Watford Bengals FC | Established 1999

MATCH REPORT 2006

*** MATCH REPORT 10/09/06 ***

Enfield XI 5 - 2 Watford Bengals FC

With regular keeper, Abas, back from his hols, Watford Bengals went into their away match against Enfield with much confidence, however, still unable to filed their strongest first eleven with Foyzul missing due to torn back muscles from the defeat to MK Durbar previously. Players ability to last the full 90 minutes were cause for concern as nearly half of the squad went for a curry 30 minutes before kick off.

The game kicked off with Watford playing a formation of 3-5-2 started off with Anamul, Farid and Amir as the 3 centre defenders, Nazim and Ali covering the wing back positions, with Kamrul, Juhel and Abdul as the 3 central midfielders and Hassan and Moynul pairing up front. As per normal fashion, the home team provided early pressure resulting in a goal within the first 10 minutes with an attack coming down the away teams right hand side. This early goal prompted Ali to revert to central defence and Amir playing as wing back. The early goal though proved a good omen for Watford, as with the defence holding out and pushing up, enabled the midfield trio to exact some pressure with Juhel and Kamrul able to run the midfield. This pressure led to a succession of chances for the away team for Nazim, Moynul and Juhel but instead of going for goal were trying to walk it in. Juhel in particular was virutually on the goal line when his scuffed shot rolling to the keeper.

However, the goal drought stretching back to the game in Luton on 16th July was finally broken, when the Juhel provided a ball to Nazim down the left, where with no defender in sight tucked away the ball past the advancing goalie. With the continued pressure and excellent play in midfield resulted in Nazim getting another identical goal to put Watford in the lead. Not content to holding the lead, the away team was looking to kill the game off. Nazim now on fire hit the woodwork when he thought he was getting his first ever hattrick and from a pass from Abdul, playing his last game before retirement, the goalie spilled the ball out which Nazim tapped in only for the ref to award a freekick towards the goalie. Watford even had dead cert claim for handball before half time which was turned down by the ref. Watford now went into half time break with an unprecedented lead.

The half time break, seemed to spur on the home team, coupled with two solid black players brought on changed the game and Watford lost the dominance they had. This with the tiredness settling in for Watford in the extreme hot weather conditions, resulted in Watford being pinned in its own half for the large part of the second half. The midfield dominance of the first half was now all about helping the defence and little was seen of the good passing shown by Kamrul and Juhel. Enfield scored another 3 goals with conceding anymore including an fatal error from Anamul and also an error from Abas letting a ball slip through his fingers when it seemed it easier to save. Right upto that point, Abas was outstanding in his return between the sticks pulling off stunning saves one after another, whilst playing with a broken finger.

All in all, a first half performance to be proud of after conceding the early goal, but stunning the home team with two quick strikes to be in the unusual position of leading at half time. The second half was poor mainly due to lack of stamina resulting in little mobility, tackling and passing. Notable performances by Sufyan, who showed why he is better on pitch than goal, and Abas who showed why he still first choice keeper.

SQUAD: Abdul, Abas, Moynul, Nazim, Farid, Anamul, Sufyan, Ali, Hassan, Juhel, Kamrul, Amir

WBFC MAN OF THE MATCH: Nazim, scoring two and unlucky not to get the hat trick

*** MATCH REPORT 27/08/06 ***

MK Durbar SC 7 - 0 Watford Bengals FC

With a stronger squad to choose from than in recent games, minus Yusef and regular goalie Abas, the Watford Bengals squad headed up north to Milton Keynes take on a old face in a much awaited rematch. It was decided that a more attacking approach would be taken with Moynul and Nazim being wingers, contemplating the first choice midfield of Foyzul, Juhel and Kamrul; with Hassan being the lone striker.

However, some things never change as Watford Bengals let in early sloppy goals and Foyzul going off the pitch in the first half. Durbar showed the drive and stamina of being the younger of the two teams to exploit the lack of stamina in the Bengals team with constant advances down the wings from Watford's corners and stand in keeper Sufyan being exposed from all angles. The score line reflected this domination being 5 nil at half time with the team still displaying the attributes of not able to tackle, header or shoot. The best chance for Watford in the first half was once Nazim swapped to the right wing, delivered a cross (and really his only attacking contribution in the game) which Hassan headed with power but just wide of the goal.

