16th May '04
LEAGUE MATCH/Q's Testimonial (A) Vs PLUMSTEAD ENGINEERS
On a hot Sunday morning, this game was between 2 sides playing for nothing on the last day of the season.
Perhaps pride was at stake, but it was nice having the pressure off & most of us enjoyed the game more than anything.
In a hard fort(sp?) 1st half, both teams played some decent football & created chances & efforts on goal, some of which were saved, some just wide but it was us who managed to hit the net with a goal from Rob which gave us the advantage going into the 2nd half.
Uphill in the 2nd half didnt bode well for us & I think most games we'd have prefered if the games only lasted 45mins!
In what sadly was to be Q's last ever competitive Morley game, he pulled off a superb last match, tackling well, running about & even nearly getting on the scoresheet which would have wrapped up his Morley career nicely, but as it seems, after his substitution it went literally went downhill from there (so that means Q was possibly holding us together this match then, right?!), Plumstead strikers broke thru a few times & in half a dozen one on ones, managed to put 3 in the net. Dan put 1 of his 3 clear chances away to pull the score back to 2-2 earlier in the half.
So to wrap up this match & perhaps our season, you could say it came down to missed chances really, we'd created so many over the weeks for all of us but we never always took them & made the most of what we had at our feet (or hands!), so in all fairness, the new look Morley side consisting of so many new players were merely learning how eachother plays, trail & error basically, so in theory next year SHOULD be better & I'd like to be optimistic & say yes it will be, so roll on Season 04-05, but not too soon, I have injuries to overcome of course!
Enjoy your Summer, guys.
2-3
Team: Ian, Chris, Alex, Garry, Matt, Stew, Q, Cowley, Russ, Rob, Jon
Rich, Darren, Dan
9th May '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs TLR SPORTS
Today was a fine example of a 'Referee' ruining a game & turning it against us, that includes having the privelege of 2 official linesmen who were equaly as bad. You'd think that having 3 Officials that maybe 1 might be half decent but no, a Ref who doesnt know how to apply the laws of the game, the tubby lino who doesnt know his left from his right & the ginger lino who gives offside for everythig except the blatent ones!
Oh well, anyway, a good 1st half in which we defended (& saved) well & took full advantage of the few opportunities that came our way, neatly going 2-0 up with a fine goal from Dan & Rob capitalising on a mistake from their centre back heading it over their keeper into his path.
Come the 2nd half, we were comfortable holding most of their attacking play out but lacked bettering ourselves to put the game beyond TLR.
Enter the ref, who must have had enough of my 'coming of form' & decided every thing I was going to do would be an offence. Firstly wrongly giving a handball outside the area when I released the ball early enough every time. Secondly giving a freekick against me for holding on to the ball for more than 6seconds, clearly neither his watch or brain correctly counting for that long & Thirdly, giving them a freekick for supposedly picking up the ball & kicking it out when he'd given a freekick, funny that as the ball never stopped when I gathered & quickly booted it out, I really thought advantage was meant to be played to us after the opposition has offended by being offside, apparently not according to Mr J.Oakes who only needs an 'A' taken out of his name to describe his God awful performance.
TLR scored from one of these shoddy descisions, giving them the lift they needed & damaged our spirit & belief we had to actually get a result from the game, totally shifting the balance of play.
2 more came from goalmouth scrambles (Dan being in the wrong goalmouth at the time) & their final goal came from a clear offside not given by the ginger lino(see Match Report Vs London Albion for his performance as a ref), just added insult to injury.
Dan had his dig at me during the game, for those who didnt hear, he said "Are to trying to ruin every game for us this season, Ian?" this was after the Ref made his abysmal descisions against me, one of which nearly cost Stewart a card because of his appeal, in which Stewart was right, the ref was SO wrong he couldnt even pluck up the courage to book him.
So, for the negative comments from a player who when takes to the pitch, the mix of adrenaline makes him, verbally, the thickest person I know, I'd like to say, probably on behalf of the team, please dont say a word on the pitch unless its constructive critisism, at the end of the day it doesnt help team spirit & gets peoples backs up. Put your anger & frustration into tackling & working harder & make it benefit the team instead of hinder it.
Last game next week against Plumstead Engineers who have already won the league, lets try & bow out with a win & make ourselves proud of what we have achieved this season because it hasnt really been all that bad. Hold your heads up high guys & lets look to next season which will be even better, I promise.
