Soche's sheets remain clean after Great Dane denial
Fresh from a two-week break that enabled all traces of the damage inflicted by Jean-Marc to disappear, the Soche set about their aim to be at the top of the tree going into Christmas by beating AFC Kingston.
The Soche were boosted by the appearance of skipper and motivator extrordinaire, JD, on the sidelines who took control of the side as TK continued to struggle with the weight and expectancy of the armband. His first decision was to keep Oscar away from the sweeper role due to his inability to 'clean up' at Dogstar the night before.
JD's side, more the 'untouchables' than the 'unbeatables', started the game much the better side as, aided by a howling gale, kept Kingston pegged inside their own half for much of the first half without creating many clear opportunities. After a defensive mix up following a throw in on the edge of the Kingston area, TK, possessing no left foot, slalomed around the defence until the ball was comfortably on his right peg before smashing it low past the keeper for that familiar scoreline of 1-0 to the soche. The Soche continued to dominate with the best chance of doubling the lead falling to Tom Leach but the ball wouldn't fall kindly for him and his left foot piledriver fizzed over the bar.
The second half was more difficult to dominate playing into the wind and Kingston edged close without troubling Powelly's goal due to the rock solid Carl Viberg who produced a number of well-timed tackles and blocks in a Man of the Match performance. The big Swede wasn't to be the only impenetrable Scandinavian the Soche would encounter on Saturday.
The game didn't end without incident as Jack Bingham, who shook off a last minute muscle injury sustained from running away from a scrap, mistimed a challenge inside the box that sent the Kingston winger flying through the air. If Bingham could make as good contact with the ball as he could winger's shins he would be some player. The only person in Surbiton not to see, or hear, this assault was the man with the whistle who thankfully waved play on.
The Soche maintained their composure after a brief wobble to finish the game the better side as Daniel Fletcher wasted two good chances to end the midfield's season long goal drought. Another goal would've calmed the nerves but the Soche came away with three more points and a fifth clean sheet to go second in the league.
