This was our sixth match in the FA League and thus far our record read played 5 won 0 drawn 1 and lost 4. Needless to say we were the strongest team in the league as we were holding the rest up.
In our last outing prior to this match we had improved on our previous score against Torre del Mar as we had only lost 6-0 whereas previously we had lost 9-1. Our opponents today were the team against whom we'd picked up our only point so far in a 3-3 draw so as always we were confident. One thing I can say about this team, despite the margins we have lost by, in the after-match analysis over a few beers we're always convinced that we had improved sufficiently and in the next game we'll pick up points. That's the power of beer talk. Maybe we should have a few before we play!
This weekend we were extra confident, despite having a few key players unavailable. Tony had managed to get home before 6am in the morning and was fit enough to play so he would be an added dimension up front. The omens were also good as it had been a dramatic weekend in the FA Cup as the giant killers had done the business with Barnsley beating Chelsea, Cardiff City knocking out Middlesbrough and Portsmouth seeing off Manchester United. The scene was set for another upset.
Now before I get into the business end of this
report I just want to cover a few things which have been brought to my attention as I go about my business in the village. Thank you to all those people who have commented on my reports and in general have been complimentary about how they've enjoyed reading them. I'm not looking to blow my own trumpet here (no, sod it, I am!) but obviously some read them more closely than others. I was stopped in Cómpeta as I did my paper round (yes, I had a paper round at 14 and I have a paper round at 42) by Hannah, who I'm sure some of you will know. She kindly started off by saying that she enjoyed reading the reports (queue sound of trumpet) but that she was a member of a writing group and she had noticed that I used an extraordinary amount of exclamation marks (queue tailing off of trumpet fanfare). It wasn't something I had been aware of before but having read my last month's article I have to say she was right. I will try to improve and thanks to Hannah for the advice. Less exclamation marks this month!! (Whoops!….Damn!!!…Bugger!!!!)
“Get on with the footy, Chopper” Yes, OK, the footy..
So with the omens looking good after Giant Killer's Weekend in the FA Cup we stood waiting for the first match to finish between The Victoria and Torre del Mar. We stood on the sidelines eyeing up our opponents and a few of us made comments about how their team were carrying a few more pounds and years compared with other sides in the league and drew further positives from that. Something about 'pot', 'kettle', 'black' sprung to mind.
As we were about to kick off in our new white shirts, being worn for only the second time, an obvious problem arose in that they were also in white. A suggestion was made that perhaps one of the teams could play in skins (that's no tops to the uninitiated) and as the sun was beating down it might have been a good option. However, considering some of the waistlines that would have been on show and the fact families were present the yellow bibs it was.
We kicked off and fairly soon we were putting them under pressure. We were playing three in defence with myself in midfield just in front as a defensive midfield player. The formation seemed
a tactical master piece as they were only playing with two up front and seemed to be playing deep at the back which gave us the opportunity to push up on them. Any attacking forays they had were being easily dealt with by our defence. Stu was making a good account of himself in attack with Santi, Ewan and Luis Filípi working hard in midfield. Our only downfall was not scoring.
Not long into the game a high ball was played in midfield and Stevie T went up to head it with one of their players. There was an unfortunate clash of heads and both players went down. Steve seemed a little worse as he had been caught on the back of the head by their player. He got to his feet slowly and sure enough he had a small cut. He's made of stern stuff our Steve though and once I'd managed to rinse the cut and push the straw back in he was ready to continue. I must say he looked a little dazed at first and it took a time for his eyes to stop rolling before two cherries appeared and 'jackpot' he was ready to continue.
Despite our pressure a familiar pattern emerged as they broke away. As we had been pushing forward we were caught out and they managed to take the lead 1-0. It was a flash in the pan. We were still on top but they were starting to get through and attack more often. Our keeper, Curro, saved us a few times as did the cross bar but we were still in it. Then shortly after we were caught again and we found ourselves 2-0 down. We had a lot to do to turn this one round.
We managed to win a free kick on the left edge of their box and Luis Filípi stepped up to take it as the rest of us took positions in the box to attack the ball. As he crossed the ball it managed to bypass attackers, defenders and their keeper and found the far corner of the net. A text book curling free-kick, which is difficult to defend and obviously difficult to attack as none of us got near it but it was a goal and we were back in the match at 2-1.
Half-time was fast approaching and as it was a hot day I was looking forward to getting some water. I had a mouth like Ghandi's flip flop. They had another break down the left and it was looking dangerous as their attacker bore down on goal. Luckily, the referee blew for half time before he had chance to shoot. It's always worth bringing your own ref, as Mick had come down on the off chance they needed an official. Cheers, Mick!
We had made few substitutions during the first half and decided to keep things as they were until
a little way into the second. With a good intake of water I despatched Ghandi's flip flop from my mouth and was ready for the second half.
We kicked off with the sun at our backs but the game was fairly evenly matched during the second half. Maybe we'd peaked again and they put us under a bit more pressure. We were starting to get caught at the back and the gap was starting to appear again between midfield and attack. It was to be our downfall as they managed to score again and went 3-1 up. Time for a substitution and we brought fresh legs on up front in the form of Tony and Tom with Baz in midfield. Tony made a difference and was running at their defence causing problems. You see what you can do when you're in bed before 6am, Tony!
It wasn't long before Tony received the ball on the left and after a mazy run to the edge of their box he let fly and the ball was bursting the back of their net; 3-2. As the game came to a close tired legs got the better of us and they brought on some fresh legs. It was to be our undoing as they scored one more to make it 4-2. We couldn't continue the run of underdog victories.
As always the post-match analysis was how well we'd done but we still came second. Our next match is against The Victoria on 30th March. Surely our time will come. Lads, let's all get an early night without alcohol and only a pasta meal for carbo loading.
Wow, that was close. Nearly got hit by that flying pig!
Alick Howard
