Seven Hills AFCThomas Burniston, Tom Miles, Tom Crothers, Thomas Burniston x2, Jared Rhodes2
David Rudman FC0
Please note, this game was originally a league match, but later changed to a friendly as David Rudman FC were moved to a lower league mid season.
Seven Hills continue their winning ways today and bagged their first three points of the season.
Back in the flourish league today after securing consecutive victories in the cup and a friendly, Sheffield Seven Hills returned to face David Rudman FC, a charity team familiar to many of our players from previous encounters, albeit under the Seven Hills banner for the first time in the flourish league.
The game commenced on a wet and windy day at Concord, Sheffield, with both teams starting strongly, engaging in a battle without clear chances or significant moments of quality materialising in the initial phase.
However, after the first ten minutes, Seven Hills began to dominate, creating promising opportunities while limiting David Rudman FC to long balls that proved easy to clear, much to their frustration.
Despite their attacking pressure, Seven Hills faced controversies surrounding referee decisions, sparking an altercation between the referee and a substitute from David Rudman FC. From the opposite sidelines it wasn't clear what was said, but both the referee and DR substitute had a clear altercation. Members of both teams intervened, and bizarrely no cards were issued following the incident despite it seeming like a clear red should have been for the DR sub.
Shortly thereafter, Seven Hills took the lead 1-0 due to defensive lapses from David Rudman FC, who claimed an offside against Tom M, yet he remained clearly onside. A straightforward shot slipped through the keeper's gloves, securing the lead.
Further opportunities arose for Tom M, Tommy B, Oli, and a speculative effort from Waz outside the box. However, despite these chances, the first half concluded with Seven Hills maintaining a 1-0 lead.
The second half began more evenly, with David Rudman FC stepping up their challenges. However, Seven Hills were determined not to let the opportunity for their first win of the season slip away, persevering through a game that was becoming increasingly disjointed with numerous high balls.
Tensions escalated as David Rudman FC continued to contest referee decisions, leading to a player demonstrating threatening behavior toward the Seven Hills bench. Once more, tempers were diffused, allowing the game to resume.
Seven Hills regained control and soon found their second goal, courtesy of Tommy B, who broke clear of the offside trap and squared the ball to Ben for a potential goal. However, excellent defensive work from David Rudman FC nullified the attack, but only for a defensive error to gift the ball back to Tommy B, who, despite being in an offside position, was allowed to play on as the ball came off the defender. This led to a simple tap-in from a tight angle, further extending Seven Hills' lead.
Towards the end of the game, a 50/50 challenge resulted in a clash between Ahmed Jimoh of Seven Hills and James Phillip of David Rudman FC. While Ahmed won the ball with a somewhat reckless tackle, his follow-through caught the leg of the DR player, causing an awkward fall for the DR player.
Chaos then erupted as a David Rudman FC player aggressively ran towards Ahmed, who was getting up and facing away, and pushed him. Attempts were made to diffuse the situation, but the DR player then handled Thomas Burniston of Seven Hills in another confrontation before the situation was eventually diffused.
The referee issued Ahmed a straight red card for his challenge, and also sin-binned Thomas Burniston along with the David Rudman FC player.
As the Seven Hills staff attended to the injured player, David Rudman FC decided to call off the game to ensure proper treatment for their teammate.
The final score stood at 2-0 in favor of Seven Hills.
We extend our best wishes to David Rudman FC for the remainder of the season and hope for a speedy recovery for their player.
Man of the Match: Craig Jordan and Tom Miles
Goals: Tommy B, Tom M
Red Card: Ahmed