Tom's Team 3
Brett's Team 5
Tom's Team: Tom, Jason, Dave, Andy, Steve G, Simon J, Jonni
Brett's Team: Brett, Matt, Churchy, Rich, Sam, Shaun, Steve J
After a week of stressing that we wouldn't have enough players for a game due to holidays we actually ended up with quite a healthy 7-a-side. There was a debut for Dave's mate Andy and Simon J, Tom and Steve G all returned. The missing list read: Phil, Simon B, Will G, Tuvvy, Kev, Dave C, Paul, Jonny, Ed, Andy T, Buncey and Roy (yes, and STILL Kerron) which is a half decent team! Anyway, after arriving a little earlier than normal, paying and joining Jonni, Shaun and Jason to wait the foyer was suddenly full of hundreds of young ladies after some kind of "leg, bums and tums" festival. I can see why those three get there so early now! Brett turned up with a brand new ball, which turned out to be pretty good.
Enough waffle, on to the game...
Jason and Matt started in goal for their respective teams and Tom's team were straight into attack, catching Brett's team napping and disorganised in defence. Matt made a couple of early saves and Tom's team won a number of corners that, as normal, came to nothing. It wasn't long before Dave, who was looking lively, found some space in the area and after exchanging passes with Simon, fired the ball low past Matt and it was 1-0. Brett was doing a good job of getting his team to wake up and look a bit more organised at the back and he started a couple of attacks that ultimately led to nothing, but the signs were there. Simon J, Steve G, Andy and Jonni were linking well on the right and with Dave running everywhere and Tom plugging the holes at the back the signs were ominous for Brett's team. Sure enough, Jonni broke through on the right and slotted a nice goal past Matt into the far corner. After a couple of nice saves early on Matt had let in two goals in quick succession and it was time for a keeper change.
Brett's Team started to hit back and they crafted a few good chances for Shaun in quick succession. Firstly, Matt crossed in from the right and Shaun got a head to the ball that looped over Tom but didn't dip enough and went over, to be fair to Tom, I think he had it covered. Then after Churchy and Steve J had linked well, Shaun turned well in the area but couldn't keep his shot down and the ball flew over. Finally, after another attack, the ball feel to Shaun who smashed it past Tom but the ball hit the bar and was cleared. The signs were there though.
With both teams going for it, the game opened up a bit, although, it was played in a strangely subdued atmosphere, with hardly any talking between the players... it was eerily like playing in a morgue. I guess all the loud mouths (i.e. teachers) are on holiday. Rich and Sam looked solid at the back for Brett's team and Tom and Jonni had looked comfortably in control for Tom's team, but the chances did come. Brett crossed in a lovely corner which found Churchy at the back post and his header beat the keeper but went wide of the far post. Dave and Simon were a real handful and Steve G and Jonni were linking well and Sam had to make a couple of good saves.
Finally a break though: Matt played the ball into Churchy who was in the middle and Steve made a great run on the right wing, Churchy looked to have slightly over hit the pass but Steve reached it and pulled the ball back leaving Matt with the simplest of tap ins (although we have seen him miss them in the past!) to make it 2-1.
Then Shaun found his scoring boots. Having had a few half chances and a couple of chances he will think he should have done better with, Shaun suddenly ripped Tom's team apart with a quick-fire hat-trick. Three quality finishes after great work from Churchy, Brett and Steve J - Brett's team led 4-2 and Tom's team's 2-0 advantage was a distant memory. More goals looked on the cards, with Steve J hitting the post and Churchy heading over from a great corner taken by Steve. Matt also had a chance, but could not keep his shot down and the ball ballooned over the bar. To add insult to injury Brett was better placed and screaming for a pass. Matt then he tried one of his overhead kicks and the ball went miles wide and he just looked daft, like a blubbery walrus in a tumble dryer.
Tom's team were still attacking well though and Steve Gagg got a third, slotting the ball beautifully past Churchy to put them back in the game. Jonni set Jason up a few times with some great crosses from the right wing but he couldn't force the ball home. Matt then started messing around with the ball in defence and Steve Gagg nicked it off him and ran through. However, Steve scuffed his shot, seemingly kicking the floor rather than the ball and the ball went harmlessly wide. A great chance wasted and Steve looked disgusted, like a man who's just got home from the tattooist, looked in the mirror and discovered he's had Ann Widdecombe drawn on his buttock instead of the Tottenham cockerel that he asked for. Churchy also made a great save from Jonni, tipping the ball wide from a fierce shot.
Poor old Dave then blocked a through ball with, erm, his most delicate area. As he slowly sank to his knees, grimacing in pain, small beads of sweat appeared on his brow, the light in his eyes started to fade and a strange garbled noise escaped from his mouth. An exact replica of Phil McBride after half a cider.
Matt replaced Churchy in goal and immediately was forced into a save, tipping Dave's low shot onto the post at full stretch (so close!). Tom then turned brilliantly on the right to get a bit of space but his shot was a nice height for Matt who turned it away. Shortly afterwards Andy was played in but Matt ran out and the shot hit him and went out for a corner. Steve Gagg beat Matt with a fantastic shot, but it clipped Rich and hit the bar and went over. It was an important period of the game because, not long afterwards Steve J added a 5th for Brett's team and they had the game sown up. There was just enough time for Churchy to dazzle us all with a outstanding turn past Jonni which left the defender rooted to the spot blinking in confusion and then "time" was called and that was that. So, 8 goals this week and the spectre of last week's 0-0 well and truly vanquished. Good game lads.
Goal Of The Week: Shaun's hat trick was great, but Jonni's finish past Matt was absolutely sublime and gave the keeper no chance. Great goal Jonni.
Player Of The Week: A few contenders this week. Shaun scored a hat-trick and ran for every ball, causing Tom's defence problems all game. Steve J and Simon J showed their normal brilliant skill and work-rate. Brett, Rich, Tom and Sam were all outstanding in defence and Steve G and Jonni both had excellent games. This week though was a real return to form for Rich Church. He has been playing a lot better for the last few games and this time round he was the difference between the two teams. A fantastic tackler with a great football brain, Rich had spells in midfield and out wide. He was involved in most of his team's goals and was unlucky with his two headers. Looking like a young Bob Carolgees in a football kit Rich bossed the game and once again laid claim to be the Church Household's best player award. We'll see how Kev responds next week. Great game Rich!
Friday 30 July 2010
Thursday 22 July 2010
Match Report: Wednesday 21st July
Ed's Bibs: 0
Woody's Colours: 0
Bibs – Matt, Simon, Sam, Dave, Jonny, Ed, Roy, Buncey
Colours – Woody, Brett, Phil, Rich C, Kev, Rich, Shaun, Jason, Towney
If a week is a long time in politics, 4 days was an eternity in St Pauls football…and this game came right from the deepest darkest corner of eternity. If it had been a boxing match it would’ve been called “The fight where no punch was landed”; in golfing terms we’d still be on the first having either failed to hit the ball or lost it or buried it in a bunker…you get the point: it was like a new born baby – toothless.
After the heroic defeat on Saturday, a number of that squad turned up to demonstrate the skills and effort they had put into the game; a large number of players were missing, Will, Big Dave, Tuvvy, Steves Sav Gagg and J, not to mention the Morrisons crew of Gavin, Jason et al. Brett picked sides, and off we went. Phil was fired-up and looking for blood as Matt had dared to take the mickey out of his beloved Sheffield Utd's sacred song about chip butties. [I won't be doing that again! - Matt]
It was Dave and Ed who began the brightest for bibs, setting up most of their attacking moves. Freed from right back, Jonny pushed forward, and freed from left back, Roy pushed up front. Brett, new Rich, Kev and Phil defended well and managed to mop up most of the danger, but the outlet passes just weren’t happening for colours and the ball kept coming back at them. I would like to say that Woody pulled off save after save in net but to be honest, he never got a sniff.
Then a controversial moment in the opening exchanges. Matt Young picked the ball up 15 yards out and ghosted past Phil. His acceleration took him clear but suddenly he stopped and fell to the ground like a Spanish midfielder including with the three point roll and gesture. The cause may have been Phil’s reaction of grabbing a small amount of Matt’s bib (and shirt, training top and pound of flesh). Bibs were up in arms – a clear goal scoring chance denied. Strangely, non-one called for Phil to be sent off for 5 minutes and the game continued with a free kick.
Simon quickly called keeper change and keen to score the opener, he pushed onto the front line to exact revenge. All this actually did was free up space in his own defence and encouraged by Woody’s calls of “This is rubbish” and “No-one’s moving – why aren’t you helping each other out?” the colours began to mount attacks. Yet, no goal was forthcoming. In boredom Phil smashed the ball into Acomb and had to set off to get it. While he was gone, there were no chances. In fact, chances were so few and far between that Woody had taken to sitting in the penalty area to yell abuse at his players. His lack of movement out of goal (because he has a poorwy ankle) meant his team were getting tired, whilst the bibs rotation policy of “Next” as soon as a keeper had arrived, was keeping them fresh.
Dave had a good curling shot saved by Woody
.
Darkness began to fall...the floodlights had no intention of illuminating the game – maybe they had fallen asleep watching.
Jason had an opportunity blocked well by Dave, Sam was playing well again in defence, Ed was playing a blinder, not only wide and stretching the colours but he was dispossessing any attack that Phil was trying to muster. Buncey looked like he might have found the perfect match – space, movement and planty of runners in Jonny, Dave and Simon. The only problem was that every time he got the ball and began to look dangerous one or two Churches descended on him – never a pretty sight.
Brett got bored and went up front. Then came back as he realised that no-one was left in defence.
