AFC Waverton Wasps 8 v 1 Castrol Athletic

Chester & District League (5 September 2010)

Waverton Scorers

Matt Sheen   4

Alex Wilkinson   2

Sam Jones   1

Robbie Foster   1

Report

Waverton had a rather strange beginning to the season with both teams having to get back in their cars and travel up the motorway to switch venues with Castol. Once the match got underway though it was soon "business as usual" from last season, and the Wasps ran out comfortable 8-1 winners to get their title defence off to a solid start.

Castrol were "competitive" throughout, probably giving Waverton a taste of what to expect this season as every team attempts to upset the reigning champions. As a result it took 10/15 minutes before the Wasps managed to break down their opponents, but after Alex Wilkinson was felled in the box, Matt Sheen (despite needing a rebound) scored from the resultant penalty to open up his, and the teams, account for the season. Once Alex Wilkinson had added a second, shortly afterwards, it steadily became a more one sided affair, and when Robbie Foster scored from close range just before the break Waverton reached half time with a well deserved 3-0 advantage.

Having established their dominance the Wasps continued to add to their lead at regular intervals in the second half, with Matt Sheen scoring another three, the captain scoring his second and Sam Jones scoring the goal his all round play deserved (winning him the Manager's MoM award). Probably the unluckiest player on the field was Waverton's only debutant this season, Aaron Hassall, who went close with a number of chances (including striking the woodwork twice) during a very assured first performance in yellow.

Probably the only challenge left to Waverton was to make sure they "kept their cool" as the tackles continued to fly in, and it was great to see the boys do so, but without ever shirking from the physical challenge. The back four in particular looked strong all afternoon, with a calm performance from Ollie behind them, and they will have been disappointed to just miss out on a clean sheet after conceding a goal late on as the result of a tactical mix-up in defending a Castrol free kick.

So, after a comfortable victory in the end, the first three points are in the bag following a good, if slightly rusty, team performance. Next up though it's Chester Nomads who are bound to provide a stiffer challenge, but one the Wasps will be confident of overcoming.