Borrowash Vics Rams 6–1 Willington Alpha
Sunday 6 September | National Trade Cars Arena, Pitch 2

Borrowash Vics Rams got their new season off to an impressive start with a 6–1 victory over newly promoted Willington Alpha at the National Trade Cars Arena.

Despite falling behind inside the opening five minutes, the Rams produced an excellent response, taking control of the game and eventually running out comfortable winners thanks to a Charlie Bradley hat-trick, two goals from Theo Baines and a late strike from Lewis Weavers.

Starting XI

Formation: 3-5-2

GK: Harry Molyneux

Defence: Dan Shirazi, Lewis Weavers, Kian Butler

Midfield: Toby Shaw, Tom Malone, Weston Murphy, Oli Bayley, Charlie Bradley

Forwards: Theo Baines, Finn Enion

Subs: Hugo Fern, George Mitchell, Max Weavers

Rams recover from early setback

There was plenty of excitement ahead of the first game of the season, although the Rams went into the match with a few injury concerns that meant some players' minutes needed to be managed carefully.

It was the visitors who struck first.

Willington caught the Rams off guard after just five minutes to take an early 1–0 lead, leaving the home side with work to do.

The response, however, was excellent.

Borrowash began to dominate possession and created a number of chances as they pushed for an equaliser.

It arrived in the 11th minute.

Charlie Bradley produced some excellent work down the right before picking out Theo Baines in the middle. Theo made no mistake with the opportunity, finishing well to score the Rams' first goal of the new season.

Just three minutes later, the turnaround was complete.

Finn Enion produced an excellent half-volleyed pass forward into the path of Theo. The striker took the ball in his stride, drove beyond the Willington defence and rounded the goalkeeper before calmly finishing for his second of the game.

Rams 2–1 Willington.

From that point onwards, Borrowash were firmly in control and rarely surrendered possession.

Bradley gets off the mark

The Rams' third goal arrived in the 29th minute following another well-worked move.

Tom Malone played a clever ball around the corner and into the path of Bradley, who wasted no time in finding the back of the net to give Borrowash a two-goal advantage.

The Rams went into the half-time break 3–1 ahead and in control of the contest.

The message at the interval was to use the midfield more, draw Willington's defence out of shape and then exploit the space in the wide areas.

The players carried out those instructions brilliantly.

Second-half dominance

In the 45th minute, Enion played a ball over the top of the Willington defence for Bradley to chase.

The wing-back won the race, poked the ball beyond the goalkeeper and kept his composure to walk it into the empty net for his second of the match.

4–1.

The Rams continued to dominate the ball and look for more goals.

With 63 minutes played, substitute Hugo Fern produced a moment of real quality in midfield. He clipped a superb ball into the six-yard box, where Bradley met it with a well-directed header into the far corner.

The goalkeeper had no chance, and Bradley had completed an excellent hat-trick.

There was still time for one more.

With three minutes remaining, Baines battled his way skilfully through the Willington defence before sending the ball towards the goal line.

Lewis Weavers followed the move all the way from defence and arrived to make absolutely sure, smashing the ball over the line for his first goal of the season and completing a convincing 6–1 victory.

A strong start

After the disappointment of conceding early, the reaction from the Rams was particularly impressive.

The lads remained patient, trusted their football and took control of the game rather than allowing the early goal to affect them.

There were plenty of positives to take from the performance, including some excellent combination play, good use of the wide areas and a strong second-half display.

Most importantly, it was a great team performance and the perfect way to get the new season underway.

FULL-TIME: BORROWASH VICS RAMS 6–1 WILLINGTON ALPHA

Rams goalscorers:
⚽ Theo Baines (2)
⚽ Charlie Bradley (3)
⚽ Lewis Weavers

UP THE RAMS! ?