22nd September 2007  

Ludwig Leisure Cavaliers U13 5 Barton Stacey U13 5

 “Good grief” exclaimed Mr Sherwood on hearing the name of this weeks opposition, “they sound a bit Germanic, are they allowed to wear leather shorts in division 1, it will give them a hell of an advantage in the slide tackle” “They are a big club from the North East of Basingstoke” replied Graham White “ They field over 20 boys teams at various ages, they know what they are about so we will have to be on our guard” “Like the Roundheads” chipped in Captain Coetzee “What!” replied Graham White desperate to return to all things football. “Roundheads - had to be on guard against the Cavaliers, they had a keeper called Oliver Cromwell. Cavaliers won because they used to hide their captain up a tree, couldn’t see him could they, can’t tackle a bloke if he’s up a tree. We should give it a go. They had fancy hats as well, with feathers, we could play in hats with feathers, it could make all the difference” “I’ll ask Mr Chairman Alex, now get on with your star jumps”

Manager Graham White and Luke Bacon were away for this game, Nick Bearpark replacing Luke Bacon in goal, Connor Jones providing cover on the bench. Barton Stacey’s first chance came in the first minute, William de Cani’s shot pushed round the post. Ludwig opened the scoring from the resulting corner, a long clearance finding the burly striker who gave Nick Bearpark no chance with his powerfully struck shot. And so the pattern was set for the first half, lots of Barton possession and chances, Ludwig hitting back on the break scoring four to Barton Staceys’s one courtesy of Michael Taplin. Half time and time for a little tactical tinkering, Charles Sherwood put the keeper’s jersey on to give a little more height between the sticks, Nick Bearpark moved to left midfield to replace Danny Tuson who had run himself into the ground; Connor Jones coming on to partner Michael Taplin in attack. Beyond that it was down to the boys; now was the time to show some of the character forged from countless tight spots over the past few seasons.

Two minutes into the second half, Nick Bearpark scored Barton’s second from a de Cani corner. Barton struck the woodwork again before Michael Taplin scored his second of the match. 4-3 down it was all Barton Stacey, Alex Coetzee followed his first half nemesis everywhere, Dan Pomroy and Harry Lawton mopped up any other threats. Sam Hadlington and James Brooke in central midfield drove the game on setting the tone for the whole team. Conner Jones proved to be a real handful up front, coming close to opening his account for Barton Stacey, before a speculative lob from Ludwig restored their two goal lead. Again Barton Stacey dug deep, right back Sam Burrows moving to midfield to press the game leaving three at the back. William de Cani scored Barton’s fourth after a blistering run down the right. With one minute remaining first half keeper Nick Bearpark smacked the ball into the net from close range to spark celebrations to rival last years cup win; Mrs de Cani a particular cause for concern when she leapt from her recliner, arms aloft, to acclaim the Barton equaliser. A superb, battling performance by Barton Stacey, who despite being 4-1 down at half time, refused to accept that it was not their day.