Good Work Undone by Defensive Errors

Aylesbury 3 Jets 2

Spartan South Midlands Premier Cup
6th October 2009

School Boy errors were to blame in the end for Jets exiting the Premier Division Cup at league leaders Aylesbury on Tuesday night.

On a night when kick-off was delayed by forty minutes due to Jets late arrival because of a motorway accident, at the end Jets must have wondered if it was worth it, as so much good work was undone by such awful basic errors.

Jets took the lead in a style made for a higher level, when, after suffering the loss of top marksman Luke Beardsworth with an injury, Chris Ingham smashed home an unstoppable shot from a clear 50 yards.

Jets played a defensive mind to the game, and while Aylesbury were always a threat no real clear cut chance was built, in a defence led by the ever improving ex ball boy Steve Brown. HT 1-0 Jets.

Jets were to be a danger on the break, and Wayne Gladdy early in the second half should have had a penalty when he was pulled down off the ball as he homed in on a cutting ball from Tom Inch.

But then, in three minutes of complete madness, Jets threw away the lead and the match. First the normally reliable Lee Grace committed the sin of pondering and turning in the danger area, was caught and Maynard tucked into the net for 1-1.

Just two minutes later ‘keeper Joe Marsh decided to prove anything you can do, I will do better when a Chris Harding back pass in a unnecessary tight position, was controlled and Marsh decided to take on the two advancing forwards with madness that resulted in the only outcome, dispossessed of the ball and Maynard tucking home number two.

Nobody could believe Jets had done such self harm to themselves. Jets went up a gear when Andrew Lomas went on and looked to salvage something, and they thought they had when Andrew Lomas finished a good run with a blistering shot high into the net with just four minutes to play.

But defensively Jets are a mess at the moment and a minute later from a corner Marc Ayres failed to mark his man who happily headed home the winner.

Jets are getting better and a close defeat at Aylesbury is no shame in itself, but they have to stop self harm and football suicide if they are turn performances into results on a regular basis.