The second half displayed a much better effort by the team with stronger challenges coming in from the older players of the squad such as Nazim, Amir, Anamul and Kamrul. Farid in his new role of left wing, made good advances towards the opposition's box and Nazim providing some good crosses from the right wing. Most of the second half was played in the Durbar's half with the home team now playing counter attack. Anamul kept the defence more organised and seems to win every header he challenged for. Moynul was more involved in the game once playing in centre midfield and this good possession led to a Watford penalty. Injured Hassan took the ball with confidence but smashed the kick right over the bar as if he was Jonny Wilkinson. However, the lack of stamina and growing injuries to the team resulted in the home team adding a further 2 goals in the second half.

7 nil was slightly flattering to the home team, as ability wise were not as strong as expected. However, they had better stamina and drive which compensated this. With no Abas is a big loss to Watford Bengals and the ever grown injury list during the match doesnt help from an already small squad (maybe we need to look at Moynul's warm up routines to why so many injuries). Poor referee didn't not help especially as Watford should of had a penalty in the first half. All in all a poor performance (nothing new there) apart from a strong period in the second half and no excuses can be made as the team have played a few competitive matches now through during the Summer.

SQUAD: Abdul, Foyzul, Moynul, Nazim, Farid, Anamul, Sufyan, Monzir, Ali, Hassan, Juhel, Kamrul, Amir

SUPPORTER: Delwar Ali

*** MATCH REPORT 13/08/06 ***

United Sporting Luton FC 9 - 0 Watford Bengals FC

The driving rain to which the squad awoken to on Sunday morning was an omen of thinks to come. With only nine players at Market Street, there was a rush to get hold of the remaining players. It didn’t help when one of the experienced members of the team pulled out with the excuse of it being raining (I will not name no names). Without first team regulars of Abas, Foyzul, Juhel, Moynul and Ali, a patched up squad of only 11 made their way to Luton to take on United Sporting Luton (USL), an established Sunday League team. Sufyan made his first ever appearance in goal and Babu, who never plays football and was only on holiday in Watford, was drafted into the starting eleven.

With barely 2 minutes gone, USL with their first attack just missed the goal with an angle short. The drive, commitment and physical power of USL was way too strong for the away team and within 10 minutes the home team was 2 nil up. The usual bad start for Watford struck again with the usual disorganisation and positioning of players. However, with the influence of Kamrul starting to make his mark in midfield, Watford managed to contain the opposition to one more gal before half time. One sour note was the hamstring injury to Hassan before the break. The second half started with Hassan labouring on but could not carry on. Lucky for Watford, USL had a trialist who came onto replace Hassan so Watford went back to 11 on the pitch. The lack of fight and tackling, expect for Kamrul and Nazim, coupled with the tiredness and lack of stamina of the younger players, resulted in USL going on a goal scoring spree netting in another 6 goals in the second half. What didn’t help was Watford had to continue with 2 injured players for the whole 90 minutes in Abdul and Farid, Yusef looking to fight with the opposition than play football, and Anamul having a poor performance at the back.

USL was a young, tough team who could play and did the basics well (unlike Watford) and showed why they are on the up in Luton Sunday League football. This match was Watford Bengal’s heaviest defeat in its history, and confirmed why the team has never bothered to move into Sunday League football, as the lack of depth in the squad was evident.

TEAM: Sufyan, Abdul, Anamul, Farid, Nazim, Kamrul, Amir, Yusef, Babu, Hassan, Monzir

WBFC MAN OF THE MATCH: Kamrul - the only Watford player to disrupte the opposition's play with some tough tackling and led the team forward.

*** MATCH REPORT 16/07/06 ***

Luton XI 4 - 2 Watford Bengals FC

Watford Bengals FC played its first away match in 5 years with the short journey up the M1 to enemy territory, to play a Luton XI but reported to be Sunday League outfit Luton Athletic FC.

