MILTON KEYNES IRISH | GOING DUTCH

Wonder volley from Mason Spence on an afternoon to remember for Mason Spence

It was a case of Mason van Basten for Milton Keynes Irish on Saturday in what was a memorable afternoon for the club.

Racing into a three-goal lead within the opening quarter-of-an-hour of their Pitching In Southern League Division One Central clash at Hadley, they proceeded to find the net twice more after the break, including a hat-trick for Owen Brooks and a wonder volley from Mason Spence reminiscent of Marco van Basten’s goal for the Netherlands in the Euro ’88 Final (ask your dad, if you are unsure!), which put them 5-0 up.

Even though their hosts were able to pull a couple of goals back, it couldn’t take away from what was a good afternoon’s work for an MK Irish side who were able to secure their third League win of the season following promotion at the end of last term.

“This was the first time all season that we’ve had virtually a full squad available to choose from,” Spence told us. “It meant that we were able to play our favoured formation and with players in their correct positions.

“It was one of those days where we were clinical and then when got ahead, we were able to manage the game better than we have done so far this season.

“The three points were thoroughly deserved, with everyone playing their part and putting in an impressive display.

“As for my goal; yes, I was pleased with that one! It’s good to watch the footage of it – I think I’ll view that a few times!”

It’s been a tricky start to the campaign as they get to grips with the added demands of Step 4, but Spence is confident that Saturday's success can give them the spark that they have been searching for.

“We play a lot of teams that are down there with us in the next few weeks, so we’ll be hoping to use this to push us on and get some momentum,“ he added. “We want to try and put some distance between us and the teams in the lower reaches of the table, so there is an opportunity now for us to do that.

“The standard of this level has been no surprise for us; we’ve played a lot of these teams whilst we were at Step 5, so we knew what to expect and by the same token, we know that we’ve more than held our own against them in various cup competitions.

“Our performances have shown that we’re more than capable at this level but what we have lacked is that bit of experience and resilience at times and we’ve been punished for it by some good teams.

“But we’re learning all of the time and our focus is firmly fixed on adding to our points tally by whatever means. There’s no point playing pretty football every week if it’s not bringing any reward in terms of points, so we have to mix it up depending on the circumstances.

“We’re taking it a game at a time and hopefully we can creep up the table in the weeks ahead.

“Personally I just want to play as much as I can and avoid injuries and suspension. There’s nothing better than being out there on afternoons like Saturday and we want more of them!”

IMAGE: Milton Keynes Irish FC