Amsterdam). Also, though the stats don't show it, Darren Novell had an excellent game in attack – it's a shame our Stato doesn't record assists because Darren must have had 7 or 8.
Goals: Dave Arnot 11, Graeme Holland 4, Chris Spence 1, Jesse O'Hanley 1, Matt Payne 1
Photos by Steve Cluney.