Ed pulled off a fantastic save from a curling effort from Rich C and at that point we should’ve said – You know what guys – this is going to stay 0-0. If only we’d said that – we could’ve saved ourselves 20 mins of Woody shouting “You’re going to make history you bunch of losers” every 2 mins from his position sitting on the crossbar.
Dave then set up Simon with the move of the game – drifting past both Churches and Brett, he timed his pass to Simon past the outstretched foot of Phil, only for Woody to scamper out of his area and block (and just in case we’d forgotten his poorwy ankle, he gave a little yelp)
Dave then turned defender to block Phil when quite frankly Emile Heskey would’ve shot quicker – however, a great block and STILL 0-0.
Then the chance of the game – Towney, who had been switching wings with Rich C all evening dinked a great ball in to Phil standing on his lonesome on the back post. Only Matt Young to beat with his diving header……the world stood still….Phil sensed glory and closed his eyes……connection……only for Matt to avenge the earlier travesty of justice and prove that, just like Neville Southall, fat keepers can dive and he tipped the ball over – just like THAT save of Gordon Banks in 1970.
By now bats were flying around although a quick check of Roy’s wallet meant it was getting dark and not that he was seeing if he’s brought his match fees.
Bibs pushed forward in a seemingly suicidal bid to win it and it nearly paid off as Roy saw his effort pull across goal. However, as before this meant that they were light at the back and Sam had to pull off a great tackle to deny Shaun who up until now had been a talisman up front holding the ball and moving to allow others space. Towney tried his luck from the right, only to see his cross go all the way through without a sniff from Colours.
Woody was getting desperate in his desire for a goal and, proving that he has been faking for weeks, set off on a mazy run….only to lose the ball in centre midfield and hare it back (poowy ankle my a**e) to goal before the shot came in.
Eventually Simon and Phil called a truce (it really was that kind of night) and a 0-0 draw was agreed. The stats would make depressing reading – I think bibs had 3 shots on target, colours 4. So, history was made, the first ever 0-0 at Oaklands on a Wednesday evening, let's hope it doesn't happen again.
I will however, leave the last word to Jason who – having been shouted at by his own team mate Phil, yelled at by Woody and chastised by Matt was heard to say “I thought this was meant to be a Christian thing and people have taken it too seriously”. Too right and I for one apologise [yeah, me too, really sorry about my language! - Matt].
Goal Save of the Game: Matt’s amazing one handed reflex tip over the bar from a point blank header. Superb and lesser mortals would have got no where near it. A great save Matt – well done
Player of the week: A tough call – a game dominated by defenders again. Rich C ran and ran as did Towney who both were influential in their teams performance. Brett played solidly again and couldn’t be faulted for his positional sense and breaks from the back. Dave again broke everything up and looked to attack when he could and Sam played well again in defence for bibs. But man of the match goes to Ed. He used his brain to move from wing to wing but also held the central area when he needed to; he defended from the front and tackled men older than him on countless occasions (darn him!!). He also played some really neat simple passes. And he kept his hat on for the full 60 mins. Good work Ed – well done.
Match Report by Phil McBride
Woody's Colours: 0
Bibs – Matt, Simon, Sam, Dave, Jonny, Ed, Roy, Buncey
Colours – Woody, Brett, Phil, Rich C, Kev, Rich, Shaun, Jason, Towney
If a week is a long time in politics, 4 days was an eternity in St Pauls football…and this game came right from the deepest darkest corner of eternity. If it had been a boxing match it would’ve been called “The fight where no punch was landed”; in golfing terms we’d still be on the first having either failed to hit the ball or lost it or buried it in a bunker…you get the point: it was like a new born baby – toothless.
After the heroic defeat on Saturday, a number of that squad turned up to demonstrate the skills and effort they had put into the game; a large number of players were missing, Will, Big Dave, Tuvvy, Steves Sav Gagg and J, not to mention the Morrisons crew of Gavin, Jason et al. Brett picked sides, and off we went. Phil was fired-up and looking for blood as Matt had dared to take the mickey out of his beloved Sheffield Utd's sacred song about chip butties. [I won't be doing that again! - Matt]
It was Dave and Ed who began the brightest for bibs, setting up most of their attacking moves. Freed from right back, Jonny pushed forward, and freed from left back, Roy pushed up front. Brett, new Rich, Kev and Phil defended well and managed to mop up most of the danger, but the outlet passes just weren’t happening for colours and the ball kept coming back at them. I would like to say that Woody pulled off save after save in net but to be honest, he never got a sniff.
Then a controversial moment in the opening exchanges. Matt Young picked the ball up 15 yards out and ghosted past Phil. His acceleration took him clear but suddenly he stopped and fell to the ground like a Spanish midfielder including with the three point roll and gesture. The cause may have been Phil’s reaction of grabbing a small amount of Matt’s bib (and shirt, training top and pound of flesh). Bibs were up in arms – a clear goal scoring chance denied. Strangely, non-one called for Phil to be sent off for 5 minutes and the game continued with a free kick.
Simon quickly called keeper change and keen to score the opener, he pushed onto the front line to exact revenge. All this actually did was free up space in his own defence and encouraged by Woody’s calls of “This is rubbish” and “No-one’s moving – why aren’t you helping each other out?” the colours began to mount attacks. Yet, no goal was forthcoming. In boredom Phil smashed the ball into Acomb and had to set off to get it. While he was gone, there were no chances. In fact, chances were so few and far between that Woody had taken to sitting in the penalty area to yell abuse at his players. His lack of movement out of goal (because he has a poorwy ankle) meant his team were getting tired, whilst the bibs rotation policy of “Next” as soon as a keeper had arrived, was keeping them fresh.
Dave had a good curling shot saved by Woody
.
Darkness began to fall...the floodlights had no intention of illuminating the game – maybe they had fallen asleep watching.
Jason had an opportunity blocked well by Dave, Sam was playing well again in defence, Ed was playing a blinder, not only wide and stretching the colours but he was dispossessing any attack that Phil was trying to muster. Buncey looked like he might have found the perfect match – space, movement and planty of runners in Jonny, Dave and Simon. The only problem was that every time he got the ball and began to look dangerous one or two Churches descended on him – never a pretty sight.
Brett got bored and went up front. Then came back as he realised that no-one was left in defence.
Ed pulled off a fantastic save from a curling effort from Rich C and at that point we should’ve said – You know what guys – this is going to stay 0-0. If only we’d said that – we could’ve saved ourselves 20 mins of Woody shouting “You’re going to make history you bunch of losers” every 2 mins from his position sitting on the crossbar.
Dave then set up Simon with the move of the game – drifting past both Churches and Brett, he timed his pass to Simon past the outstretched foot of Phil, only for Woody to scamper out of his area and block (and just in case we’d forgotten his poorwy ankle, he gave a little yelp)
Dave then turned defender to block Phil when quite frankly Emile Heskey would’ve shot quicker – however, a great block and STILL 0-0.
Then the chance of the game – Towney, who had been switching wings with Rich C all evening dinked a great ball in to Phil standing on his lonesome on the back post. Only Matt Young to beat with his diving header……the world stood still….Phil sensed glory and closed his eyes……connection……only for Matt to avenge the earlier travesty of justice and prove that, just like Neville Southall, fat keepers can dive and he tipped the ball over – just like THAT save of Gordon Banks in 1970.
By now bats were flying around although a quick check of Roy’s wallet meant it was getting dark and not that he was seeing if he’s brought his match fees.
Bibs pushed forward in a seemingly suicidal bid to win it and it nearly paid off as Roy saw his effort pull across goal. However, as before this meant that they were light at the back and Sam had to pull off a great tackle to deny Shaun who up until now had been a talisman up front holding the ball and moving to allow others space. Towney tried his luck from the right, only to see his cross go all the way through without a sniff from Colours.
Woody was getting desperate in his desire for a goal and, proving that he has been faking for weeks, set off on a mazy run….only to lose the ball in centre midfield and hare it back (poowy ankle my a**e) to goal before the shot came in.
Eventually Simon and Phil called a truce (it really was that kind of night) and a 0-0 draw was agreed. The stats would make depressing reading – I think bibs had 3 shots on target, colours 4. So, history was made, the first ever 0-0 at Oaklands on a Wednesday evening, let's hope it doesn't happen again.
I will however, leave the last word to Jason who – having been shouted at by his own team mate Phil, yelled at by Woody and chastised by Matt was heard to say “I thought this was meant to be a Christian thing and people have taken it too seriously”. Too right and I for one apologise [yeah, me too, really sorry about my language! - Matt].
Player of the week: A tough call – a game dominated by defenders again. Rich C ran and ran as did Towney who both were influential in their teams performance. Brett played solidly again and couldn’t be faulted for his positional sense and breaks from the back. Dave again broke everything up and looked to attack when he could and Sam played well again in defence for bibs. But man of the match goes to Ed. He used his brain to move from wing to wing but also held the central area when he needed to; he defended from the front and tackled men older than him on countless occasions (darn him!!). He also played some really neat simple passes. And he kept his hat on for the full 60 mins. Good work Ed – well done.
Match Report by Phil McBride
Sunday 18 July 2010
Match Report: Saturday 17th July
St Pauls 2
Acomb Gateway 3
A fine day for a game of football and St Paul's took their 3-game unbeaten run to Global (the old manor school) to face new league team, Acomb Gateway. Our first game on grass and our first game without the talismanic Woody in the centre of the field. With other names such as, Will G, Steve J, Jonny W, Dave C and Steve Sav missing St Paul's were down to the bare bones and fielded a squad of 12 (with the 12th man carrying an injury) and there were debuts for Jonni Brown and Carbs and Matt Wright returned to centre midfield for his first game since the 12-3 drubbing of York Herts.