By Ian
P.S. A big thank you to Garry for his support over the season, its been greatly received mate
2-4
Team: Ian, Chris, Alex, Garry, Matt, Stew, Dan, Cowley, Mike, Rob, Jon
Rich
25th April '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs ROYSTON
I'm not quite sure what it is about us that we have to go 2-0 down to start playing football?
Either way, defence will blame attack & attack will blame defence for conceeding in the opening 30 seconds! As we won, it doesnt really matter now anyway.
1st goal of our came from Russ which enevitably prompted the comeback, within minutes Mike hit a shot which looked like it was well over but dropped last second to decieve all of us, 2-2.
A Russ corner from the left went straight in, to be honest, their keeper was very unsure of well, everything. Rob fired in a 4th neatly notching up his goal tally for the season & a corner from the right was high enough for a towering Cowley to nod home.
All this in the 1st half! A great come-back leaving the opposition with no hope as the teams take their breaks.
2nd half was pretty dominant from us, controlling most areas but not really stepping up the play to hit the back of their net a few times more.
An inspired substitution brought on an inventive & eager Jon who created chances, played well off & on the ball & nearly got a couple himself. It was good to see Rob on the left battling hard & making chances, something he does regularly on Thurs & was good to see for Morley.
Our 6th & final goal came from Dan, tapping in a Jon pass neatly in the bottom corner of their goal.
A beautiful day, a nice little win, eventually!
By Ian
6-3
Team: Darren, Chris, Alex, Rich, Matt, Paddy, Dan, Cowley, Mike, Rob, Russ
Jon, Q
18th April '04
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs CYPRUS
HOW? Quite frankly, how the hell & why do these things happen to me? Karma? Am I really that bad a person? Am I playing to get out of goal? Was it coz I was hangover? Bad weather conditions?
I could use those excuses but at the end of the day, it comes down to the fact I dont wanna be in goal anymore, Im not enjoying it, I feel a sense of pressure coz I played well in the 1st half of the season & I just wanna be outfield again. Like on Thursdays where 'F Club 7' are currently top if the league after our 9th win in a row! (www.goalsfootball.co.uk Bexleyheath, Div 4) Im scoring goals & playing well alongside Jon, Rob, Cowley, Chris & Rich who are shining as footballers, its what I wanna be doing Sunday's too.
SO yea, the 2 goals were my fault, but who's to blame for at least 6 clear cut chances on goal? Me aswell?
Ask yourself, are you playing well enough every match to be able to berate others? Are you not making mistakes? Be honest too.
They were rubbish & we needed to make our chances count, but we didn't.
Russ got our 1st, taking his tally neatly into double figures, could have had more. Rob got our 2nd, applying pressure on the keeper to make a mistake, taking it past him to hit an open goal, could have had more. There were others too who could have put us comfortably ahead.
We had wasted free-kicks, wasted passes, half-hearted tackles, a wasted game really.
Im not here writing this report to make friends today, Im not deaf, I hear exactly what people with big mouths say & lets just hope a new keeper is being found because next season I'm out to take one of your places outfield!
Last 3 games of the season in the following weeks & I just cant wait for them to be over already. Yes Im in a bad mood, yes Im fed-up & right now, I couldnt care less.
I'd say I'm about as pissed off right now as Stewart was with the ref today who was shoddy
(Todays Match Report has been very personal & like I've always said, anyone can contribute, if you have anything to say about the game, email me & your unedited views will be shown here)
By Ian
2-2
Team: Ian, Chris, Stew, Rich, Matt, Paddy, Dan, Cowley, Mike, Rob, Russ
Jon, Darren
4th April '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) (Almost Reserves) Vs REAL BECKENHAM
A bare 11 & I say reserves because we were missing 6 or 7 'regular' & 'key' players in Ricky, Russ, Dan, Cowley, Alex, Stew & without a doubt in my mind, having had those players, we'd have quite easily won.
They were rubbish, we were worse but I guess we did ok with what we had.
Referee Les Sweetapple was abysmal to say the least, gave awful descisions & thought he was God, hence our 2 yellow cards. Get this, Paddy tries to handle the ball into their goal, it misses & goes wide, we get the corner! Summed up the ref's game really.
Jon finally got off the mark & thats pretty much the only plus point from this game, hey at least we made their day, thoroughly nice blokes they were, good luck to 'em.
