Now a lesser man would begin to panic. Tai & Chris pull out Saturday leaving us forced to name an injured Bruno & Fowler on the subs bench. The oppo today had very credible results so far this season but the way we turned on the heat showed the levels we can play too when we all turn up on time and hang over free. As a club we have a 4 pint rule on Saturday night so the fact all 4 of the people in the car had exactly 4 points may actually be a good thing based on the performance.
The first half was played a little slower than we probably hoped for but we were playing better football and creating chances. Steve and Martin had the odd sniff @ goal but due to a few lacklustre passes, the oppo were making a game of it. Rob was mopping up most things @ the back and Voller played some neat little touches, the final ball just wasn’t there though but we were still shocked when the oppo took the lead. A moment of hesitation across the back gave their striker a couple of attempts at the shot and he didn’t make any mistake. This was slightly against the run of play but we dusted our self down and went straight back @ it. Some tidy play in the middle with Colin, Bruff & Serdal led to a couple of half chances, 1 of which, if it had gone in would have been goal of the year but Martin couldn’t quite hold R2 for the finesse shot he wanted. We got back into the game with some perseverance down the right from Baker & Martin which led to a corner. A great ball from Voller clinically met by Steve ‘hard head’ Attoe. 1-1, game on. The oppo continued to take long shots which rarely troubled Josh so it was no surprise when we got the 2nd. Another corner, another goal. Rob’s (Milton) great ball in deceived everyone and gently brushed off their RB into the net. Some would call that an OG but not me. Definitely Rob’s (Milton’s) first of the game. We took on our fluids and listened intently to Fowler’s master class of a team talk, discussing passion, desire and end product. The 3 things he really lacks in the bedroom. We couldn’t have asked for a better start though, as within 5 minutes we were 4-1 to the good. Bruff pressed hard and got the ball which was then fed to Martin who made no mistake with the finesse this time, belting it in the ‘top’ corner. 2 minutes later Serdal played the ball through to Martin and between him and Colin, they managed to squeeze it through and the finish was nonchalant by Colin. We have been ahead in games before but this time we remained focussed and the back 4 of Luke, Rob (Milton), Rich & Baker rarely let anything get past them. The 5th came soon after as we played the ball out nicely and Bruff released Rob (Milton) who slotted past the keeper. By this time Bruno and Nelli were on with the altered formation, the oppo did have a half decent spell for 10 minutes. Although they rarely troubled, Josh did make an amazing diving save to keep the scores as they were. With Yaya bossing the middle, he then made 2 delightful balls through to Nelli who calmed scored on both occasions. Bruno should have had a penalty and Serdal had a goal disallowed but by this time the result was in the bag. All 14 of us played as a team, put our bodies on the line (Steve more so...) and it all just clicked. Great effort! Jack Voller’s shot is still flying...