St Paul's lost the toss and started the game kicking uphill and lined up as follows:
GK: Kev Church
LB: Jonni Brown
CB: Phil McBride (C)
CB: Matt Young
RB: Roy Gibson
LM: Rich Church
CM: Tom Haigh
CM: Matt Wright
RM: Steve Gagg
ST: Simon Bissett
ST: Andrew Carberry
with Simon playing just infront of the two centre midfielders, despite having at least 11 players unavailable, it was still a pretty strong line-up.
Gateway kicked off and imediately put the St Paul's defence under pressure. Phil barked orders and organised the team well and Tom and Matt W battled well in midfield. Tom had a minor spat with the referee and was told not to argue (despite the ref telling Tom he agreed with him and he'd made a mistake). Gateway, had bags of pace and their number 7 (who played on the left wing) was causing alot of problems for Roy and Matt Y. The number 9 was also a real handfull and Matt Y was lucky not to give away a penalty after the number 9 had got ahead of him at a corner. Matt saw the number 9 would get a head on the ball so gave him a firm nudge in the back which sent him flying under the ball and the danger was cleared. Stonewall penalty, but Matt somehow got away with it.
The onslaught continued and, despite some good defending the breakthrough came after about 15 minutes and it was a goal St Paul's will think they should not have conceded. Matt Y tried to clear but the ball rebounded off an attacker and ran through, then Roy tried to clear but again the ball hit an attacker, hit Kev, hit Roy and ran beyond Kev where the number 9 was waiting and tapped into the empty net. An avoidable goal, if Matt had just wellied it out for a throw when he had the chance. These are the moments when you realise you can't play an 11-a-side like you play at Oaklands on a Wednesday evening. If only Matt had listened to Alan Hansen all these years and played "percentages". Still, it would be hard to say Gateway didn't deserve their lead. 1-0 soon became 2-0 (I'm afraid I can't remember their second goal) and this prompted Phil to switch things around a bit. Brett came on for Roy and slotted into the centre back role, with Matt switching to right-back. However, this change only lasted for about 5 minutes as, after winning a header, Phil landed badly on his knee and was forced off. So, Matt switched back to centre back, Pretty Boy Bissett dropped to right back and Roy went to right midfield with Steve Gagg pushing into a more attacking role.
When St Paul's did put an attack together, they seemed to peter out and it really wasn't happening for them up front. This was despite the hard work that Tom, Matt W, Rich C, Carbs, Simon and Steve put in. The whole team worked hard, communication was good and the defending pretty solid with Gateway only managing a couple of half chances for the rest of the half. Simon was having a tough time marking the number 7, but a combination of good tackling, surreptitious tripping and the most blatant push in the back ever (which Simon claims never happened) meant that Simon just about had the upperhand.
Then, on about 40 minutes, Matt Wright found a bit of space and tried his luck from long range. He unleashed a great shot that had the keeper totally beaten but the ball hit the post and rebounded across the goal, Carbs had done well to follow up and got to the ball but, from a tight angle, scuffed his shot and the keeper gladly gathered the ball up.
So, the first half came to an end, Gateway led 2-0 and to be fair, the first half had been all about Gateway attacking and St Paul's defending. There was not much to say at half time. No one was playing badly, the defence looked solid, Tom and Matt were doing great in the centre. So, Phil swapped the tactics round a bit and asked the team to hit the channels more where Rich and Roy would be, he asked Carbs to hold the ball up and look for the wingers runs and there wasn't much more to say.
I think the second half we lined up as follows:
GK: Kev Church
LB: Phil McBride (C)
CB: Brett Harrison
CB: Matt Young
RB: Simon Bissett
LM: Rich Church
CM: Tom Haigh
CM: Matt Wright
RM: Roy Gibson
ST: Steve Gagg
ST: Andrew Carberry
St Paul's played much better in the second half and were getting more joy in attack, especially down the left wing where Rich Church was giving Gateway's right-back a torrid time. Brett was outstanding in defence and nothing was getting past him and Phil. On the right side of defence Simon was winning his battle against their nippy number 7. The chances came for St Paul's: Carbs headed over after a great corner from Rich, then he had a volley from distance that wasn't far over. Jonni hit the tree, which was hilarious, but at least St Paul's were getting some shots in. Gateway were still attacking but the defence was pretty much in control.
Then St Paul's were awarded a free kick some distance out. Tom checked with the ref that it was a direct free-kcick and then, when the whistle blew, he launched an audacious free kick over the goalkeeper's head and into the bad of the net. "I'll have that" said Tom - great goal and St Paul's were back in it.
A clash of heads in the middle of the park between Matt W and Gateway's influencial number 8 led to a huge delay and both players being subbed. Gateway's player had a nasty looking cut on the back of his head. Matt W, being from Devon, just blinked a couple of times and said "Ouch, proper job, feel like i've downed a couple o jars of scrumpy, my lover..." Anyway, Phil moved into midfield and Jonni moved back to left-back.
Then disaster, just when St Paul's were thinking they would surely get an equaliser, Matt Y got sucked out of position and a poor challenge meant that their centre midfielder had the ball and the number 9 was completely unmarked. The ball was played wide to the lightning fast number 7 and he beat Simon and crossed in for the unmarked number 9 to smash the ball home. Kev had no chance. Shortly afterward, Gateway broke again and fashioned a good chance. Kev parried the powerful shot up into the air and just when it looked like it was going to drop over the line, he managed to turn and grab it - a great save. At 4-1 St Paul's would have been dead and buried.
A corner for St Paul's led to their second goal. Roy found himself free in the area and decided to gamble with a run to the near post. Jonni hit a low corner in and Roy was there to tap it past the keeper from virtually on the goal line. A good goal and St Paul's were back in the game. Rich Church continued to create chances and, Matt W (back on the pitch) and Carbs were linking well and it looked like a matter of time before St Paul's would grab an equaliser. Rich hit the bar with a cross/shot and both Carbs and Matt W had powerful shots blocked by the defence. A misplaced header from their centre back nearly caught out the keeper, but he did well to scramble back and make the save.
At the other end Gateway fashioned a good chance from a well worked move but their (now bandaged up) number 8 put the chance over when he looked certain to score.
The game ended 3-2 to Gateway, while I think they fully deserved the win, I do think that a draw would also have been a fair result after St Paul's much improved second half performance. It was a good match played in a good spirit and I wish Gateway good luck in their forthcoming league campaign.
After the game, in the subdued atmosphere of the changing rooms, Tom tried to kill us all with Legionnaire's Disease by turning on the 100 year old showers with their stagnant, disease ridden, brackish water. "It's OK" he said "I didn't put my head in!" and it was off to the Fox to drown our sorrows.
Player Ratings:
Kev Church: Always a reliable, safe pair of hands. There was nothing Kev could do about any of the goals. He made an outstanding save in the second half and his kicking was much improved in this game. We are lucky to have a natural keeper in our team and Kev, once again, proved he's easily our first choice. Rating: Gordon Banks
Jonni Brown: A good debut from Jonni who only knew he was playing on Wednesday. One of our new players he quickly settled into our Wednesday night football matches and gave a good performance at left-back. Solid and reliable in defence, he also took the corner that led to Roy's goal and can, hand-on-heart, say with a clear conscience that he was the only player to hit the tree after an effort on goal. Good game Jonni. Rating: Nigel Winterburn
Brett Harrison: Outstanding debut, especially considering he was carrying an injury. Brett came on midway through the first-half and was rock solid for the rest of the game. Absolute quality defender and Gateway never got past him. Looking forward to seeing a fully fit Brett partnering Phil in a dream centre-back pairing. Rating: Des Walker
Phil McBride: Like Brett, Phil was like a rock in defence. In the first half (before being forced off) he won everything, even producing a first class sliding tackle when it looked like on of their strikers had finally got past him. Phil claims that he's not really a captain, but that's, frankly, a load of rubbish. Like Tom, he's a natural leader that the team look to and he did a great job of captaining the side. He also knew exactly what to do to change the fortunes of the team in the second half showing he has an eye for the game too. First class performance by phil and St Paul's Man Of The Match. Well done Phil. Rating: Phil Jagielka
Matt Y: Probably Matt's best game for St Paul's. Will no doubt blame himself for the 1st and 3rd goals, but looked reasonably solid at the back and was pleased to win a couple of battles with the number 7. Was lucky not to concede a penalty early on in the first half. Rating: Carlton Palmer
Roy Gibson: tough tackling Roy was given a real test early in the first half by the lightning fast Gateway attack. Still did well though and had a great game in the second half on the wing. Scored his first goal for St Paul's and it was thoroughly deserved. Great game Roy. Rating: Ashley Cole
Rich Church: Brilliant game from Churchy. Was a contender for Man Of The Match and only missed out because Phil was so good. Rich battled well in the first half, but it was the second half when he ran the Gateway right-back ragged. He was unlucky when hit hit the bar and also when a couple of half-chances didn't quite fall for him. Top class performance. Rating: Kevin Sheedy
Tom Haigh: Great game again from Tom. He's scored in every match he's played for St Paul's, which is outstanding when you consider a) he's a right-back by trade and b) how bad his penalty was in the last match. Tom battled hard all game and played really well in the middle alongside Matt Wright. Didn't put a foot wrong all game and didn't deserve to be on the losing side. Rating: Juninho
Matt Wright: Matt is quality. He brought a bit of steel to the St Paul's midfield and had an outstanding game. Tough tackling and always looking for the ball with a nice range of passing. Matt won everything that came near him in midfield and was really unlucky with his shot that hit the post. He also had a chance in the second half that a defender did well to block. Great game Matt. Rating: Roy Keane
Steve Gagg: Genius footballer, did really well on the right in a game that didn't really suit Steve's intelligent passing game. Ran himself into the ground and ended up with cramp. Didn't put a foot wrong and should be very happy with his performance. Rating: Joe Cole
Carbs: Carbs did well, battling all of the first half but never getting the break he deserved. In the second half Carbs came alive and thrived on Phil's new tactics. Holding the ball up brilliantly and bringing Rich and Roy into play on the wings. Carbs had a few chances and was unlucky not to score. A great debut for St Paul's. Rating: Dimitar Berbatov
Simon Bissett: Simon hardly saw the ball in the fist half when he was playing just infront of Tom and Matt W such was Gateway's dominance. A switch to right-back ensured that Simon was one of the busier players for the rest of the game. When you consider just how good their number 7 was Simon did an outstanding job of defending against him. Was also influential in attack, taking a number of throw ins (and one foul throw like a netball throw!) and getting Roy moving down the right. Great game Simon. Rating: Gary Stevens
Acomb Gateway 3
A fine day for a game of football and St Paul's took their 3-game unbeaten run to Global (the old manor school) to face new league team, Acomb Gateway. Our first game on grass and our first game without the talismanic Woody in the centre of the field. With other names such as, Will G, Steve J, Jonny W, Dave C and Steve Sav missing St Paul's were down to the bare bones and fielded a squad of 12 (with the 12th man carrying an injury) and there were debuts for Jonni Brown and Carbs and Matt Wright returned to centre midfield for his first game since the 12-3 drubbing of York Herts.