By Ian
1-3
Team: Ian, Chris, Garry, Rich, Matt, Paddy, Q, Paul T, Mike, Rob, Jon
Booked: Ian, Rich
21st Mar '04
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs SYDENHAM PANTHERS
A mediocre 1st half made for an interesting game, with Sydenham having most possession it was odd we found ourselves 1-0 up with a cross-turn-shot from Chris out on the left wing, he'd say he meant it!
With 30 seconds to go of the half, we went to sleep during a corner which allowed them to hit an equalizer, smashing the ball in the top left hand corner of our goal from just outside the 6yrd box.
A good half time team talk led us all to realise it had to get better & face the fact we CAN beat this team but if we dont play well, we can quite easily lose.
So, like a few times this season (ie Cyprus), we stepped up the 2nd half & created at least half a dozen clear cut chances, most of which came close but should have gone in, but the one that did hammer the top left hand corner of their net come from a tired but determined Rob, thank God.
A truely deserved win, if not for the 2nd half alone.
By Ian
2-1
Team: Ian, Chris, Garry, Rich, Stu, Ricky, Dan, Cowley, Mike, Rob, Paddy
Matt, Jonny & Darren
14th Mar '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs SYDENHAM PANTHERS
Fantastic 1st half, Rob & Rich netting goals to put us 2-0 up.
2nd half, we ALL f#cked up.
Bad defending gave them their 1st, an error from a midfield player gave them their 2nd & a goalkeeping mistake, their 3rd.
Ricky missed a penalty & was fortunate enough for the rebound to fall nicely to smash in a volley after the keeper saved.
The TEAM is to blame for this result, we should have put the game beyond them by taking our chances & playing better football 2nd half.
For those cursing the players who made the mistakes, remember, they are 1 player out of 11 on the pitch & the mistakes are only a few seconds out of 90 minutes.
By Ian
3-3
Team: Ian, Chris, Garry, Rich, Alex, Ricky, Dan, Cowley, Mike, Rob, Russ
Paddy, Jonny
7th Mar '04
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs PLUMSTEAD ENGINEERS
In a game where we HAD to play well & perform so we didn't get punished, at the back, we did just that. Superb tackles from Stewart & Alex, great marking from Garry & good footwork from Chris made for an excellent defence who knew exactly what they had to do.
In the middle of the park Dan & Rich won most headers & put themselves about to good effect, never letting a player settle on the ball.
Our wingers have had better games, maybe a slight change of position & feeling under the weather didn't help.
Up front Rob & Russ did the best they could but never really got clear cut chances they hoped for.
Me, well I saved a couple, caught balls, came out to collect & cleared a few.
So where did it all go wrong?
Well, once & only due to sheer bad luck. A long ball, slowing down as it hit the floor had to be kicked away by me outside the area & unfortunately hit Stewart on the back & rolled sweetly in the path of their striker to place the ball in the back of our net on the 80th minute.
Sickening really. A draw would have been a fair result & now I'll actually look forward to playing them again down the road, hopefully with Ricky & Jon around to emphasise the front.
By Ian M
0-1
Team: Ian, Chris, Garry, Stu, Alex, Paddy, Dan, Cowley, Mike, Rob, Russ
Richard, Darren
29th Feb '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs CYPRUS
You could say we were lucky, you could say our persistance paid off, for this week, I'll go with the latter.
After an appauling start in which we couldnt pass to save our lives, it was enevitable we were going to give them the chances they needed, so they took them & after an attack leaving 3 onto 1 they got their 1st goal & shortly after a 2nd because of sloppy passing & defending, we couldnt be more casual if we all put our slippers on, picked up a paper & sat in our reclining sofa chairs!
In good Morley fashion (this season), we battled on, we never gave up hope & strived to get that all importand come-back goal & guess what, we got it. A lovely thru-ball from Alex set Dan up to beautifully chip the 'keeper from just inside the area, it gave us the faith we needed to see. End of half.
Dominating the 2nd half & running on to no hopers, we piled the pressure on, & it paid off, Rob run onto a ball heading for the corner flag, took a player on a crossed a lovely ball for Russ to hit sweetly on the volley into the top left hand corner of the net, we were back in it.
I dont know why a free-kick was given on the edge of our area but there was & up stepped their player-manager to hit a well placed effort in the top right hand corner of our goal. To be honest, on a more agile day, I think I could have saved it, 3-2 to them.
