Hounslow Wolves v Spelthorne Spartans

17th October 2021

Hounslow Wolves 3-1 Spelthorne Spartans

Starting XI: Killian (GK), Rahul, Vik, Dabeer, Rose, Sergio Abdulmajid, Sanjit, Tamin, Bilal, A.Abdula

Subs: Yas, Ranveer, Liam

After a week off due to the opposition pulling out of the league cup, the Wolves progressed to the next stage and looked to do the same this week travelling to Spring West Academy for the divisional cup where they were facing a strong and physical Spelthorne Spartans side. Gaffer Rishi didn’t have the luxury of keeping an unchanged side from two weeks ago due to injury woes to both Anas and Liam, with Abdali missing out due to personal reasons. But with the depth of squad the Wolves have, and the abundance of midfielders, the Wolves didn’t panic. Rishi opted for a three in midfield, giving Sergio his long awaited CDM debut, with Sanjit and Abdulmajid just in front. The back four saw a debut for Dabeer in the first’s, whom partnered with Vik, Rose and Rahul either side. The front three of Bilal, Tamim and Abdula (scoring 18 goals between in the last 3 fixtures) remained the same.

With the warmup completed, and team talk done, Gaffer Ghataore instilled in the lads that hard work will get us a result in this game, and the press was very important. With the game underway, the Wolves started off with an electric pace, hunting in packs and intercepting every loose ball. It didn’t take long for the Wolves to open their account. In the 5th minute, with a shot like cross from Bilal from the left, the ball found Tamim free on edge of the 6 yard box, whom headed it back where it came from to find the bottom left corner. A great start and exactly what the Wolves deserved. After this goal, the Wolves swarmed all over the Spartans, whom tried to play the ball around but couldn’t find themselves stringing 3 passes together due to the sheer pressure from the midfield trio and the defence taking no prisoners. With the Wolves growing in confidence, a free kick was awarded 30 yards out in the 25th minute, which was whipped in wickedly by Tamim and Abdula leaped up at the front post with a free header to head home for 2-0. A terrific finish, and both teams knew that it was coming. With a slight injury to Abdulmajid, Liam came on to bolster the midfield further, and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact on the game. Once again the ball was won in the midfield, which was recycled wide to Abdula, whom calm and collectively cut in and smashed home, beating the keeper at the near post. 3-0. The wolves continued to set pace and could smell blood. With the half time whistle imminent, the Wolves pressed harder, and should have gone in with 4 or 5.

With a fantastic first half, the Wolves knew the only way they were going to lose this game was complacency, which was reiterated by the Gaffa. No changes were made to the side. The second half was underway which the Spartans started off brightly, testing super keeper Kilian. With no clear-cut chances, Kilian made no mistake and swallowed up all long shots and balls over the top. With the first ten minutes weathered by the defence, where Dabeer and Vik really gave the opposition strikers a tough day. The Wolves started exploiting the gaps, where Tamim and Abdula really started causing havoc for the Spartan full backs. The Wolves really started applying pressure, but hat’s off to the Spartans keeper who denied the Wolves throughout the half, making some jaw dropping reaction saves that kept the Spartans from conceding six or seven. With fifteen minutes to go, the Wolves really looked to dominate the remainder of the game, knocking the ball around and not panicking. The defensive line showed great confidence at the back, with Rahul and Rose showing their footballing IQ by closing every gap. With the waves of players coming forward for the Spartans, they kept knocking and finally got their reward with a ball over the top, which was bundled in by the Spartans striker. 3-1. With a little bit of panic for the final couple of minutes, the Wolves managed to hold out and showed great heart and desire to see the game out, and progress to the next round of the divisional cup, where 2 more wins would see the Wolves pick up there first piece of silverware.

All in all a great performance from the Wolves. From the start to finish, the oranges looked sharp, and if it wasn’t for the Spartans keeper, the score could have been a riot. Fair play to the Spartans, who didn’t make it easy for the lads, but on the day the Wolves proved too strong. Next week sees the 1st team have a well needed break, and then will return for more league action on Halloween.

Goal scorers: Tamim, A.Abdula (2)

MOTM: Sanjit