DKOS’ Sam Kimberley Cup campaign got off to the perfect
start as they saw off Burntwood Bluecoats at Rectory Park on Sunday. The Greens
carried on their recent good form, with this win making it three on the bounce,
with thirteen goals scored and one conceded in that time.
The confidence gained from the last few games was evident as DKOS started the game in a controlled fashion, putting constant pressure
on the Burntwood back line. The breakthrough came midway through the first
half. Dines’ corner was floated to the back post, where an eager Jamie Gregory
was on hand to nod the ball into the back of the net.
The lead was doubled almost instantly. After some sparkling passing
in the build-up, Hawkins exchanged passes with Dines, which resulted in the
former smashing the ball into the bottom corner from a tight angle.
While Burntwood quickly descended into arguing amongst
themselves, DKOS started to take the game by the scruff of the neck. The home
sides passing game proved yet again to be too much for a team that relied on
long throws for much of their attacking arsenal. A third goal was surely going
to kill the game, and Hawkins was the man to provide it. After a lovely move
down the right- hand side, the ball was pulled back to the edge of the box where
Hawkins cushioned the ball into the bottom corner on his instep. At this point
Burntwood almost broke out into full on civil war, which made DKOS’ lead all
the sweeter.
The second half was professionally navigated by the home
side as they worked hard to preserve a clean sheet – a goal line clearance from
Charlie Madden from a Burntwood corner helped keep it in tact. There was almost
a moment of magic from centre half Alex Diego, who channelled his namesake Maradonna
with an adventurous run. I say Alex Diego, but I should really say Mr Calm and
Collected! As a centre back, you don’t expect fabulous runs from his own box to
the oppositions, but that’s in fact what he did! He took a break from crunching
opponents with slide tackles to go on what can only be described as a sensational
run. He played a swift ball into Dines in the eighteen yard box which he returned,
but unfortunately he was intercepted by a defender who used all his might to
get to the ball before Diego. It was a great run that surely would have been a
goal of the season if Diego had put it away.*
DKOS SHOULD have scored their fourth when Hawkins found
himself through on goal and squared the ball (on a hat trick mind you) for
Roberts who tapped into an empty net. Inexplicably, the linesman flagged for
offside, despite all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and the referee
ruled the goal out. Even Stevie Wonder would’ve called that decision correctly,
but it is what it is. DKOS’ actual fourth goal arrived just before the end of
the game. After gathering the ball from a corner, Omoigui had the vision to
spot Gregory’s run and the ability to place an inch-perfect kick over the last
defender, putting the DKOS skipper through on goal. Gregory made no mistake,
and slotted home his second of the game.
It was another convincing
win for DKOS where their momentum showed no signs of halting. The progression
from the opening game of the season to this point is immeasurable, which makes
it an exciting time to be associated with this club. We go again next Sunday.
*There a rumours that Alex Diego himself wrote this
paragraph, but I would like to dismiss such claims as fake news.
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