But again, right back at them, we pulled another 2 back, with Russ getting stuck in to net a tap-in & Garry netting a goal-mouth scramble after a corner.
As a double kick in the balls to Cyprus tho, the ref blew the whistle just before their player ran onto a long ball, he slotted it home but we'd all stopped after the whistle had been blown, I thought it was offside myself!
So, did we deserve this? You know what, yes, in the end, we worked for it, but bloody hell did we earn this win the difficult way!
By Ian M
4-3
Team: Ian, Paddy, Garry, Stu, Alex, Chris, Dan, Cowley, Mike, Rob, Russ
Richard, Q
22nd Feb '04
'BILL BRAISTED' 3rd RND CUP MATCH (A) Vs BRIXTON UTD
So we played a team 4 divisions above us, maybe the scoreline reflects that, but I can tell you now, we can still hold our heads up & be proud.
We didnt get the best of starts & Im to blame, after calling for the ball, like Moses parting the sea, I expected everyone to just shift right out of the way & leave me a clear path to gather the ball, except, Im not Moses. The ball went thru a few legs & I wasnt behind it & it went in. Luckily for me, none of my 2 mistakes this season have led to a loss of points, so I can sleep at night! And I CAN say I pulled a point out of the bag against Sundridge! Yes, this is me sticking up for myself & trying to keep my confidence up. Oh, and defence, still listen to me when I shout for the ball, let me suffer my consequences if I get it wrong, no one will blame you!
Anyway, we played well, got stuck in & did try our best at times, but we were up against a side with more stamina & that little bit more skill which made the difference.
In all fairness, they missed a few sitters & I saved a near post shot, they could have had more, I think we did enough to put them off tho. Their last goal was a bit lucky too, thankfully for the striker the goal area wasnt flat & just as it was going to hit my leg, it hit a bump to take it over my leg & in. Annoying really.
If we perform with the hard work & determination we showed today, we shouldn't have too many problems in our own league, but thats a big IF.
Here's to hoping!
By Ian
0-5
Team: Ian(didnt wake up til 11.30am), Paddy, Garry, Stewart, Matt, Alex, Chris, Dan, Mike, Rob, Jon
Darren, Rich
15th Feb '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs LONDON ALBION
I dont know what to say really, I think Im still in a state of shock & sadness.
Last week we got away with it, this week we didn't. Lack of effort, desire & sheer laziness handed the win to a team bottom of the league. Embarrassing is a good word right now.
Poor defending, with 2 players failing to clear, gifted a ball to their player who hit the top right-hand corner of the net with a free shot just outside the edge of the 6yrd box.
Somehow, with a few string of decent passing, we managed to pull a goal back, Dan nodding in a cross from Ricky.
Just before half time, a ball was whipped over to their player who was offside & managed to just beat me to the ball to edge it past me & into the net. The goal was given.
Come the 2nd half, we still hadnt woken up or managed to create anything worthy of a goal, so when Albion broke with what seemed like 4 onto 2, including me in goal, a cross flew 8ft into the air only to drop in the top left-hand corner of the goal & basically wrap up the game for them.
With some players not giving up, Ricky put the ball in the net by turning a defender, this was disallowed for reasons beyond him or anyone. Ricky got his reward in the end, for all his determination & encouragement, by doing the same thing again 5 mins later to pull a goal back, too little too late unfortunately, but overall, we got what we deserved.
Paul did well when he came on, positively running at players & making a few crosses.
If only we had Rob to save our arse again, Paddy's defending at left back or perhaps Cowley's determined tackles & heading, but in all fairness, we shouldn't have to rely on this.
A poor pitch, poor refereeing, poor performance & a poor day for Morley College FC.
By Ian M
2-3
Team: Ian, Garry, Rich, Stu, Matt, Chris, Mike, Dan, Alex, Ricky, Russ,
Paul
8th Feb '04
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs CROFTON ALBION 'A'
A horriblly cold & very windy morning was the setting for this scappy Sunday league game.
With Crofton dominating the first half, clearly wanting it more than our side, we let them apply pressure & hold us down, with about 80% of play in our half. If we didn't know after 15mins that we needed to start playing some decent football, then we did by half time.
We came out of half time looking a little better but a defensive breakdown after 10mins allowed their #9 to break thru & hit his shot home. Luckily, for us, it was the kick up the backside we needed.
After putting some good moves together, Russell battling, Cowley slide tackling & Rob chasing, the ball finally fell kindly for us when Daniel, who has played 10 times better, still managed a lovely thru ball for Rob to belt in the back of the net.
