| *** VINTAGE FRIENDLIES *** Sunday 14th October 2007 - F.P. Sports Midlife Crisis 3 - 3 F.P.Vets Not for the first time a lack of availabilty of players saw Midlife Crisis (ie Ali K) calling on resources from outside the immediate community in order to put 11 players on the pitch. I finally assembled a squad of 12 thanks to Oxshott, BCD and Epsom players stepping up to the mark cometh the hour. My squad was further augmented by one Midlife player bringing along a mate (without telling me he was planning to do so!) and another Midlife player turning up without telling me beforehand that he was intending to play, so we could have been oversubscribed on the day but, as it happens, even a squad of 14 is not necessarily enough for a Midlife game, as you shall see. A beautiful morning in the shadow of Box Hill saw the Midlife team run out in their new(ish) black strip to line up on a pitch that would have been all the better had it been given a once-over with a lawn mower. Sadly, as F.P. have now outsourced all grounds maintenance we can only look forward to a drop in standards pitch-wise in the future. The game got under way and within the first 10 minutes FP Vets took the lead and were dominating the play to the point that it looked like a rogering was about to take place. But as the game progressed Midlife fought back and with the pairing of Alex and Graeme up front and a resolute midfield taking control we went in at halftime 3 -1 up. Probably because I was ecstatic about Scotland's win over Ukarine on Saturday to go top of their group I made a halftime substitution that rivals Graham Taylor's decision to take off Gary Lineker in the Sweden vs England in the 1992 European Championships. Paul S, our midfield general, had a pressing engagement that required his presence elsewhere (he was playing for BCD) and he said that although he had to leave soon he could, if required, stay on the park for another 15 minutes. As I had another 13 players in the squad I, rather foolishly as it turns out, let him go at half-time and, having swapped a few players around, we started the second half in a confident mood. 3-1 up remember, and I had two subs. With Paul S missing from the ranks FP Vets repeatedly broke through and launched wave upon wave of attacks on the Midlife goal and soon the scores were level at 3-3, and it could have been worse had it not been for some fine saves from a resolute Steve 'The Cat' who was in fine form and denied many clear cut chances. As the half wore on Midlife were, at times, in disarray as some players wandered out of position and gaps started to appear in our ranks. We were denied any respite as a tweaked thigh (Rick) and a clash of heads (Phil) saw them take to the bench for the remainder of the game leaving us without any subs. For those on the field it was a case of tiring legs, all hands to the pumps and backs to the wall as we held on to the 3 -3 scorline. After what seemed like an eternity the ref blew for full time and we headed for the showers and bar. The return match will be on April 6th and we wish Rick and Phil a speedy recovery. (I shall be making representations to the FP Sports Centre Mangement as to why they are always banging on at me about their 'No Dogs' policy yet when we came off the park there was an FP member of staff having a beer on the Sports Centre patio with his dog at his feet. Unfair I say!) |
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