Shenley faced Great Linford in their third league game of the season on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Shenley were looking to continue their 100% league record while Great Linford were in pursuit of a first win this season.

Team News
With Tom Beevor and Mohammed Edris absent this week, manager Ian Orr selected a matchday squad of 15 players, opting to rest defenders Damon Smith and Mitchell Brook.

He went with the usual 4-2-3-1 formation, making four changes to the starting XI. Adam Gillespie and Zakir Kassam started in the full-back positions ahead of Damon Smith and Kian Robinson.

Tyler Johnston replaced Finley Bodimeade in the midfield and Freddie Rogers started up top in the absence of Tom Beevor.

Kyle Armstrong and Joel Smith made the bench after missing out last week.

First Half
Just three minutes in, keeper Aly Khimani threw the football to Tyler Johnston on the halfway line. He brilliantly switched play to Connor Dempsey on the right wing, who duly crossed the ball to Ben Lynch in the box. The keeper was caught in no man's land, allowing Ben Lynch to roll the ball into an empty net to give the Phantoms the perfect start.

Great Linford looked bewildered, and Shenley kept coming at them. Ben Lynch almost got on the end of Morgan Pugh's through ball, Jack Medley saw a long-range attempt go wide and Connor Dempsey was giving Great Linford's left-back nightmares.

Ollie Tanner booted a loose ball in midfield up to striker Freddie Rogers. He knocked the ball across the box and Ben Lynch made a run in behind Great Linford's defence. He managed to get an effort off almost from the touch-line, but it went across the face of goal.

On seventeen minutes, Ben Lynch was played through on goal but Mackenzie Mitchell handled the ball in mid-air, denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The referee was lenient and only brandished a yellow card.

The home team relied on through balls to create chances, which were easily dealt with by centre-backs Ollie Tanner and Rohan Sawjani. Out of desperation, the Great Linford striker shoved Ollie Tanner in the back, causing the ball to come off the top of his arm. The referee missed the shove and awarded Great Linford a free-kick.

Keeper Aly Khimani palmed the free-kick away to safety. The ball was cleared by captain Rohan Sawjani to Morgan Pugh, who played a long ball to Ben Lynch. However, he could not keep his effort on target.

On twenty-minutes, Freddie Rogers pounced upon a loose ball while the Great Linford defence were trying to play out. He was fouled, but the referee played advantage as the ball bounced out to Ben Lynch. He turned one defender before playing a perfectly weighted through ball to the onrushing Morgan Pugh, who had beaten the offside trap. Morgan tucked the ball past the goalkeeper for his debut Phantoms goal.

Soon after, Morgan Pugh played the ball out to Ben Lynch on the left-wing. After nutmegging two defenders, he played the ball across the box to Freddie Rogers, who, despite his pace, narrowly missed the ball.

Despite going behind, Great Linford still offered very little going forward. They had a couple of long-range efforts: the first went over and the second was easily saved. A header from a free-kick was weak and straight at keeper Aly Khimani.

Meanwhile, a clipped pass by Jack Medley reached Ben Lynch on the left side of the box. After sitting down a defender, he crossed the ball to Connor Dempsey, who couldn't get a shot off.

Tyler Johnston and Morgan Pugh saw their efforts go wide, while Ben Lynch's header and Connor Dempsey's volley were saved as Shenley sought out a third goal before half-time.

Two minutes before half-time, Ollie Tanner's long throw-in was flicked on by Freddie Rogers into the box. Ben Lynch shielded the defender and the ball bounced to Morgan Pugh. He finished first time with his left foot to give Shenley a well deserved 3-0 lead at half-time.

Second Half
Shenley made a double half-time substitution, with Finley Bodimeade replacing Morgan Pugh in midfield and Joel Smith coming on for Freddie Rogers up front.

The second half was much like the first with the Phantoms dominating. Just a couple of minutes in, Joel Smith won the ball on the halfway line and rolled it to Jack Medley. He looked up and played a long ball over the top to Connor Dempsey. He cut inside and unleashed a shot that went over the bar.

Connor Dempsey won the ball back on the halfway line and gave it to Finley Bodimeade who in turn played Joel Smith through on goal. However, a last-ditch sliding tackle prevented Joel from getting a shot off.

Keeper Aly Khimani jumped the highest to claim a free kick in the box. He rolled the ball out to Jack Medley in the right-back position. He played it to Connor Dempsey, who then passed it to Finley Bodimeade on the edge of the box. He curved the ball out to the far post, where Adam Gillespie had made a run from left-back. However, Adam was unable to get a shot off.