More hard work & perseverance from Rob led to our Irish star closing down the keeper on an attempted clearance, blocking it & then neatly lobbing him to hit the top right corner of the net.
Head & shoulders above the rest, Rob's finishing was precise & deadly, quite frankly, without him, we would have been in big trouble. He was the difference between the sides being that he had the ability to finish & they struggled. Man of the Match for sure.
Peter Head, the ref, gave a very good display & has possibly been the best referee we've had so far, personally I wish we had more deaf & dumb refs in our league if this is how good they are. I've known of Peter as a referee for quite a few years now & he puts shame to the 'able bodied' refs. They should watch a few of his games & take note.
Overall, perhaps we didnt deserve the win but the important fact is, we did.
But with crucial games coming our way, especially the cup game against a top division side, we need to start our games from the kick-off & do eachother a favour, because we have the ability, we have the talent & we can get promoted. Thats one thing I have no doubt about.
By Ian
2-1
Team: Ian, Paddy, Gaz, Stu, Darren, Chris, Dan, Cowley, Alex, Rob, Russell
Richard
25th Jan '04
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs TULLAMORE ROVERS
Well, where do I start? After last weeks 'strange' ref, you kinda thought the rest would be fairly normal, but how oh so wrong would we be!
After demanding an offical name for the linesmen & thoroughly doing all his checks in a 'hitler' style walk, the game finally kicked-off.
Strange decisions & a bit of football played & by half time we found ourselves 2-0 up with goals from Rob & Chris.
The even stranger second half gave us even more bizarre decisions & calls which just left everyone puzzled. I'd be here all day if I were to go thru them all!
Tullamore pulled one back 10mins in when they broke thru on the wing after bad judgement from Paddy leaving a one on one situation which just managed to go in after I managed to get a hand to it.
Then came one of the best own goals I've ever had the privellige to witness, & it tasted even sweeter because it was by the player who last week was having a pop at Rob for his miss!
We scored another goal a few minutes later, only for it to be ruled out for offside, which it wasnt, their lino decided he would cheat for the rest of the game, I could clearly call 3 of his descisions he gave falsely & one was BLATENT! But still, the ref used him.
Come back down our end, a thru ball which finds one of their players clearly a few yards offside, Russ puts the flag up, they score, goal. Yea, get that one!? Apparently the ref has an 'eagle eye', which allowed the goal. Shocking.
Anyway, a penalty for us later on in the game gave Ricky a penalty to slot away & wrap up the game once & for all!
If there was any other result, I'd have cried, & THEN complained like a madman!
By Ian
4-2
Team: Ian, Paddy, Stewart, Garry, Matt, Chris, Cowley, Dan, Mike, Russ, Rob
Jon, Alex & Ricky
18th Jan '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs TULLAMORE ROVERS
Thought it was about time I did another match report as Ian's are dodgy, far too short & centred around things that never happened (only Joking, you did let that one slip out your hand Sun!).
Anyway to the begining (thats before the bloody thing kicked off). Jeff Winters egotistical, blonde haired, south london twat (scouse hating: ask Mike!!) brother (they must be related!!) took charge of the game, delaying KO for 20mins because the match ball wasn't in his hands in the refs room. This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't a 15 mile treck through the wilderness to get to the bloody pitch) At this point the self obsessed muppet had a go at ME! for not being ready. In true patronising Cowley tongue I reminded him that we could have F*****G started half an hour ago. He didn't like that!!
You can tell I'm an angry head!!
Right to the game. With a squad of players who are all capable of producing good football we took the game to Tullamore.
Snappy passing from all areas of the pitch & a strong hold of midfield pushed the oppo back into their own half & it was no suprise when we took the lead after 5mins.
I would like to say that I played a stunning through ball to Rob but in truth I tried to, failed, & was pleased to see the ball deflect off another player into Robs path to tuck home. (was it your right foot?).
The pressure continued for ten minutes but with no reward. We pushed forward in search of a 2nd and were caught out when a cross evaded Chris & Daniel at the far post and Tullamore broke to score an undeserved equaliser. (Everyone watched, no one marked!-Ed)
Disapointed at half time we looked to take control of the second period pushing out of the shire that was our goal mouth. Our passing improved after a scrappy spell and several clear cut chances were squandered before Rob and Russ scored a second half goal each.