St Paul's lost the toss and started the game kicking uphill and lined up as follows:
GK: Kev Church
LB: Jonni Brown
CB: Phil McBride (C)
CB: Matt Young
RB: Roy Gibson
LM: Rich Church
CM: Tom Haigh
CM: Matt Wright
RM: Steve Gagg
ST: Simon Bissett
ST: Andrew Carberry
with Simon playing just infront of the two centre midfielders, despite having at least 11 players unavailable, it was still a pretty strong line-up.
Gateway kicked off and imediately put the St Paul's defence under pressure. Phil barked orders and organised the team well and Tom and Matt W battled well in midfield. Tom had a minor spat with the referee and was told not to argue (despite the ref telling Tom he agreed with him and he'd made a mistake). Gateway, had bags of pace and their number 7 (who played on the left wing) was causing alot of problems for Roy and Matt Y. The number 9 was also a real handfull and Matt Y was lucky not to give away a penalty after the number 9 had got ahead of him at a corner. Matt saw the number 9 would get a head on the ball so gave him a firm nudge in the back which sent him flying under the ball and the danger was cleared. Stonewall penalty, but Matt somehow got away with it.
The onslaught continued and, despite some good defending the breakthrough came after about 15 minutes and it was a goal St Paul's will think they should not have conceded. Matt Y tried to clear but the ball rebounded off an attacker and ran through, then Roy tried to clear but again the ball hit an attacker, hit Kev, hit Roy and ran beyond Kev where the number 9 was waiting and tapped into the empty net. An avoidable goal, if Matt had just wellied it out for a throw when he had the chance. These are the moments when you realise you can't play an 11-a-side like you play at Oaklands on a Wednesday evening. If only Matt had listened to Alan Hansen all these years and played "percentages". Still, it would be hard to say Gateway didn't deserve their lead. 1-0 soon became 2-0 (I'm afraid I can't remember their second goal) and this prompted Phil to switch things around a bit. Brett came on for Roy and slotted into the centre back role, with Matt switching to right-back. However, this change only lasted for about 5 minutes as, after winning a header, Phil landed badly on his knee and was forced off. So, Matt switched back to centre back, Pretty Boy Bissett dropped to right back and Roy went to right midfield with Steve Gagg pushing into a more attacking role.
When St Paul's did put an attack together, they seemed to peter out and it really wasn't happening for them up front. This was despite the hard work that Tom, Matt W, Rich C, Carbs, Simon and Steve put in. The whole team worked hard, communication was good and the defending pretty solid with Gateway only managing a couple of half chances for the rest of the half. Simon was having a tough time marking the number 7, but a combination of good tackling, surreptitious tripping and the most blatant push in the back ever (which Simon claims never happened) meant that Simon just about had the upperhand.
Then, on about 40 minutes, Matt Wright found a bit of space and tried his luck from long range. He unleashed a great shot that had the keeper totally beaten but the ball hit the post and rebounded across the goal, Carbs had done well to follow up and got to the ball but, from a tight angle, scuffed his shot and the keeper gladly gathered the ball up.
So, the first half came to an end, Gateway led 2-0 and to be fair, the first half had been all about Gateway attacking and St Paul's defending. There was not much to say at half time. No one was playing badly, the defence looked solid, Tom and Matt were doing great in the centre. So, Phil swapped the tactics round a bit and asked the team to hit the channels more where Rich and Roy would be, he asked Carbs to hold the ball up and look for the wingers runs and there wasn't much more to say.
I think the second half we lined up as follows:
GK: Kev Church
LB: Phil McBride (C)
CB: Brett Harrison
CB: Matt Young
RB: Simon Bissett
LM: Rich Church
CM: Tom Haigh
CM: Matt Wright
RM: Roy Gibson
ST: Steve Gagg
ST: Andrew Carberry
St Paul's played much better in the second half and were getting more joy in attack, especially down the left wing where Rich Church was giving Gateway's right-back a torrid time. Brett was outstanding in defence and nothing was getting past him and Phil. On the right side of defence Simon was winning his battle against their nippy number 7. The chances came for St Paul's: Carbs headed over after a great corner from Rich, then he had a volley from distance that wasn't far over. Jonni hit the tree, which was hilarious, but at least St Paul's were getting some shots in. Gateway were still attacking but the defence was pretty much in control.
Then St Paul's were awarded a free kick some distance out. Tom checked with the ref that it was a direct free-kcick and then, when the whistle blew, he launched an audacious free kick over the goalkeeper's head and into the bad of the net. "I'll have that" said Tom - great goal and St Paul's were back in it.
A clash of heads in the middle of the park between Matt W and Gateway's influencial number 8 led to a huge delay and both players being subbed. Gateway's player had a nasty looking cut on the back of his head. Matt W, being from Devon, just blinked a couple of times and said "Ouch, proper job, feel like i've downed a couple o jars of scrumpy, my lover..." Anyway, Phil moved into midfield and Jonni moved back to left-back.
Then disaster, just when St Paul's were thinking they would surely get an equaliser, Matt Y got sucked out of position and a poor challenge meant that their centre midfielder had the ball and the number 9 was completely unmarked. The ball was played wide to the lightning fast number 7 and he beat Simon and crossed in for the unmarked number 9 to smash the ball home. Kev had no chance. Shortly afterward, Gateway broke again and fashioned a good chance. Kev parried the powerful shot up into the air and just when it looked like it was going to drop over the line, he managed to turn and grab it - a great save. At 4-1 St Paul's would have been dead and buried.
A corner for St Paul's led to their second goal. Roy found himself free in the area and decided to gamble with a run to the near post. Jonni hit a low corner in and Roy was there to tap it past the keeper from virtually on the goal line. A good goal and St Paul's were back in the game. Rich Church continued to create chances and, Matt W (back on the pitch) and Carbs were linking well and it looked like a matter of time before St Paul's would grab an equaliser. Rich hit the bar with a cross/shot and both Carbs and Matt W had powerful shots blocked by the defence. A misplaced header from their centre back nearly caught out the keeper, but he did well to scramble back and make the save.
At the other end Gateway fashioned a good chance from a well worked move but their (now bandaged up) number 8 put the chance over when he looked certain to score.
The game ended 3-2 to Gateway, while I think they fully deserved the win, I do think that a draw would also have been a fair result after St Paul's much improved second half performance. It was a good match played in a good spirit and I wish Gateway good luck in their forthcoming league campaign.
After the game, in the subdued atmosphere of the changing rooms, Tom tried to kill us all with Legionnaire's Disease by turning on the 100 year old showers with their stagnant, disease ridden, brackish water. "It's OK" he said "I didn't put my head in!" and it was off to the Fox to drown our sorrows.
