The clocks going back meant an extra hour in bed for the Dedham boys, which was just as well, as some of the finely-honed athletes had been out “team bonding” on Saturday night.
After the 20-minute journey to Holland-on–Sea, the teams warmed up in about five degrees, as the wind rain and then haul stones came in from across the North Sea, which was literally 200m from the pitch side.
Dedham kicked off the match and took control of possession almost immediately.
Some early chances were spurned by various Dedham players, with the Sokretez goalkeeper making some good saves whilst other efforts went over the bar.
Finally, in the 10th minute, Dedham were rewarded for all of the industry, when Rob C won the ball in the final third, then played a defence-splitting pass into the opposition’s penalty area where Charlie A ran onto it, and fired the ball hard and low passed the Sokretez goalkeeper.
Dedham continued to control the game with all players contributing by closing down the opposition all over the pitch, depriving them of time and space.
Sokretez were undone again in the 32nd minute when Brad stormed into the box from the left-hand side. After beating two defenders he played a ball to his right to Alfie, who calmly slotted the ball home, leaving the keeper stranded.
Dedham Athletic’s dominance grew until half time, with further chances being created but not converted.
Half time came with Dedham leading 2 – 0. The sun came out in time for the second half, giving all of the spectators a chance to dry off.
Sokretez got the second half underway, but Dedham kept up their work rate, not allowing them any time at all to settle into the second portion of the match.
In the 51st minute, Brad, the creator of the second goal found himself on the end of an excellent move, resulting in Rob playing a ball to his right from just outside the box to Dan who passed the ball across the box, where Brad drilled it into the back of the net.
At 3 – 0, the match started to become a formality for Dedham, with their players treating the game like a training session, keeping the ball and moving it around in triangles as they moved around the pitch, allowing some of their flare players to find space as Sokretez were drawn to the ball in an attempt to win it back.
Jack A started to show his talent on the left wing, taking on and beating two, three and four players at a time. He created numerous chances for his team mates before he scored his first goal for the club in the 79th minute after Dylan won the ball in midfield and drove into the box where he passed the ball to his left where Jack confidently scored in the bottom left corner.
A great performance all round.