The red and black stripes returned to the pitch as Allen Hall kicked off against St Bedes Priests, in the afternoon of November 16th.
In a highly offensive match that ended in Allen Hall’s 8-1 victory, all eyes were on the seminary side’s performance to see how the new squad would shape up.
Rather than testing the waters, Allen Hall dived straight in with an aggressive 2-3-1 formation which saw wingers Makir Ahmed (C) & debutant Mario Majstorovic pulse through St Bedes’ defence on multiple occasions.
It didn’t take long for striker Brenden Alvares to open the scoring when 10 minutes in, Majstorovic beat his man and laid the ball off to the surrounded striker who met his team-mates pass with a touch cooler than the autumn chill, & nutmegging the keeper, it was 1-0 Allen Hall.
With the clock ticking, Allen Hall found an opportunity to bring on debutants Ezeani, Dido, and Josemaria to balance the numbers.
The shift to a new 4-4-1 formation saw a brief opening at the back for Fr Marcus Holden to slip past the defence & equalise just outside the reach of debuting keeper, Nathan King.
As the half was approaching its close, Allen Hall drove forward with purpose and was aptly met by the opposing goalie, whose incredible reflexive saves kept the seminary side from converting. All the while, Shot Stopper King showed that Allen Hall’s goal remained in safe hands with mighty saves.
Allen Hall’s backline was tested in the half’s latter minutes as defenders Pimblett and Ezeani stepped up with tackles & clearances that set the team off on the counterattack.
The dynamic shift of Ramo into the midfield & Majstorovic into the centre of the park saw powerful chance creation, with Dido & Josemaria firing shots on target.
The pressure was ready to boil over when Alvares squandered a chance to break the stalemate following Emmanuele’s arching lob from out wide.
The half-time interval saw Makir Ahmed don the missing captain’s armband and finalise Allen Hall’s tactics.
It took seconds for the captain to lead by example with a goal that put the seminarians 2-1 up. With the team’s morale boosted, the defensive pressure of the backline, and Ramo & Majstorovic asserting dominance in midfield. A flurry of goals and assists ensuuued.
Josemaria set up Majstorovic nicely for a far post finish and came close himself with a towering header that fell just wide. Majstorovic all the while demonstrated play-making genius as the midfielders lit up the attack time and time again.
Dido fired through the defender’s block before adding another from distance. The tireless wingers continued to work together and like the calm before the storm, Ramo drove past the opposition to add one to his name.
Ahmed converted twice more to complete a Captains’ hat trick which saw Alvares’ aerial backheel assist fall perfectly into place for his volley to ripple the back of the net.
St Bedes continued to attack until the final whistle with Fr Holden as the focal point of attack, forcing stops from King and testing Allen Hall’s defenders who responded with tight marking and connecting passes to the forwards.
The final quarter saw Ezeani come off for Hartley who bolstered the defence with key interceptions as the game was brought to a close.
With the final whistle, the teams gathered in good spirits as Allen Hall added one more victory to the record.
The seminarians set their eyes on the upcoming Cardinal Cup against Newman House, where they’ll be looking to recreate the team play from an altogether convincing win.
Allen Hall Squad: King (RSA), Ramo (ESP), Pimblett (UK), Ezeani (NGA), Emmanuele (ITA), Ahmed (UK), Majstorovic (CRO), Dieudonne/’Dido’ (CGO), Alvares (UK). Subs: Kitonekyamwoyo/’Josemaria’ (UK), Hartley (UK).
Goals: Ahmed 3, Dido 2, Majstorovic 1, Ramo 1, Alvares 1
MOTM: Mario Majstorovic – The maestro was at the heart of all Allen Hall’s attacks.