On sixty-eight minutes, a goal kick by the Great Linford keeper went straight to Ben Lynch. He quickly played in Connor Dempsey, who stroked the ball into an empty net to give Shenley a 4-0 lead.

The Phantoms brought Kyle Armstong and Morgan Pugh on for Tyler Johnston and Jack Medley in the midfield.

A couple of minutes later, Jack Medley intercepted the ball in midfield. He played it to Connor Dempsey, who knocked it through to Ben Lynch first time. However, the Great Linford keeper got down quickly to deny Ben Lynch a second goal.

The closest Great Linford came to scoring was when they played their striker in through on goal. He was taken out by keeper Aly Khimani, but the flag went up for offside. Despite this, the Great Linford players surrounded the referee, arguing and complaining. However, the referee only brandished a yellow card for the keeper.

From the free-kick, Finley Bodimeade won the ball and passed it to Morgan Pugh. He played it to Connor Dempsey, who crossed it in first time. It came to Ben Lynch in the box, who squared the ball to Joel Smith. However, Joel could not keep his effort under the bar.

With ten minutes left, Kian Robinson and Freddie Rogers replaced goalscorers Connor Dempsey and Ben Lynch. There was also a heavy downpour in the last few minutes of the game.

At full time, Shenley extended their 100% league record with a comfortable 4-0 away win over Great Linford.

Analysis
Despite leaving out Mitchell Brook and Damon Smith this week, Shenley have now kept back-to-back clean sheets. Also scoring eleven goals in that time highlights the quality Shenley have on both sides of the pitch.

If there is anything Shenley can improve on, it would be set-piece deliveries. The Phantoms weren't able to utilise their height advantage today, unlike last week where Ben Lynch scored four goals from corners.

Man of the Match
Congratulations to Morgan Pugh who won Man of the Match today for his brace. Midfielder Jack Medley also had a solid performance in midfield, while the defence all did well to earn themselves a clean sheet.

"Great feeling to score" - Reaction
Manager Ian Orr: "Another good performance, particularly in the first half where we took the game to Great Linford right from kick-off. We controlled the midfield and limited their chances of getting into the game throughout the match. Some really good tackles and excellent early passes forward into space from midfield were causing problems throughout the first half. It was a great start with a quick first goal which was probably the best of the match. A great pass from Tyler out to Connor in space, who then put in an excellent early ball to Ben for a good finish. This set the tone for the first half and we never looked in any danger after that.

"The second half was a bit more scrappy; we still looked in control but didn't get our passing going in midfield as well as we can. It was maybe not as much of a polished a performance but we were still effective, never letting them settle or get a foothold in the match. At 3-0 up we didn't need to force the game, and whenever the defence were called upon they stepped up and rarely gave Great Linford even a sight of goal. The opposition had adjusted their defence and made it difficult for our attackers to create clear cut chances, but we still kept at them and created enough chances to score more than the four goals today. Another good team performance and with a few changes to the team it was great to see good performances by all of the players who came back into the team today."

Goalscorer and MotM Morgan Pugh : "I think today’s performance was excellent; from the back line to the front three we played really well with great chemistry. And, of course, it’s a great feeling to score for the first time for this amazing club."

Goalscorer Connor Dempsey: "It was a great team performance capped off with a bit of quality from me, Morgan Pugh and Ben Lynch in front of goal. Lovely to still be unbeaten in the league and, on a personal note, I would like to thank the referee for an incredible refereeing display. Up the Phantoms!"

Midfielder Tyler Johnston: "Great game, some lovely football and another outstanding performance from Morgan Pugh!"

Statistics

• 14 different players have scored for the Phantoms this season
• Shenley have won three league games in a row for the first time since May 2018
• This was Shenley's first competitive away win since May 2018
• This was the fifth time that Shenley have had 3 or more goalscorers in a single game this season

What's next?
Shenley's next game is home against Pitstone & Ivinghoe Junior U18 next week. Meanwhile, Great Linford are away against Stewkley U17 in two weeks time.

On behalf of the team, I’d like to express my thanks to Mohammed Khimani for recording the videos of the goals, Richard Medley for being the linesman, Neha Sureshkumar for counting the attendance, and all the nineteen fans who travelled to support the Phantoms. Your support is very much appreciated.