NEW YEAR BOUNCE BENEFITS TIGERS

TIGERS opened the New Year with a victory at Whiteknights to lift themselves out of the relegation zone. An early goal from George Lee and two goals from winger Gabe Sinclair saw off the hosts whose woeful finishing made the result far more emphatic than the XG (expected goals) count might have anticipated.
On a very firm yet bumpy and sloping surface, Tigers were quickly into their stride. Full-back Sadoon Kassab found himself in an advanced position after just two minutes, threading the ball through to Lee who finished with aplomb.
The state of the pitch meant that the ball spent a great deal of time in the air. Whiteknights were more adept at controlling the aerial missile, particularly their massive central defender and his diminutive partner. The smaller of the two was so composed on the ball and had perfect heading technique, he could have compiled a teaching video! Whiteknights were also better at securing the second ball but they could not compete with Hearts tiger-like tackling, particularly Jabir Ahmed and Alex Rustomji, with the latter also flinging himself in front of the home team shooters to keep Joe Wallis's goal intact. Tigers doubled their lead as the game moved into the second quarter. Sinclair was left unmarked as he scampered into the box to finish off a clever passage of play involving Lee, Ned Davies and skipper Frazer Pickrell. Tigers weathered a handful of promising Whiteknight attacks as half-time approached and one attempt bounced down off the bar before being cleared but generally Wallis was untroubled at the back.
The second half presented Tigers with the opportunity to attack down the considerable slope. Whiteknights put their diminutive defender to man-marking Sinclair on the right flank and an interesting contest between the two developed. On the left, Davies was not making the yardage we usually see, but it was his balls into the box constantly troubled the defence. From their first foray into the Tigers half, Whiteknights won a corner which was duly converted into a goal as their striker was left unmarked and unchallenged to head home from some 7 yards out.
With a steady merry-go-round of substitutes, Whiteknights pushed hard to get back on level terms. They struggled to get past the Tigers midfield where Alex Carter was particularly destructive, and Toby Chilvers and Rustomji marshalled the defence well. Rufus Biggs ploughed a relentless furrow up front and was unlucky not to score, bringing out a brilliant double save from the keeper who also thwarted a close-range effort from Pickrell. Sinclair went close from a Davies cross and eventually tied up the game with a tap-in after an assist from Toby Chilvers, making it 3-1 to Tigers.
Sinclair and Davies switched flanks for the last 15 minutes which had the effect of pushing back the home defence and midfield, leaving the Tigers back four with more time to cut out Whiteknights' increasingly sporadic attacks. Sinclair was unlucky not to secure his hat-trick when he took the ball on his chest and smashed a right-footed shot just over the upright.
Tigers played out the final few minutes with little concern and ultimately fully-deserved the three points. A little more composure on the ball and better communication (as always) off it must still be the goal for the squad and it would have put this game to bed long before half-time. Next week , Tigers travel to Caversham Trents Blues who, nominally sit joint top of the table. However, Blues have played more games than every other team in the League so in real terms are just two points ahead of Tigers.