With the unexpected and sudden withdrawal of experienced player Kamrul, swift decisions had to be made on Market St while waiting for Abdul to finish his breakfast consisting of 6 toasts, cornflakes, 4 boiled eggs and of course a cup of tea. Juhel got to play in his preferred role of midfield, with 18 year old Sadik got a first start for the club along with another newcomer and new Watford boy, Hassan.

With the onset of the match and in their new kit, Watford Bengals could not cope with the movement, pace and the physical battle of the opposition. This inconjuction with the burning heat and inexperience of playing competitive 11-a-side matches for the majority of the squad, resulted in poor passes and the inability of taking throw-on’s !

This resulted in the first evitable goal when a free kick was floated to the back post, where club captain, Anamul thought the ball was going off and thus the attacker had a free header which looped over Abas in goal. The pressure continued but the opposition could not get a second even though hitting the bar, but looked more likely to score on set pieces. This became true when a corner was floated over and the same attacker got his second header of the game with a bullet header with no defender insight. Watford Bengals dropped their 4-4-2 formation and played a 4-5-1 so the midfield had more numbers to compete. This resulted in the midfield able to apply pressure forward. Sadik even made a couple of his normal head down runs and broke through with some good crosses of the ball. However, a counter attack by Luton resulted in a short creeping under Abas’s diving body to make it 3-0. Just before the half time break, Moynul broke clear and his angle short undeservingly came off the far post.

After regrouping at half time, with Nazim pushing up to left wing and Anamul dominating the back as his usual self, the majority of the game was now being played in the Luton half. With another Watford attack advancing to the goal, one of the Luton defender clearly struck the ball with his hand in the penalty area, which even Delwar ‘Maradona’ Ali, the one supporter who travelled up with the team was pleading penalty. The resulting free kick which was awared produced the goal of the match which would have not looked out of place at the recent world cup, when Hassan delightfully curled the ball over the wall and into the top corner even with defender on the line.

Watford kept applying the pressure with Juhel, Hassan and the re-emergence of Foyzul (last seen having a nap under a tree) commanding the midfield with Nazim providing an attacking outlet on the left. On one of few counter attacks, Luton again hit the bar, and on another time disaster stuck. A long ball over, resulted in a mix up between Sadik and Abas which allowed the very small striker to score in an open goal. This was a bitter blow but did not deter the team to push forward when soon after, Hassan hit a shot towards goal and was turned in by a defender to make it 4-2 to the home team. Even before the full time whistle blew, Nazim missed a great opportunity, to prove why we think defence is his best position.

Overall, a great second half and great performances in the second half considering the half of the opposition play Sunday League football, especially from Juhel, Foyzul, Hassan and Nazim. Particular mention goes to youngsters Sufyan, Sadik and Yusef who performed admirably against much older opposition.

SQUAD: Abas, Abdul, Foyzul, Moynul, Nazim, Farid, Anamul, Sufyan, Sadik, Yousef, Ali, Hassan, Juhel

SUPPORTER: Delwar Ali

WBFC MAN OF THE MATCH: Juhel Ali

*** MATCH REPORT 07/05/06 ***

Due to the unexpected numbers of Poles turning up to play Watford Bengals, it was decided that the Poles would make up an 'A' and 'B' team and matches would be played over 20 minutes with winners staying on.

Watford Bengals 1 - 3 Watford Polish 'A'

First match for the Bengals was more of a problem getting players into best positions rather than playing football. Nav went into goal, with Ali and Farid as full backs and Asad and Anamul playing centre backs. Nazim and Yusef as wing players with Foyzul and Salim in the middle with Moynul and Kamrul playing up front. Arguemnts within the team (mainly directed towards Nazim) results in a 3-1 loss with Moynul getting a long range consolation goal.

