Old Parmiterians Vets returned to the familiar surroundings of Douglas Eyre, keen to get back to winning ways after an underwhelming performance away to Nazeing last time out.
A sunny autumnal Saturday at home saw a good turnout for the home side and benefiting from a decent warm up for a change, Old Parmiterians started promisingly against the visitors Old Buckwellians. The midfield was a fiercely contested area initially with Parms midfield trio of Adam Peters, Jon Mansford and Martin Summers battling hard to ensure the team in blue and white had the lion’s share of possession. The two initial chances fell to Greg Jones, who headed wide, and Mace Johnson, whose slotted finish drifted agonisingly wide.
Thankfully, Johnson was soon able to make amends. The Buckwellian defence failed to adequately deal with an Old Parmiterians long ball from their own defence with an attempted headed clearance playing Johnson through on the keeper and he gratefully accepted this gift to calmly round the keeper and slide the ball into the gaping net.
The half-time score remained 1-0 with the defence, led by Jon Benning, looking assured and largely being able to handle the Buckwellians’ attacking threat.
If the first 45 minutes was solid, the second half was even more impressive.
While the away side were limited to largely hopeful long balls, as long as the game remained at 1-0, they continued to hold ambitions of getting something out of the game. The second goal for the home side was crucial as a result and this came from some neat build up play culminating in Amar Nath-Hazarika playing Peters in, who continued his recent scoring vein to pass the ball into the opposite corner to leave the Buckwellians keeper with no chance of saving it.
This was now Old Parmiterian’s game to lose but rather than sit back and absorb pressure, the home side chose this phase to showcase the kind of football they aspire to play. Some of the link up play between Deo Mahdi, Abdullahi Mohamed, Mahir Gaas, Shawqi Ahmed, Mansford and Peters had the spectators, substitutes bench and indeed the players themselves purring with delight as the home side comfortably shifted the ball up field with a series of one-touch passes leaving the opposition chasing at shadows.
As the clock wound down and the Parms’ defence held firm, Jones, whose pace, persistence and willing running on the right wing had been a real threat throughout, was rewarded for his haranguing of the backline to steal the ball off the dithering centre back and apply the simplest of finishes.
In the end the 3-0 final scoreline was just reward for the quality of the performance that Old Parmiterians put on display. An important clean sheet for new keeper Tomasz Silwa to gain confidence from and three goals demonstrating the potential within the midfield and forward combinations as the season progresses and familiarity among the side improves.
A great Saturday with solid performances across the entire squad. Here’s hoping for more of the same next week away to Social Club Birchanger.