Hurricane Sam graced us by placating for a short while to allow CRHC Men’s 2s to churn up their own storm on the pitch, at the new blue Theatre of Dreams; the home crowd treated to a histrionic spectacle.
In what was a low-key opening act compared to the second half, Robbies went about their business with a consistent level of poise and calmness which resulted in most of the possession and forward play. The press was authoritative throughout causing many turnovers in favour of the men in blue, who looked threatening and exciting during the first 20 minutes. Keen to capitalise on the momentum, secure link up play resulted in a foul in Leominster’s D, and a perfectly executed short corner routine concluded with Judge nonchalantly deflecting the ball up and over the keeper to ruffle the net, 1-0.
All seemed on track for a routine Robbies performance but Leominster came back and scored a somewhat scrappy but fully deserved goal after applying more pressure, making it honours even at the mid-way interval.
Disappointed to be drawing, the words of coach and captain clearly inspired players who immediately increased the intent and pace of play. A good tackle in midfield and fast forward thinking led to Gilbert in space on the left, who crossed the ball for Rowe to dive forward and deflect the ball through the keeper’s legs. Rowe was not finished there as he scored a further 3 goals in nineteen minutes capitalising on continued attacking team pressure – including a reverse strike and a slotted reverse shot past the outcoming keeper.
Robbies were now 5-1 up and had marshalled the game away from Leominister, with excellent and sometimes visually poetic playmaking, the only faux pas being a green card for Tanna. This was quickly overlooked when club stalwart and fan favourite, Springett, sprang up to conclude the final act in magnificent fashion by slotting home a deflection to spark exuberant celebrations from the home fans, as the curtain closed on a scintillating Robbies win.
All in all, a close to perfect day out for the Blue Army and a benchmark set at the new fortress.
Jake Rowe