Player Ratings:
Kev Church: Always a reliable, safe pair of hands. There was nothing Kev could do about any of the goals. He made an outstanding save in the second half and his kicking was much improved in this game. We are lucky to have a natural keeper in our team and Kev, once again, proved he's easily our first choice. Rating: Gordon Banks
Jonni Brown: A good debut from Jonni who only knew he was playing on Wednesday. One of our new players he quickly settled into our Wednesday night football matches and gave a good performance at left-back. Solid and reliable in defence, he also took the corner that led to Roy's goal and can, hand-on-heart, say with a clear conscience that he was the only player to hit the tree after an effort on goal. Good game Jonni. Rating: Nigel Winterburn
Brett Harrison: Outstanding debut, especially considering he was carrying an injury. Brett came on midway through the first-half and was rock solid for the rest of the game. Absolute quality defender and Gateway never got past him. Looking forward to seeing a fully fit Brett partnering Phil in a dream centre-back pairing. Rating: Des Walker
Phil McBride: Like Brett, Phil was like a rock in defence. In the first half (before being forced off) he won everything, even producing a first class sliding tackle when it looked like on of their strikers had finally got past him. Phil claims that he's not really a captain, but that's, frankly, a load of rubbish. Like Tom, he's a natural leader that the team look to and he did a great job of captaining the side. He also knew exactly what to do to change the fortunes of the team in the second half showing he has an eye for the game too. First class performance by phil and St Paul's Man Of The Match. Well done Phil. Rating: Phil Jagielka
Matt Y: Probably Matt's best game for St Paul's. Will no doubt blame himself for the 1st and 3rd goals, but looked reasonably solid at the back and was pleased to win a couple of battles with the number 7. Was lucky not to concede a penalty early on in the first half. Rating: Carlton Palmer
Roy Gibson: tough tackling Roy was given a real test early in the first half by the lightning fast Gateway attack. Still did well though and had a great game in the second half on the wing. Scored his first goal for St Paul's and it was thoroughly deserved. Great game Roy. Rating: Ashley Cole
Rich Church: Brilliant game from Churchy. Was a contender for Man Of The Match and only missed out because Phil was so good. Rich battled well in the first half, but it was the second half when he ran the Gateway right-back ragged. He was unlucky when hit hit the bar and also when a couple of half-chances didn't quite fall for him. Top class performance. Rating: Kevin Sheedy
Tom Haigh: Great game again from Tom. He's scored in every match he's played for St Paul's, which is outstanding when you consider a) he's a right-back by trade and b) how bad his penalty was in the last match. Tom battled hard all game and played really well in the middle alongside Matt Wright. Didn't put a foot wrong all game and didn't deserve to be on the losing side. Rating: Juninho
Matt Wright: Matt is quality. He brought a bit of steel to the St Paul's midfield and had an outstanding game. Tough tackling and always looking for the ball with a nice range of passing. Matt won everything that came near him in midfield and was really unlucky with his shot that hit the post. He also had a chance in the second half that a defender did well to block. Great game Matt. Rating: Roy Keane
Steve Gagg: Genius footballer, did really well on the right in a game that didn't really suit Steve's intelligent passing game. Ran himself into the ground and ended up with cramp. Didn't put a foot wrong and should be very happy with his performance. Rating: Joe Cole
Carbs: Carbs did well, battling all of the first half but never getting the break he deserved. In the second half Carbs came alive and thrived on Phil's new tactics. Holding the ball up brilliantly and bringing Rich and Roy into play on the wings. Carbs had a few chances and was unlucky not to score. A great debut for St Paul's. Rating: Dimitar Berbatov
Simon Bissett: Simon hardly saw the ball in the fist half when he was playing just infront of Tom and Matt W such was Gateway's dominance. A switch to right-back ensured that Simon was one of the busier players for the rest of the game. When you consider just how good their number 7 was Simon did an outstanding job of defending against him. Was also influential in attack, taking a number of throw ins (and one foul throw like a netball throw!) and getting Roy moving down the right. Great game Simon. Rating: Gary Stevens
Thursday 15 July 2010
Match Report: Wednesday 14th July
Matt’s non-bibs: 3
Buncie’s bibs: 3
Matt’s non-bibs: Matt, Big Dave, Will, Rich C, Little Dave, Tom, Pretty boy, Roy, Sam
Buncie’s bibs: Rich B, Kev C, Brett, Jonny, Steve J, Paul, Towney, Ed, Phil
Remember the good old days of hard fought matches? The likes of Viera vrs Keane going at it from the first whistle? Well this week’s encounter at Oaklands proved to be up there with them.
After last weeks shambolic team picking, Matt passed the buck of responsibility to Phil, who dutifully put the non-bibs a man up until Steve J arrived and, like a child who’s just got his Buzz Lightyear toy for Christmas, handed Steve a bib. Cue groans all round from Will, Pretty boy and the rest of the non-bibs. The teams lined up like gladiators – possibly because it seemed everyone wanted to play defence and with Tuvvy, Steve Sav, Gavin and Jason all missing, maybe that was the case.
The match started with more respect than when Aretha Franklin played R.E.S.P.E.C.T. at the Respect concert in 1978 (may not be true). Plenty of good movement and passing, but the defences stood firm. Then, the opening goal – a lovely move through the middle, found Little Dave at the end of the gorgeous cross from PB and his finish was left to fly into the top corner by a quite frankly useless Phil in net. 1-0.
Risen from their stupor like a boxer who’d been jabbing and suddenly hit with a big right, the bibs began to build some kind of attack – only for non-bibs to break, Pretty Boy to drive a cross and Rich C get his head onto it – or was that, Rich C to get hit by a powerful shot-cum-cross? Either way, the ball flew over the bar and Rich C had claret to show for his efforts of the night. Rumour has it that he then headed into town to show off his wounds to any poor lass that ventured up to him to say “You poor puppy, what happened to you?” (possibly not true either)
Then the turning point of the game: As previously mentioned, Steve J arrived, took control of bibs and slid a lovely pass across to Towney arriving on the back post like a bearded ghost and slid the ball past a helpless Tom – 1-1.
The game was on a knife edge, Tom, Big Dave and Roy playing a great game in their half but unable to free the marauding Pretty Boy while Paul, Kev and Brett continued to try to free Ed and Towney. The teams on the match before had widened the pitch considerably which meant loads more room and didn’t feel as crowded as usual. Both teams were trying the expansive passing game, although Matt did manage one pass from right back that managed to sail into the net of the next pitch to his left – maybe a little too expansive, but that kind of pass will be needed on Saturday for the next big game.
It seemed to stay like this for about 20mins; and in that time non-bibs did most of the pressing. They had hundreds of corners – all repelled by Brett on his own. Then they got the break through they were looking for – Will, finally freed from his shackles at the back, drove forward. Bibs left trailing in his wake, he doesn’t normally wait for an invitation to shoot and this was no exception. As he let fly you could almost hear Jonny in net running away and the ball fairly screamed into the top corner. I’m sure everyone there will agree: goal of the game and 2-1 non-bibs.
Like a proper game of football though, having just scored, non-bibs went to sleep and almost immediately it was level again. This time Ed was given far too much room in the box, yet his finish past Sam was clinical and well deserved. Ed is beginning to show real signs of the kind of wing play of olden days – good close control, and ability to pass and move and now he’s finishing too – watch out Rich C, your place in the 11-a-side may well be under threat!
Another long period of stalemate developed and the evenness of the sides meant that they canceled each other out. Then a nice goal – and again non-bibs took the lead. As Matt texted me last night “Me to Will, will to churchy, nice control and slotted past Andy”. Our manager has a good memory for positive things that don’t involve him, and who am I to argue?
All looked lost for bibs – time was running out; Tom was marshaling his defensive line of Simon B, Sam and Will well and bibs were short of creativity. However, they had not counted for the non-bibs ability to hold onto a lead – about as good as Phil’s ability to hold onto his temper. The keeper rolled it to Tom, who was immediately pounced upon by Steve J. Various bits of skill were attempted by Tom to shake him off, but Steve had his prey locked tight in his metaphorical jaws. In the end, with much muttering, Tom fell over and Steve, bearing down on the keeper even had time to jump in the air and click his heels together three times whilst saying “There’s no place like home” before slotting the third equaliser of the game.
There was hardly time for Little Dave to try a speculative long range effort before the call of “Time gentlemen please” (a comment that always has Matt in tears, no matter where the location) and a 3-3 draw was written into history.
A really good game – lots of space meant that we had time to demonstrate how much better we have become. More importantly, despite some good crunching tackles, no-one was injured so Saturday’s match is a go-er!
Goal of the Game – See above and read the report instead of skimming to the end you lazy so-and-so
Man of the match – As usual a tough call. Brett was on hand to block most things and Steve J bossed the midfield for bibs. Paul and Kev played a great holding role. For non-bibs, Will and Tom looked extremely assured at the back, and PB had plenty to say (and sometimes in encouragement). However, Little Dave had a great game. He scored, intercepted and generally created lots of chances for non-bibs. Often, bibs found themselves with a good chance, only for LD to nip in and steal the ball. A quality performance Dave – well done.
Match Report by Phil McBride
Buncie’s bibs: 3
Matt’s non-bibs: Matt, Big Dave, Will, Rich C, Little Dave, Tom, Pretty boy, Roy, Sam
Buncie’s bibs: Rich B, Kev C, Brett, Jonny, Steve J, Paul, Towney, Ed, Phil
Remember the good old days of hard fought matches? The likes of Viera vrs Keane going at it from the first whistle? Well this week’s encounter at Oaklands proved to be up there with them.
After last weeks shambolic team picking, Matt passed the buck of responsibility to Phil, who dutifully put the non-bibs a man up until Steve J arrived and, like a child who’s just got his Buzz Lightyear toy for Christmas, handed Steve a bib. Cue groans all round from Will, Pretty boy and the rest of the non-bibs. The teams lined up like gladiators – possibly because it seemed everyone wanted to play defence and with Tuvvy, Steve Sav, Gavin and Jason all missing, maybe that was the case.
The match started with more respect than when Aretha Franklin played R.E.S.P.E.C.T. at the Respect concert in 1978 (may not be true). Plenty of good movement and passing, but the defences stood firm. Then, the opening goal – a lovely move through the middle, found Little Dave at the end of the gorgeous cross from PB and his finish was left to fly into the top corner by a quite frankly useless Phil in net. 1-0.
Risen from their stupor like a boxer who’d been jabbing and suddenly hit with a big right, the bibs began to build some kind of attack – only for non-bibs to break, Pretty Boy to drive a cross and Rich C get his head onto it – or was that, Rich C to get hit by a powerful shot-cum-cross? Either way, the ball flew over the bar and Rich C had claret to show for his efforts of the night. Rumour has it that he then headed into town to show off his wounds to any poor lass that ventured up to him to say “You poor puppy, what happened to you?” (possibly not true either)
Then the turning point of the game: As previously mentioned, Steve J arrived, took control of bibs and slid a lovely pass across to Towney arriving on the back post like a bearded ghost and slid the ball past a helpless Tom – 1-1.
