Clapton CFC Men’s First Team turned in one of the performances of the season so far, beating high-flying Lymore Gardens FC 3-0 amidst a raucous atmosphere at The Old Spotted Dog Ground.
CCFC began the evening fifth in the table, just in the playoff places on goal difference, but looking up at in-form Lymore Gardens, who had started the season with five wins out of six. Second versus fifth was a tasty matchup on paper and a real early-season test for a CCFC side that’s struggled for consistency.
Lymore Gardens, playing in a grey camouflage kit, saw plenty of the ball in the opening exchanges, provoking a nervous moment for the CCFC support when a corner found Dylan Roberts free at the back post. Unfortunately for Lymore, his effort flew narrowly wide of the upright.
However, Lymore’s early pressure seemingly only served to wake CCFC up. Clapton began to exert control, both in terms of chances and possession. Tami Unuefa, Sam Cook, and Fred Taylor all went close, with Taylor’s backheel-come-rabona after a lovely flowing move the pick of the bunch.
CCFC were pushing, and the pressure would soon tell, but not before Lymore issued a reminder of why they started the evening so high in the table. Roberts again found himself free in the area from a long throw, only to see his half volley flash across Jack Francis’s goal and beyond his left upright.
Then, on 28 minutes. the breakthrough Clapton Community’s dominance deserved arrived. Joel Akuwudike picked up the ball on the left-hand side of the box, drove to the byline, beating his man in the process, before squaring the ball for Taylor to curl into the bottom right corner.
1-0 to CCFC, but Lymore rallied. Alex Coster released striker Roberts with a delightful through ball on the left side of the CCFC box. The Scaffold held its collective breath, but they needn’t have worried. Up popped Francis with one of the best saves anyone will see this season, denying Roberts’ powerful strike with a fingertip stop to tip the ball onto the bar.
Not content with a one-goal lead, Clapton Community continued to press for a second. Taylor’s swerving, dipping effort from 25 yards out had the Lymore keeper beaten, but unfortunately not the bar as it cannoned up and out of play. CCFC didn’t have long to wait; however, Jacob Wintour set off at a gazelle-like pace from just inside the Lymore half, only stopping when he was brought down clumsily in the penalty area.
Up stepped fan-favourite James Briggs to coolly dispatch the resulting penalty into the bottom left, sending CCFC in 2-0 up at the break.
Clapton Community began the second half in the same rich vein of form as they ended the first. Taylor and Briggs, both hungry for more goals, saw fine long-range efforts saved. In truth, Lymore largely had goalkeeper Sidhant Nayar to thank for keeping the score respectable, along with an excellent block from defender Pa Jagne to deny Taylor’s goal-bound effort too.
From there, CCFC executed a clinic on game management, restricting Lymore to hopeful punts upfield and preventing one of the division’s most potent attacks from ever really playing.
Taylor would not be denied his brace forever. As the game meandered to its end, deep into second-half injury time, Enzo Pina found Taylor with a pinpoint through ball. Last season’s top scorer would make no mistake, lashing the ball high into the roof of the net for his second and CCFC’s third.
The result sees CCFC climb to second place in the table, leapfrogging Lymore in the process, and providing real promise for the rest of the season.
CCFC Men’s First Team are next in action on Saturday away at Stansted FC. Meanwhile, our Women’s First Team has a huge match on Sunday at Romford Town in the first qualifying round of the Women’s FA Cup. We hope to see you there.
Rob Stafford
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