Match Report
Having waited for patiently for the Hon Sec to finish his 3 course lunch, accompanying beverages and arrive with their kit, 7 new Ramblers Tim Hurst, Ben Travis, Noah Lawrenson, Max Hall, Lou Baylis, Ted Hopkins & Barney Hopkins donned the famous colours for the first time. With Hurst Snr, Travis Snr, Baylis Snr and Hopkins Snr also taking to the pitch, there was good family representation for this inaugural game for the new 4th Team / Development Squad. The final places were taken up by another 16 year old Sonny Wills, Justin Madders and Chris Hulme, making the combined age of 8 of the players 126 (that’s 2 Murph’s in old money) and age of the remaining 6, around 245 years (just over 4 Murph’s).
A spirited start by Shrewsbury saw them take an early lead, as player manager Jerry Hopkins was somewhat over-polite in trying to clear the ball. Parity was restored through youth with a great finish by Ben Travis into the bottom left corner following some fantastic team work. Great saves by Lou Baylis and some solid defending from Tim Hurst, Barney Hopkins and Dave Travis got us through to halftime at parity and Charlie Hurst rolling back history for a 10 minute cameo.
The second half was dominated by the Ramblers with Shrewsbury having no shots on goal and the Ramblers having around 20…unfortunately all either over bar or directly at the keeper. Robust work by Max Hall, Ted Hopkins, Lou Baylis, Rob Baylis, Chris Hulme and Justin Madders, great skills from Ben Travis, Noah Lawrenson and Sonny Wills, reassured keeping from Barney Hopkins and a dominating defensive performance from Dave “The Rock” Travis, meant that the Ramblers were rarely troubled.
Finished 1-1, but great start lads.