The game was on a knife edge, Tom, Big Dave and Roy playing a great game in their half but unable to free the marauding Pretty Boy while Paul, Kev and Brett continued to try to free Ed and Towney. The teams on the match before had widened the pitch considerably which meant loads more room and didn’t feel as crowded as usual. Both teams were trying the expansive passing game, although Matt did manage one pass from right back that managed to sail into the net of the next pitch to his left – maybe a little too expansive, but that kind of pass will be needed on Saturday for the next big game.
It seemed to stay like this for about 20mins; and in that time non-bibs did most of the pressing. They had hundreds of corners – all repelled by Brett on his own. Then they got the break through they were looking for – Will, finally freed from his shackles at the back, drove forward. Bibs left trailing in his wake, he doesn’t normally wait for an invitation to shoot and this was no exception. As he let fly you could almost hear Jonny in net running away and the ball fairly screamed into the top corner. I’m sure everyone there will agree: goal of the game and 2-1 non-bibs.
Like a proper game of football though, having just scored, non-bibs went to sleep and almost immediately it was level again. This time Ed was given far too much room in the box, yet his finish past Sam was clinical and well deserved. Ed is beginning to show real signs of the kind of wing play of olden days – good close control, and ability to pass and move and now he’s finishing too – watch out Rich C, your place in the 11-a-side may well be under threat!
Another long period of stalemate developed and the evenness of the sides meant that they canceled each other out. Then a nice goal – and again non-bibs took the lead. As Matt texted me last night “Me to Will, will to churchy, nice control and slotted past Andy”. Our manager has a good memory for positive things that don’t involve him, and who am I to argue?
All looked lost for bibs – time was running out; Tom was marshaling his defensive line of Simon B, Sam and Will well and bibs were short of creativity. However, they had not counted for the non-bibs ability to hold onto a lead – about as good as Phil’s ability to hold onto his temper. The keeper rolled it to Tom, who was immediately pounced upon by Steve J. Various bits of skill were attempted by Tom to shake him off, but Steve had his prey locked tight in his metaphorical jaws. In the end, with much muttering, Tom fell over and Steve, bearing down on the keeper even had time to jump in the air and click his heels together three times whilst saying “There’s no place like home” before slotting the third equaliser of the game.
There was hardly time for Little Dave to try a speculative long range effort before the call of “Time gentlemen please” (a comment that always has Matt in tears, no matter where the location) and a 3-3 draw was written into history.
A really good game – lots of space meant that we had time to demonstrate how much better we have become. More importantly, despite some good crunching tackles, no-one was injured so Saturday’s match is a go-er!
Goal of the Game – See above and read the report instead of skimming to the end you lazy so-and-so
Man of the match – As usual a tough call. Brett was on hand to block most things and Steve J bossed the midfield for bibs. Paul and Kev played a great holding role. For non-bibs, Will and Tom looked extremely assured at the back, and PB had plenty to say (and sometimes in encouragement). However, Little Dave had a great game. He scored, intercepted and generally created lots of chances for non-bibs. Often, bibs found themselves with a good chance, only for LD to nip in and steal the ball. A quality performance Dave – well done.
Match Report by Phil McBride
Friday 9 July 2010
Match Report: Wednesday 7th July
Buncey's Team: A Lot!
Gav's Team: 4 (ish)
Buncey's Team: Buncey, Jonny W, Jonny 2, Ed, Andy, Kev, Matt, Tom, Scott,Brett, Simon J
Gav's Team: Gavin, Will, Steve J, Simon B, Dave, Tuvvy, Shaun, Jason F, Roy, Rich C
It was a warm, humid evening at Oaklands and I arrived to find a queue of about 78 women all clamouring for access to some kind of thigh toning extravaganza. Bad timing - decided to pay for the pitch afterwards so it was straight out to the pitch and teams were picked.
Turns out the game was one of the most one side affairs Oaklands has ever witnessed, so I apologise for that, I will get it right next time (by getting someone else to pick teams!). It was great to see Brett back from a long injury. I don't think the ankle is quite right yet, but he was getting so bored with the gym he decided it was time to return. Roy, Buncey, Simon J, Tom and Dave were all back and with Scott making his debut we had one of the biggest turnouts for a while. Glad we didn't have to fed them all (Jonny had left his loaves and fishes at home).
It was a mental game, played at 100 miles an hour with about a thousand goals (might be exaggerating just a little here) and I’m afraid remembering individual highlights has proved difficult for my aging brain! You know those games you had at lunch time in Primary School where all the players chase the ball so you end up just running around in a huge gang? Well, parts of this game were like that.
Buncey’s team took the lead after a few minutes through, I think, Jonny and it wasn’t long after that that Brett marked his returned with a nice finished after a rare foray into the opposition’s goal area. Brett was having a storming game at the back and Will, Steve J and Gav were finding it difficult to get past him, Jonny 2 and Tom in defence. Steve J is quality though and with Tuvvy and Dave as target men and Shaun making good runs around the box the chances did come. Is Steve J the new George Best? Maybe George Best was the old Steve J!
Space was at a premium, but that did not stop Jonny running with the ball at every opportunity. He has great control and causes the defence real headaches, however, he is still prone to take on one player too many when there’s a pass available. That said, great work from Jonny led to Buncey having the easiest of opportunities and just like the crisp thief Gary Lineker, Buncey tapped in from about 3 inches out. They all count though and that made it 4-1 to Buncey’s Team.
Tuvvy had a sniff at goal when a ball across the box just evaded him by a matter of millimetres, Gavin had a great volley saved by Jonny and Steve had a great long range effort drift just wide. Both teams also hit the ball over then fence more than normal and Kev, Buncey and Matt all missed easy chances when getting underneath the ball and blasting over. Matt’s miss prompted Simon B to tell his keeper not to worry about trying when Matt shoots as “it’s never going to be on target”. A view that was strengthened when Tom found Matt from a corner and Matt blasted wide with the ball coming off his shin-pad. Simon B looked at Matt and laughed.
Ed and Andy were playing well on the let wing and Ed had a couple of shots saved by the keeper and also, one lovely shot that beat the keeper but clipped the top of the crossbar. Buncey grabbed a second and also was twice hacked down, once by Jason and once by the iron-shined Roy Gibson. Buncey sat on the floor, arms wide appealing to the imaginary referee.
The goals came think and fast, with Jonny, Tom and Simon J all getting on the score sheet, what the score was though is anyone’s guess. (Simon B’s guess would probably be 4-3 to Gav’s Team). Speaking of Gavin, he had a cracking shot from distance that beat the keeper but struck the underside of the bar and bounced out. Only one cry of “goal-line technology” shows how quickly we’ve moved on from Frank Lampard’s “goal” and how we have probably already started to delude ourselves that Euro 2012 is in the bag.
Matt tried volleying a long ball into the goal but hit it so far wide he may as well have not bothered, cue more mocking from Simon B. Then, a moment to savour. Rich Church passed a goal kick to Simon B who just stood there ball watching. I mean, I was convinced he was going to set up an easel and do a nice watercolour of the pass. Matt simply picked the ball up before it reached the slumbering Janner and took a couple of touches before slotting past Will in goal. Pretty Boy was quiet. Matt grinned. That’s karma.
There was still time for Buncey to complete a well deserved hat-trick and then we called time on possibly the most one-sided game ever. However, it has to be said that Gavin, Will, Steve J, Simon B, Dave, Tuvvy, Shaun, Jason F, Roy and Rich C all played well. It’s was just one of those games where nothing was going for them. The extra player on Buncey’s team really counted. Let’s hope for a more even contest next time out and then a good performance against Acomb Gateway in the 11-a-side.
Goal Of The Week: Nearly picked myself, purely because of the look on Pretty Boy's face when I scored. However, Buncey scored a great goal, beating a couple of players and then curling the ball past Gavin's dive into the bottom corner of the goal. It was cool, clinical finish.
Great goal Buncey.
Player Of The Week: There were a few good performances as always. Steve J and Will played well, Steve particularly never stopped running and showed some fantastic skills. Brett was brilliant and looked like he'd never been away. Jonny had some great runs and made a couple of nice saves. Jonny 2 had a solid game in defence. Simon J had a great game both in defence and attack. Buncey was full of his usual tricks and scored some nice goals. Rich Church never let his head drop and had a great game in defence, he is an awesome tackler. Tuvvy and Tom both had great games too. This week though I'm going to give POTW to Simon Bissett. Simon normally likes to play up front but this week realised he was needed in defence and spent almost the entire game defending brilliantly and barking orders at his team. He was often left isolated at the back but still defended like a rabid butcher’s dog and made it difficult for Buncey’s team to score. A right-back by trade Simon should perhaps spend more time in defence as he’s quality and made some great blocks and tackles. It was nice to see the often, erm, volatile Devon temper kept in check and a more mellow performance from Simon despite the circumstances. Late in the game he went and played on the right up-front and did well there too. A key member of the St Paul’s team, Simon’s consistently good performances often go upraised with a more flashy, younger player stealing the limelight, not this week though. Denied his partner in crime (Phil McBride) Simon worked hard to marshal his defence and was only to blame for Matt’s goal, which is good going considering how many Buncey’s team scored. Like the unfashionable Gareth Barry, Simon did his job well and with the steal of Julian Dicks and slightly unhinged Gazza-like craziness he’s a top class player. Well played Simon, let’s see you re-produce that performance in the 11-a-side.
