| Sunday 5th April - 2009 Midlife Caledonian AC 1-5 F.P. Vets Not for the first time we were treated to a glorious sunny day down at FP Sports ground with the back drop of Box Hill setting a very picturesque scene with all the trees in bloom and the song of blackbirds wafting towards us on the Spring breeze across the river Mole which meanders close by. And it was amidst this tranquil setting that our unbeaten run of one game came to an end. Both teams were without a 'proper' goalie so both managers, myself and Gordon, had to don the Number One jersey. Whilst neither of us are first choice to play 'betwen the sticks' the difference between Gordon and myself is that whenever he caught the ball he was able to hold onto it whereas I would obligingly drop it at the feet of the onrushing attacker. That is how we ended up 3 - nil down in the first 30 minutes of the first half. Matters were compounded by the no-show of Alex (work issues) so we were lacking his firepower up front and then we had a flurry of injuries. First of all Leeno, who was a guest defender from Epsom AC and was playing a blinder, tweaked something in his groin and had to go off so we had to do a hasty reorgansing of the defence and I was down to one sub on the bench. At this point it looked to me like it was going to be a long morning. There is scene in Star Wars where Luke Skywalker is attacking the Death Star and he is jumped by a couple of Tie Fighters. All seems lost and then Hans Solo zooms in with his spaceship and blasts them away leaving Luke free to complete his misson. And so it was that Simon Cox turned up unannounced, parked his Millenium Falcon in the FP car park and then strolled over to the field of play at just the right time for no sooner had he put his boots on than John Dean had to retire with a suspected sprained rib. Losing two defenders in quick succession was a real blow especially as John had been playing wonderfully creative football from his right-back position. So we reorganised our reorganised defence and our very own Jedi Knight joined the game. The Coxy effect was immediate and we pulled a goal back making it 3 -1 at half time. However, the second half saw FP Vets notch the score up to 5 - 1 and although Midlfe Caledonian had many a chance themselves they weren't getting the rub of the green when it mattered. Our defence was resolute and if they'd had the support of a proper 'keeper I think the score would have been in our favour at full time. The last 15 minutes saw Mark Evans go off with a pulled calf muscle and then Fausto had to go in goal as a thigh strain meant that he couldn't run. The midfield of Bobby, Eastwick Eric, Keith W Paul and Nick combined well with some neat passing and Simon Imbert was everywhere covering the ground like an older version of Usain Bolt. Next season I shall schedule all Midlife Caledonian games around the availabilty of a proper goalie. The three 'keepers I have in mind, and who I hope will be available, are Andy (Midlife), Adrian (Bookham) and Don (Epsom AC). If neither of them can make a particular date then I will not arrange a game for that day. Man of the Match: Hans 'Coxy' Solo. (the Force was with him) |
| Match report Ali K. |
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