It was a case of Ransomes throwing away three points from a winning position at half time for the second successive week as Samuels scored a dramatic 90th minute winner to beat Ransomes 3-2, which leaves the home side still searching for their first win of the season.
The drama felt like a distant prospect at half time as Reece Dobson’s opener had given Ransomes the lead during that first period after Samuels had the better of the opening exchanges. Ransomes wrested the initiative on 11 minutes and that all changed. Neil Calver’s diagonal lofted pass found Dobson and the debutant produced an opener of irresistible sweetness to put the home side ahead.
Ransomes then faced stern resistance from the visitors as they looked to increase their lead but along with their own profligacy, they were unable to add to their tally before the break. Lamon Haynes sent over a teasing low cross from the right and it looked all too straight forward for Luke Andrews but he somehow failed to convert at the back post. Within minutes, an identical incident occured with, this time, Samuels conceding a corner to avert the danger.
On 33 minutes, Brandon Archer then struck the post with a header which rebounded back into the grateful arms of the keeper, and those first half moments were to prove crucial as Samuels levelled soon after the interval in spectacular style. Ransomes were quick to restore their lead. Luke Andrews was adjudged to have been fouled in the penalty area and Reece Dobson crashed his spot high past the helpless visiting keeper – it was certainly the tonic Ransomes needed.
Instead, it was Samuels who brought the intensity, winning the duels, and sparking quick transitions as they began to control the game. A penalty award to the visitors following an awkward handball once again saw them level.
The pressure continued on the home side as Samuels hinted at a winner and Ransomes conceded another penalty on 82 minutes. It was a reckless challenge in the box, and one that was not needed to be made, but an excellent save from Jack Friston kept the scores level. The game remained in the balance.
In the 88th minute, Ransomes had a wonderful opportunity to win the game when the ball fell kindly to substitute Ben Hoggarth. His shot from 12 yards was struck true and and with power but was straight at the keeper who made, what turned out to be, a game winning save because two minutes later, Samuels added a third and took the lead for the first time during the match. This was after Ransomes failed to deal with a situation around a free kick that they failed to deal with, which left them pointless, bitterly disappointed and frustrated – it was an emotional end to the game and took the wind out of Ransomes’ sails.
In theory, with the performance Ransomes produced in the thirty minutes leading up to half time, they should never have got to that point, but then, this is football we are talking about. We’ll talk about it, we’ll reflect, and hopefully, we’ll learn as we continue to build the right platform for these 16 and 17 year olds so that the club is in the place where we want to be. Obviously, we want to win, that is the demand of football, but we can only control what we do and how we do it – Ransomes WLL find a way.