Here’s a little video in honour of Simon:
Gav's Team: 4 (ish)
Buncey's Team: Buncey, Jonny W, Jonny 2, Ed, Andy, Kev, Matt, Tom, Scott,Brett, Simon J
Gav's Team: Gavin, Will, Steve J, Simon B, Dave, Tuvvy, Shaun, Jason F, Roy, Rich C
It was a warm, humid evening at Oaklands and I arrived to find a queue of about 78 women all clamouring for access to some kind of thigh toning extravaganza. Bad timing - decided to pay for the pitch afterwards so it was straight out to the pitch and teams were picked.
Turns out the game was one of the most one side affairs Oaklands has ever witnessed, so I apologise for that, I will get it right next time (by getting someone else to pick teams!). It was great to see Brett back from a long injury. I don't think the ankle is quite right yet, but he was getting so bored with the gym he decided it was time to return. Roy, Buncey, Simon J, Tom and Dave were all back and with Scott making his debut we had one of the biggest turnouts for a while. Glad we didn't have to fed them all (Jonny had left his loaves and fishes at home).
It was a mental game, played at 100 miles an hour with about a thousand goals (might be exaggerating just a little here) and I’m afraid remembering individual highlights has proved difficult for my aging brain! You know those games you had at lunch time in Primary School where all the players chase the ball so you end up just running around in a huge gang? Well, parts of this game were like that.
Buncey’s team took the lead after a few minutes through, I think, Jonny and it wasn’t long after that that Brett marked his returned with a nice finished after a rare foray into the opposition’s goal area. Brett was having a storming game at the back and Will, Steve J and Gav were finding it difficult to get past him, Jonny 2 and Tom in defence. Steve J is quality though and with Tuvvy and Dave as target men and Shaun making good runs around the box the chances did come. Is Steve J the new George Best? Maybe George Best was the old Steve J!
Space was at a premium, but that did not stop Jonny running with the ball at every opportunity. He has great control and causes the defence real headaches, however, he is still prone to take on one player too many when there’s a pass available. That said, great work from Jonny led to Buncey having the easiest of opportunities and just like the crisp thief Gary Lineker, Buncey tapped in from about 3 inches out. They all count though and that made it 4-1 to Buncey’s Team.
Tuvvy had a sniff at goal when a ball across the box just evaded him by a matter of millimetres, Gavin had a great volley saved by Jonny and Steve had a great long range effort drift just wide. Both teams also hit the ball over then fence more than normal and Kev, Buncey and Matt all missed easy chances when getting underneath the ball and blasting over. Matt’s miss prompted Simon B to tell his keeper not to worry about trying when Matt shoots as “it’s never going to be on target”. A view that was strengthened when Tom found Matt from a corner and Matt blasted wide with the ball coming off his shin-pad. Simon B looked at Matt and laughed.
Ed and Andy were playing well on the let wing and Ed had a couple of shots saved by the keeper and also, one lovely shot that beat the keeper but clipped the top of the crossbar. Buncey grabbed a second and also was twice hacked down, once by Jason and once by the iron-shined Roy Gibson. Buncey sat on the floor, arms wide appealing to the imaginary referee.
The goals came think and fast, with Jonny, Tom and Simon J all getting on the score sheet, what the score was though is anyone’s guess. (Simon B’s guess would probably be 4-3 to Gav’s Team). Speaking of Gavin, he had a cracking shot from distance that beat the keeper but struck the underside of the bar and bounced out. Only one cry of “goal-line technology” shows how quickly we’ve moved on from Frank Lampard’s “goal” and how we have probably already started to delude ourselves that Euro 2012 is in the bag.
Matt tried volleying a long ball into the goal but hit it so far wide he may as well have not bothered, cue more mocking from Simon B. Then, a moment to savour. Rich Church passed a goal kick to Simon B who just stood there ball watching. I mean, I was convinced he was going to set up an easel and do a nice watercolour of the pass. Matt simply picked the ball up before it reached the slumbering Janner and took a couple of touches before slotting past Will in goal. Pretty Boy was quiet. Matt grinned. That’s karma.
There was still time for Buncey to complete a well deserved hat-trick and then we called time on possibly the most one-sided game ever. However, it has to be said that Gavin, Will, Steve J, Simon B, Dave, Tuvvy, Shaun, Jason F, Roy and Rich C all played well. It’s was just one of those games where nothing was going for them. The extra player on Buncey’s team really counted. Let’s hope for a more even contest next time out and then a good performance against Acomb Gateway in the 11-a-side.
Goal Of The Week: Nearly picked myself, purely because of the look on Pretty Boy's face when I scored. However, Buncey scored a great goal, beating a couple of players and then curling the ball past Gavin's dive into the bottom corner of the goal. It was cool, clinical finish.
Great goal Buncey.
Player Of The Week: There were a few good performances as always. Steve J and Will played well, Steve particularly never stopped running and showed some fantastic skills. Brett was brilliant and looked like he'd never been away. Jonny had some great runs and made a couple of nice saves. Jonny 2 had a solid game in defence. Simon J had a great game both in defence and attack. Buncey was full of his usual tricks and scored some nice goals. Rich Church never let his head drop and had a great game in defence, he is an awesome tackler. Tuvvy and Tom both had great games too. This week though I'm going to give POTW to Simon Bissett. Simon normally likes to play up front but this week realised he was needed in defence and spent almost the entire game defending brilliantly and barking orders at his team. He was often left isolated at the back but still defended like a rabid butcher’s dog and made it difficult for Buncey’s team to score. A right-back by trade Simon should perhaps spend more time in defence as he’s quality and made some great blocks and tackles. It was nice to see the often, erm, volatile Devon temper kept in check and a more mellow performance from Simon despite the circumstances. Late in the game he went and played on the right up-front and did well there too. A key member of the St Paul’s team, Simon’s consistently good performances often go upraised with a more flashy, younger player stealing the limelight, not this week though. Denied his partner in crime (Phil McBride) Simon worked hard to marshal his defence and was only to blame for Matt’s goal, which is good going considering how many Buncey’s team scored. Like the unfashionable Gareth Barry, Simon did his job well and with the steal of Julian Dicks and slightly unhinged Gazza-like craziness he’s a top class player. Well played Simon, let’s see you re-produce that performance in the 11-a-side.
Here’s a little video in honour of Simon:
Friday 2 July 2010
Match Report: Wednesday 30th June
Kev’s Team: Kev, Simon B, Matt Y, Andy, Jonny W, Jonny (didn’t get his surname but Steve G’s mate), Steve G, Phil - 11
Rich’s team: Rich, Jason, Shaun, Ed, Will, Steve J, Gav, Sam, Phil - 10
The week started with Matt Young sending an email to ask if someone else could do the match report. Tuvvy stepped up to the mark as he couldn’t play having pulled a muscle in his back while trying to stop a boy hitting another boy on the head with a mallet, but we all know it was just because he won the bet and Matt owed him alcohol. And what a game it was too... Tuvvy made 4 pages of notes about it in the exercise book he stole from the Fulford school English department. The idea of 4 pages was enough to bring a tear to Rich Church’s eye. Anyway on with the game...
The match started at lightening pace and it wasn’t long before Will had fired in passed a beaten Matt Young with a typical Will Gardener finish. Within about a minute of the restart Andy got the ball on the left wing put in a peach of a cross and Steve Gag fired in to make it 1-1. Then quicker than you could say "she sells sea shells by the sea shore" Rich’s team were on the attack again. Steve J and Will linked up well and Will blasted from long range, Shaun reacted well, noticing it was going wide, and with a poachers instinct stuck out a foot and beat Matt Young again for 2-1. Then with his team pushing for a third Rich got very excited and shot from range only to see the ball fly out of the fence and bounce off the roof of the school. While he was out Matt asked a day dreaming Tuvvy if it was time for keepers... Yes it was and had been about 4 minutes before hand.
With Kev’s team behind Phil tried to urge the team forward by barking demands so loud it could drown out the Vuvuzelas at the World Cup, and they responded well. Jonny W and Simon linked well and forced an amazing stop from Will in goal. Andy Townend stepped up to take the corner and somehow the ball sneaked in between post and keeper straight from the corner, take a bow Andy. Tuvvy then called keepers, this time without the reminder. With the team back in it Phil and Simon worked a lovely attack and soon made it 3-2 with a goal from Simon passed the powerless Sam. Phil and Simon kept causing problems when Phil got around Sam again and squared to Simon but Jason was on hand to clear at the last minute. Then Kev’s team really turned on the pressure. Steve J passed the ball out to Rich who was closed down by Andy at Usain Bolt pace and Andy finished for 4-2.
Then Simon took a corner straight to Kev, who blasted in goal wards - the ball hit the underside of the bar and bounced down. No one sure if it went in or not so Tuvvy said no goal, which reopened the debate of Goal line technology. Seconds later Gav took a shot at the other end which again was debated whether it crossed the line, so again Tuvvy said no goal. Matt will be writing to Oaklands asking for Goal line technology to be installed before next week. Then Steve J made a good run down the pitch before he slotted the ball across the goal mouth for Gav who could just tap the ball into an almost empty net. No question about that one, it definitely crossed the line. 4-3
Jonny W fearful that Rich’s team were getting back in to the game went on a trade mark run the whole length of the pitch and then fired the ball into the top left hand corner of the goal, 5-3. Then came a moment for the history books, a cross came in from the right wing and as cool as a Mr Softy Ice cream Matt Young scored his first Goal since 1990, the last time he scored Will was only a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye, 6-3. Moments later the man of the moment was back on his own Goal line, a more familiar position, making a Goal line clearance which Rio Ferdinand would have been proud of.
