On Saturday 5th February the mighty 2’s travelled to Chippenham, hoping for back-to-back wins after their brilliant result against UoB the week before. There were a few regular names missing from the squad, but the lads all arrived in good spirits, having made the short trip from Bristol.
After a strong motivational speech from sully, the 2s took to the field, donning their white ‘Real Madrid’ away strip. However, the similarities between Real Madrid and Clifton Robinson’s 2s, soon faded away as the game commenced.
The first half saw lots of strong attacking play from both sides, with Chippenham the more clinical of the two sides – scoring the only goal of the half after a quick counterattack. In the first half Shil put in another strong performance following on from his impressive form last week. Other notable first half performances from the captain, leading by example and making some top saves, and Pete, who adapted well to his new role in midfield where he showed glimpses of prime Pirlo.
The second half saw more sustained pressure from the 2s. However, this hard work and effort was quickly undone by a quick counter attacking goal. 2-0 to Chippenham. However, despite this setback, the 2s continued to keep their heads up, and some strong attacking play down the right, resulted in a neat D entry pass from Tony, leading to a beautiful deflected goal from Jarvie. 2, 1 Chippenham, game on…. Or so we thought…
2 late goals from Chippenham resulted in only the second loss of the season. For the travelling fans, this was utterly disappointing.
Questions marks now loom over the future of O’Sullivan’s reign given this recent display. There are rumours in the press that he’s lost the dressing room. Indeed, one report stated that a player was even allowed to watch the Chelsea vs Plymouth Argyle match…
Sticking with the Real Madrid analogy, the Galáctico of the day was Durbs for stepping up from the 3s and getting man of the match. A very solid performance! And a special mention to Harry Stephenson who made his debut for the 2s too!
An unfortunate result on the road, but we go again next week!!
Ben Medland
