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PICTURE: Caversham United Football Club made history on Saturday when their brand new Saturday adult league team won on debut in the East Berkshire Football League.
Caversham United manager Stefan Blunden explained that a win is all that you can ask for as The Billy Goats marked club history with a victory on Saturday.
The football club have introduced a brand new Saturday adult men’s team as an addition to their already successful Sunday league sides and Women’s teams.
And the Billy Goats wasted little time in making an instant impact in the East Berkshire Football League when earning a 3-2 win in a Reading derby match against Prospect. (read the full match report here).
“It was very good, we started on top” explained Blunden. “It showed that Prospect have been playing together for a long time as we’ve had only five or six games together. Prospect then got on top and really put us under pressure.
“You can’t ask for much more than a win in a tough game and on a tough pitch, against a team that has played together for a couple of years now.
“We’re starting out and just three months into our adventure, and getting three points at the start to the season is all that you can ask for.”
Caversham started well at Calcot Recreation Ground and had registered their first-ever goal in competitive Saturday adult football when a clever free-kick from Bevan Van Wyk caught out Prospect goalkeeper Oskar Sieg on 28 minutes.
Prospect were awarded a penalty kick and the chance to drew level on the stroke of half-time, referee Max Rex pointing to the spot for a foul by Billy Goats goalkeeper James Waggoner on winger Kacper Sek.
The visitors argued the decision by the match referee was the wrong one but, Prospect player-manager Dawid Jarzebowski drew his side level with a spot kick that went in off the underside of the crossbar.
Caversham were not deterred by their half-time frustrations in the second period and a brace from Ross Blakemore gave them a clear lead before keeper Waggoner was forced off with a head injury.
Full-back Jack Tapscott took over the gloves as stand-in goalkeeper and he was no more than a spectator when Jarzebowski pulled a goal back for Prospect with a free-kick that will be a contender for Goal of the Season.
The Billy Goats held on to secure all three points however, and Blunden wants to ‘win it all’ this season with his newly-formed team.
He stated: “I want to win it all. It doesn’t always go that way in football obviously, but, with the players that we’ve signed in the summer and the players that I know we have signed [and still to play] as well, there should be no reason why we can’t do well in the league and in the cup competitions that we’ve entered.”
Blunden is delighted that the award of what he feels was a controversial penalty did not deter Caversham from marking their debut in E.B.F.L Division One with a win.
He explained: “It was a little bit of a questionable penalty decision going into half time, but we said to our lads that we can either let that affect us or we can go on into the second half and win the game, and that’s exactly what we did.
“Those are the types of decisions that can effect on a game going into the second half. We can either go into the second half with our heads down or with our heads up and use that decision to aid us to get three points, and that’s exactly what the players did.
“I don’t think that anybody really thought it was a penalty. I don’t think their striker thought that it was a penalty either. It was just a big challenge between the striker and the goalkeeper, and the fact the keeper stood up with the ball in his hands just shows that it was not a penalty.
“The referee gave the penalty and there’s not much we can do once the referee has given the decisions, but it was on us to react in a positive way and that’s exactly what we did.”
Blakemore and Van Wyk impressed in their attacking combination play with all three Caversham goals and an assist between them. Blunden commented: “Ross and Bevan have only played a couple of games together, both have been out through injuries but, it’s really pleasing to see them linking up, they do it really well.
“Danny Lampo came on in the second half and he’s a big and physical presence, so that was something else for their back four to deal with.
“I thought that all of the players on the pitch for us really did exactly what we asked them to do.”
On stand-in goalkeeper, Jack Tapscott, the Billy Goats boss added “Jack did fancy himself as a little bit of a back-up goalkeeper going into the season. It’s a position that we’re still trying to fill and we should have a goalkeeper ready for the end of September. Hopefully once that situation is sorted we can push on and do well in the league.”
Next up for Caversham United is a trip to fellow E.B.F.L newcomers Bracknell Aces this Saturday (2pm), before a first home game of the season against Eton Wick on Saturday 14 September.
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