Watford Bengals 1 - 0 Watford Polish 'B'

The dropping of Nazim to the bench and Abdul going up front and the bold decision to play 3 centre backs and moving Kamrul to the holding 'Makelele' role resulted in a stronger defensive team but allowing the attacking minds of Foyzul, Salim, Farid and Yusef to help the front two. This resulted in 1 nil win for the Bengals with Foyzul grabbing his first for the afternoon.

Watford Bengals 2 - 1 Watford Polish 'A'

The new system of 3 centre backs and packing up the midfield continued to pay dividends as Watford Bengals finally beat the stronger Polish team, at the third attempt. With Foyzul, Salim and Kamrul dictating the midfield, Watford Bengals pushed forward and both the inform duos of Foyzul and Moynul grabbing another goal each.

Watford Bengals 1 - 0 Watford Polish 'B'

The winning form continuted in the last match of the tournament. The defence was helped greatly by the wing back of Yusef and now injured Nazim. Yusef continued to grow through each game and his pace was starting to cause problems, and at the age of 16 became the youngest player for the club. However, this match will be remembered more for altercation between Moynul and the Polish coloured foreign import who was more interested in the end supporting England whilst walking of the pitch.

All in all, 3 out of 4 wins for the improving team and plenty of goals. Only sour note was the attempting boxing match between two of the older players of the squad in Farid and Nazim over who drank out of a bottle of water!!! This really was not Nazim's afternoon.

SQUAD: Nav, Ali, Asad, Anamul, Farid, Nazim, Foyzul, Salim, Yusef, Kamrul, Moynul, Abdul

***MATCH REPORT 16/04/06***

Watford Bengals 4 - 8 Watford Polish

An unexpected and at very short notice, resulted in Watford Bengals playing their first 11-a-side match for 5 years as the away team, against unknown quantity of Watford Polish providing the opposition at Watford Fields. Watford Bengals managed to field 11 players eventually with no subs including Abdul who was drafted off the treatment table. Due to a slight injury to Kamrul, Abas got the call to play outfield from the start of the match with Kamrul taking over the gloves.

With virtually the first attack of the game, a comical mix up between the the away defence and goalie resulted in Watford Polish going 1 nil up. After 15 minutes, the home team were 3 nil up. This resulted in drastic changes to stem the flow of goals. Abas got the call to go back in goal, with Kamrul playing up front as the lone striker with Abdul dropping into midfield to make a trio with Salim and Moynul in the middle of the park. Abdul was deployed in the unusual role of playmaker like his idol Alonso at Liverpool. Iqlak and Farid were the wingers and Anamul dropping back to central defence along side Ali. Even though Anamul is a regular in Sunday League football, this was his first game in central defence for many years. Monzir and Asad played fullbacks, with Asad 'Sheringham' becoming the oldest player to play for the club at the young age of 40.

These changes, resulted in Abas, keeping a clean sheet for the rest of the half, and with Moynul and Salim getting hold of the midfield, Watford Bengals started causing a threat to the home team. Only once did the away goal get tested again in the half, but the Watford exile, Abas, was tested when a cross come shot was looping towards the top corner but he managed to tip it over at full stretch.

The second half started with the Polish boys grabbing an early goal, but things changed drastically after that. With Anamul becoming a rock at the back winning all headers and making some crunching sliding tackles, the Bengals plied on the pressure resulting in Kamrul grabbing a sensational hat-trick in 15 minutes including lobbing the goalie and a header from a corner. With the score at 4-3 to the Poles, they knew they were in match now as the Bengals were matching them in every department. However, fatigue kicked in for the Bengals as was expected, and the home team ran in with a further 4 goals before the end.

The only positives to come out before the end of the match was how the Bengals kept going and Moynul grabbing a 30 yard long range goal which topped a good personal performance by mr Islam. As this was an unexpected fixture so early in the summer and considering the age of some of the players (and injuries picked up), this was a very good performance by Watford Bengals and vital preparation for the up and coming MK tournament.

TEAM: Abas, Monzir, Asad, Anamul, Ali, Moynul, Salim, Iqlak, Farid, Kamrul, Abdul

WBFC MAN OF THE MATCH: Kamrul, as its usually a big feat for any Bengal player to score one goal let alone a hat-trick