Rich’s team broke and scored with Jason taking the ball around Andy and scoring to make it 6-4 to Kev’s team. Then came a period that showed Kev could score as well as stop shots. First came from Simon selflessly crossing the ball to Kev who charged into the box and tapped in for 7-4, then the dangerous duo linked again. Simon put in one of the best crosses of the game and again Kev was on the end of it to make it now 8-4 and the game looked dead and buried.
Phil then changed teams and the tide turned. Phil’s first touch for Rich's team was to slot the ball into the goal and reduce the deficit, if only the Chancellor could make that sort of an impact. Then Rich’s team picked up some confidence and when Ed put in the cross to Shaun, he flicked on to Jas who finished with ease. Then Gav tried an over head kick that Vice captain Tom would have been proud of. Jason then made it 8-7 after a cross to the back post from Steve J, Ed headed back across goal and Jas tapped in for a hatrick. Matt tried to show that, unlike England, Kev’s team could play route one football and hit a great ball up to Simon, who saw Jonny and picked him out perfectly and Jonny finished for 9-7.
Ed had his usual anything Jonny can do I can do better attitude and it showed. Ed got the ball and with some very skilful footwork took out Kev’s team’s defence and made it 9-8. Will and Steve J were linking up as good as ever, which made all us English men weep that Gerrard and Lampard couldn’t play that well together. Their hard work soon led to a game changing 30 seconds. Shaun first received the ball from Will and made it 9-9 then about 20 seconds later the defence troubling two linked to find Shaun again and this time with a sweet outside of the foot finish he makes it 10-9, surely the winner. NO. Jason takes a shot from about 18yrds and it rebounds off the post, the ball falls to Shaun who forces save of the match from Jonny (Steve’s Mate). Then Simon leaves because he has to be up early for work in the morning. Rich’s team take the corner and Kev’s team break away and Sam forces a corner, which Jonny W takes, Sam punches out unconvincingly straight to Steve Gagg who powers the ball into the goal. By this point Tuvvy had lost track of the score and it was about 9:35 so next goal was called and interestingly it was 10-10 so next goal would actually win it.
The game went on with one counter attack after another until the ball came to Andy Townend. He took the ball on the half way line and ran at Rich’s team’s goal, round Sam and in with a run Lionel Messi would have been proud of 11-10.
Goal of the week
Townend scored a great goal direct from a corner, Matt Young scored his first goal in over a decade (apparently) and Ed scored a nice solo goal but this week Tuvvy will give GOAL OF THE WEEK to Jonny ‘the wolf man’ Wooldridge. He ran the length of the pitch with the ball like it was stuck to his shoe down the right wing, then lashed the ball into the top far corner. Very Ronaldo -esque. Well done Jonny.
Player of the week
Will was his usual brilliant self and Steve J did put in the best performance we have seen from anyone in an England shirt for about a month. Jonny and Ed had a good come back to the action. Shaun got a debut hatrick, Simon put in some lovely crosses but Tuvvy is going to give this week’s PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD to a player that was simply unique on the left wing. No defender could read what he was about to do, and sometimes I wasn’t sure if he could, but Andy Townend put in (in my eyes) one of his best performances of the year. So Andy Townend take a bow you are POTW
Match Report by Tuvvy
Rich’s team: Rich, Jason, Shaun, Ed, Will, Steve J, Gav, Sam, Phil - 10
The week started with Matt Young sending an email to ask if someone else could do the match report. Tuvvy stepped up to the mark as he couldn’t play having pulled a muscle in his back while trying to stop a boy hitting another boy on the head with a mallet, but we all know it was just because he won the bet and Matt owed him alcohol. And what a game it was too... Tuvvy made 4 pages of notes about it in the exercise book he stole from the Fulford school English department. The idea of 4 pages was enough to bring a tear to Rich Church’s eye. Anyway on with the game...
The match started at lightening pace and it wasn’t long before Will had fired in passed a beaten Matt Young with a typical Will Gardener finish. Within about a minute of the restart Andy got the ball on the left wing put in a peach of a cross and Steve Gag fired in to make it 1-1. Then quicker than you could say "she sells sea shells by the sea shore" Rich’s team were on the attack again. Steve J and Will linked up well and Will blasted from long range, Shaun reacted well, noticing it was going wide, and with a poachers instinct stuck out a foot and beat Matt Young again for 2-1. Then with his team pushing for a third Rich got very excited and shot from range only to see the ball fly out of the fence and bounce off the roof of the school. While he was out Matt asked a day dreaming Tuvvy if it was time for keepers... Yes it was and had been about 4 minutes before hand.
With Kev’s team behind Phil tried to urge the team forward by barking demands so loud it could drown out the Vuvuzelas at the World Cup, and they responded well. Jonny W and Simon linked well and forced an amazing stop from Will in goal. Andy Townend stepped up to take the corner and somehow the ball sneaked in between post and keeper straight from the corner, take a bow Andy. Tuvvy then called keepers, this time without the reminder. With the team back in it Phil and Simon worked a lovely attack and soon made it 3-2 with a goal from Simon passed the powerless Sam. Phil and Simon kept causing problems when Phil got around Sam again and squared to Simon but Jason was on hand to clear at the last minute. Then Kev’s team really turned on the pressure. Steve J passed the ball out to Rich who was closed down by Andy at Usain Bolt pace and Andy finished for 4-2.
Then Simon took a corner straight to Kev, who blasted in goal wards - the ball hit the underside of the bar and bounced down. No one sure if it went in or not so Tuvvy said no goal, which reopened the debate of Goal line technology. Seconds later Gav took a shot at the other end which again was debated whether it crossed the line, so again Tuvvy said no goal. Matt will be writing to Oaklands asking for Goal line technology to be installed before next week. Then Steve J made a good run down the pitch before he slotted the ball across the goal mouth for Gav who could just tap the ball into an almost empty net. No question about that one, it definitely crossed the line. 4-3
Jonny W fearful that Rich’s team were getting back in to the game went on a trade mark run the whole length of the pitch and then fired the ball into the top left hand corner of the goal, 5-3. Then came a moment for the history books, a cross came in from the right wing and as cool as a Mr Softy Ice cream Matt Young scored his first Goal since 1990, the last time he scored Will was only a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye, 6-3. Moments later the man of the moment was back on his own Goal line, a more familiar position, making a Goal line clearance which Rio Ferdinand would have been proud of.
Rich’s team broke and scored with Jason taking the ball around Andy and scoring to make it 6-4 to Kev’s team. Then came a period that showed Kev could score as well as stop shots. First came from Simon selflessly crossing the ball to Kev who charged into the box and tapped in for 7-4, then the dangerous duo linked again. Simon put in one of the best crosses of the game and again Kev was on the end of it to make it now 8-4 and the game looked dead and buried.
Phil then changed teams and the tide turned. Phil’s first touch for Rich's team was to slot the ball into the goal and reduce the deficit, if only the Chancellor could make that sort of an impact. Then Rich’s team picked up some confidence and when Ed put in the cross to Shaun, he flicked on to Jas who finished with ease. Then Gav tried an over head kick that Vice captain Tom would have been proud of. Jason then made it 8-7 after a cross to the back post from Steve J, Ed headed back across goal and Jas tapped in for a hatrick. Matt tried to show that, unlike England, Kev’s team could play route one football and hit a great ball up to Simon, who saw Jonny and picked him out perfectly and Jonny finished for 9-7.
Ed had his usual anything Jonny can do I can do better attitude and it showed. Ed got the ball and with some very skilful footwork took out Kev’s team’s defence and made it 9-8. Will and Steve J were linking up as good as ever, which made all us English men weep that Gerrard and Lampard couldn’t play that well together. Their hard work soon led to a game changing 30 seconds. Shaun first received the ball from Will and made it 9-9 then about 20 seconds later the defence troubling two linked to find Shaun again and this time with a sweet outside of the foot finish he makes it 10-9, surely the winner. NO. Jason takes a shot from about 18yrds and it rebounds off the post, the ball falls to Shaun who forces save of the match from Jonny (Steve’s Mate). Then Simon leaves because he has to be up early for work in the morning. Rich’s team take the corner and Kev’s team break away and Sam forces a corner, which Jonny W takes, Sam punches out unconvincingly straight to Steve Gagg who powers the ball into the goal. By this point Tuvvy had lost track of the score and it was about 9:35 so next goal was called and interestingly it was 10-10 so next goal would actually win it.
The game went on with one counter attack after another until the ball came to Andy Townend. He took the ball on the half way line and ran at Rich’s team’s goal, round Sam and in with a run Lionel Messi would have been proud of 11-10.
Goal of the week
Townend scored a great goal direct from a corner, Matt Young scored his first goal in over a decade (apparently) and Ed scored a nice solo goal but this week Tuvvy will give GOAL OF THE WEEK to Jonny ‘the wolf man’ Wooldridge. He ran the length of the pitch with the ball like it was stuck to his shoe down the right wing, then lashed the ball into the top far corner. Very Ronaldo -esque. Well done Jonny.
Player of the week
Will was his usual brilliant self and Steve J did put in the best performance we have seen from anyone in an England shirt for about a month. Jonny and Ed had a good come back to the action. Shaun got a debut hatrick, Simon put in some lovely crosses but Tuvvy is going to give this week’s PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD to a player that was simply unique on the left wing. No defender could read what he was about to do, and sometimes I wasn’t sure if he could, but Andy Townend put in (in my eyes) one of his best performances of the year. So Andy Townend take a bow you are POTW
Match Report by Tuvvy
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