McVitee FC on tour - QPR (a)
The Wookie
ASB (QPR Internet) 5 McVitee 3
A game of two halves - probably the best way to look at it!!
It's Sunday morning - as is not unusual in the Wookie household
I'm just a tad under the weather so to speak (Saturday night's drinks
ban being observed Summerbee style!) and attitude not that much
improved by the battle across the urban nightmare that is London
to pick up another MCIVTA mug who in a fit of enthusiasm has
volunteered his services to the cause.
The first thing of note is the "McVittee" 11 is actually a
McVittee 10 and a youngster (Ian's son?) & in a fit of helpfulness the QPR
captain supplies us with a rag (sporting a blue scum top &
cockney accent naturally!) to make up the numbers. "I'd rather kick him
than the ball" mutters an unnamed member of the blue squad, and I
know how he felt!
The team lined up as follows...
Steve W
Jamie G Thomas B Russ J Martin F
Colin S Stuart H The Scum Ian
Andy B Steve B
The game kicks off with the blues playing uphill. Facing one of
the most organized teams in Internet circles - Numbered kit & not a
beer belly in sight! (although someone had buggered up the washing as
"the super hoops" had become the super hoops and blue blotches!) - the
internet blues held out for nearly 20 mins. Not bad for a team,
most of whom had met for the first time 15 minutes before kick off.
And then the goal that was beginning to threaten arrived. 1-0 to QPR.
The ASB lads we're now well into their stride, they are a team that
play together on a fairly regular basis and it showed. Apart from a
few breaks most of the remainder of the half was spent with our backs
to wall as neat passing sliced up the City midfield and defence to
the tune of 3 more goals by half time. The only bright spot was that
ASB hadn't quite got the hang of the superb offside trap that began
to become extremely effective towards the end of the first half. It
was a slightly shellshocked City Internet team that gathered for the
half time team talk 4-0 down.
A slight re-jig of the team and a man for man marking job on
their no.16 saw a much more even start to the second half and after 15
mins some neat interplay from Steve & Ian upfront saw Ian break loose
of his marker to slot in the start of a spirited comeback. 4-1 now
the score and the dreaded duck avoided. As the offside trap began to
bite and some slack shooting from ASB began to creep in it was against
the run of play that they achieved a fifth goal with a bizarre og. -
Not far into our own half Jamie G intercepted a long ball forward
with a miss placed volley which looped directly at our keeper Steve
who thinking it would ruled a back pass, attempted to head it off
the line, only to help it into the back of the net. We'll leave
it to the two lads to argue about who wants to claim it! 5-1.
The comeback then began in earnest - Col Surrey headed wide from
an Andy Brookfield corner, and Ian teed up a Brooky 25 yard
piledriver which came back agonisingly off the underside of the
bar. The rag (Chris I think) chose that moment to make his mark on the
game with a 35 yard chip into the top corner of the net. (It was
a cross but it looked good!) 5-2 and well deserved. Ian shot wide
and more chances went begging with ASB struggling to find their
shooting boots at our end of the pitch. Route 1 was the order of the day
as time ran out and gaps appeared in the ASB defence - Ian was put
clean through to slot home his second of the game. 5-3 now. It was just
a matter of time surely... Unfortunately though time was something
we didn't have the final whistle blew a minute or so later and we
had lost 5-3. Even so what threatened to be a whitewash early doors
turned into a thoroughly enjoyable match which with more
organization at the start would have been even closer. Sky would have been
better advised showing our game!!
0-4 in the first half and 3-1 in the second, or even 4-0 since we
score all of them :o) is the way I prefer to look at it!
Looking forward to the re-match on home turf...
Cheers to all the lads that played, to Martin for the
organization, along with Steve Papps on the QPR list.
