Monarchs secure 4th straight win

The Monarchs picked up where they left of before Christmas with a convincing win over Leighton Buzzard. Although the team were understandably a little rusty in the first game since mid-December, it did not take long for the first goal to arrive. After some good work on the right-hand side of the D, the ball was fired towards Rod who applied a deft touch into the far corner to put the Monarchs into the lead. This lead was soon doubled when Colin's clever reverse stick flick caught the inside of the post and fell kindly to Viren to tap in from close range. The team kept the opposition at bay with solid defensive play from Gavin, Randy and Nick who were distributing the ball well to the midfield to start the attacks. The team lost a little discipline in terms of a quicker final ball and despite numerous fast flowing attacks, there wasn't a further goal until late in the half when a well worked short corner was slotted in excellently by JC, receiving the ball back having injected to the top of the D and firing to the keeper's right. The second half brought about more fluidity in the passing which led to a quick turn over from defence to midfield, with Clint finding Viren who slotted in the 4th from the top of the D. Tim added a 5th with a customary cool finish and the team were unlucky not to pick up further goals from short corners, but for some good saves from the keeper from Ash's shots. After another great attack whereby the forwards were queuing up to score, the ball was stopped on the line by a defender's foot for penalty flick which Viren dispatched. The rest of the half was dominated by some great attacking play with Rob and Richard both working well on the right hand side, and Gavin supporting the attacks on the left having moved up from defence, with Paul taking his place and marshalling from a centre back role. It wasn't long before Tim picked up his hat trick with some superb shots and if it was not for the excellent performance of the young Leighton Buzzard goal keeper, the score could easily have been much higher. As much as the match was dominated by the Monarchs, Leighton Buzzard did also have their chances and Sean was called upon to make some very important saves to ensure the team kept a clean sheet. Great win to kick off the second half of the season.

Match Report: Viren Walia
Man of the Match: Rod Gauld