Conquest played the first round of the Combined Counties League Cup on Wednesday night at home against Raynes Park. Having lost their most recent fixture against Croydon and playing against top of the league, a side that had scored freely and not lost a game meant that the boys really had an uphill task.
This game saw the implementation of our newly found stat tracking application which gives us lots of stats throughout the game that can all be seen in the pictures below. Don't forget you can follow all of our games via Twitter where we offer live coverage.
Conquest lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as to be expected at this point but with a couple of regulars still missing and a loss to make amends for from the week before last the changes were rung throughout the side.
Frustratingly Tshibikubula was unable to attend and Tivey was nursing himself back to full fitness meaning he was unlikely to be used. Further to this there was a first start for Panariti as Krishna was absent with Saddique taking the strikers starting berth despite his tender age as an U16 he was being being rewarded for his recent exploits with a start.
Conquest began the game in absolutely storming fashion racing to dominate the ball and the pace of the game. Conversely though it was Raynes Park who stole the immediate headlines as Paul Osew, an ex Brentford player turned on the edge of the box and buried the ball into the bottom right.
The Conquest boys showed immense mental strength and will power to not fold though and demonstrated why they have taking wins so far this season with slick passing and elaborate build up play. The key for them now was to put the icing on the cake. Many a chance went begging as there was a plethora of shots peppered towards the goal with a number of offsides. Pressure was building against Raynes Park despite their early lead.
In the 29th minute Conquest were rewarded for their efforts as an exquisitely weighted ball over the top from Evans was brought down by Bremang who powered past his man in trademark fashion before curling it into the far corner.
Not long after in the 35th minute Bremang doubles his output by thundering home after being found with a phenomenal cross field ball by Saddique. Conquest had sensed the chance to kill the game now and on the 40th minute Saddique justified his inclusion by adding a goal to his earlier assist. Ferguson found him between the lines as Saddique dummied the defender causing all sorts of trouble and opening up a huge gap for him to shoot into.
HT: Conquest 3-1 Raynes Park
The half time stats showed just how forceful Conquest's dominance on the game was and it seemed they were in no mood to let up as in the second half Kalinauskas began to roam freely through the middle picking the ball up and dictating play almost at will.
59' SUB:
OFF: Panariti
ON: Laing
It took until the 67th minute for Conquest to further their lead but it was a great goal as Saddique worked tirelessly to get the ball back before Kalinauaskas was played, beat two players and fired into the bottom right hand corner.
71' SUB:
OFF: Saddique
ON: Awuah
In the 72nd minute Bremang completed his hat trick and a top performance. The best of his goals and one to remember. Clarke found him in the middle and he breezed passed three defenders with almost insane amounts ease before rifling the ball into the bottom corner. The keeper stood no chance.
The game continued to be dominated by Conquest as they didn't really give much away throughout the whole fixture. It was an immense response to any critics and was an empathetic performance that probably marked our best of the season to date.
FT: Conquest 5-1 Raynes Park.
Full stats for the game can be seen above with this a great addition to our on the day match reporting.
Manager's MoTM: Bilal Saddique
Captains MoTM: David Bremang
Goal Information:
Evans assist Bremang
Saddique assist Bremang
Ferguson assist Saddique
Saddique assist Kalinauskas
Clarke assist Bremang
Well done to the Conquest boys who really did provide some of the best football of the season today.