Just when we were looking to relax and finish them off we conceded a freak goal.
I'll tell it as Ian would: "I've seen the ball come over, their big lad is closing in (all 2 feet of him) then (recalling david James's glorious best at Anfield) I've flapped at it and fallen over" leaving their player to nearly miss the goal from 2 yards.
(IS THE REPORT LONG ENOUGH YET, NAH!)
No doubt Ian will bring in the factors of Alien's hovering over his goal post, the sun getting in his eyes from behind him and Frodo Baggins crawling out of the hill that was the middle of the area!!) Anyway he's still class & the one he clawed out in the last game gets him off the hook, keep it up mate!
Actually, I'd say I forgot about the hill in my area, therefore instead of the ball going up, it went up & over, still, no excuse-Ed)
We played out the game (of which 20 mins was the Ref talking to anyone that would listen!) and claimed a valuable three points. We did okay but we know we can do better than that so lets finish the job at home in the next game.
(No mention of Rob's howler? How much did he pay you?!-Ed)
I can make the next one longer if you want!
PS. Ian, don't delete any of it either you charlie!!
By Chris
3-2
Team: Ian, Alan, Stewart, Rickmaster Gaz, Matt, Chris, Cowley, Dan, Mike, Russ, Rob
Jon, Alex & Paddy
11th Jan '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs LONDON ALBION
Not surprised, as it was at the crapness that is Coldharbour football pitches!
Postponed
4th Jan '04
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs SUNDRIDGE PARK
In a very even game it was difficult to see any other outcome really.
With Sundridge dominating most of the first half, putting on pressure & breaking thru a few times, it looked like we were in trouble. They had at least 2 clear cut chances of which should have been buried, especially from 2 yards out! Maybe our luck was in.
Come the second half, we stepped it up, worked harder & put ourselves about a bit more. It looked a little more promising, but neither team was giving up.
In the final 10 minutes a well hit half volley from just inside the edge of the area was parried(sp?) over by myself, apparently I should have caught it! :)
Some might say, I saved our bacon, I dunno, I keep having to write these reports!
An even game, a fair result.
By Ian, altho I did ask Chris!
0-0
Team: Ian, Alan, Stewart, Rickmaster Gaz, Matt, Mike, Dan, Cowley, Chris, Russ & Rob
Jan, Rich, Darren & Paddy
21st Dec '03
'GEORGE HARLEY' 2nd RND CUP MATCH (A) Vs WELLING ALLSTARS
Another cold windy morning match for us on the shoddy pitch of Cold Harbour which led to an early substitution of Alan who twisted his ankle on one of many diverts!
Welling are a decent young side with much talent & are doing well in the 3rd division & I think we faired well against them especially as we were missing so many strong players (see team below)
They looked dodgy at the back (especially that Mr Stone!) & we missed a couple of sitters from crosses but managed to sneak a lead thru a Gazmaster-Ricky effort on the egde of the 6 yard box.
A few lapses in concentration later on led to a ball being left by defence which went straight to their striker who slotted it home neatly & another break thru the middle left a 1 on 1 with the keeper to which their guy made the finish.
Earlier on in the 1st half I had a player slide in studs up on a challenge with me, ripping thru plastic in my finger part and thru material in 2 places, cutting my finger open, its now swollen but when I approched the ref at half time I was told it was a fair challenge! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
2-1 down going into the second half & spirits weren't as high as the 1st, but perserverance & the continuence to annoy & hassle the opposition paid off, we hit another much in the same vain as our 1st goal via our confident & mouthy midfielder, the one & only (thank God) Mr Daniel Lawrie. We managed to hold it at 2-2 for the full time whistle.
In extra time I pulled off a few good saves to keep us in the game, Russ hit a powerfull effort saved from top-corner placement & we looked steady all thoughout, but just when you thought the game was about to go to penalties, a ball broke out to their number 9 on the left who I closed down but he passed it across to a free team-mate who had a simple tap-in to wrap up the game.
Overall we battled well, worked hard with what we had & were able to be proud of ourselves, with missing at least 5 of our best & experienced players including our top scorer & playing a team in the top divison, it only makes me realise how far we've progressed from last year.
It also gets me thinking, how much of a different game it would have been with the players missing below involved....
By Ian M
2-2 (2-3 AET)
Team: Ian, Alan, Chris, Rickmaster Gaz, Matt, Q, Mike, Dan, Alex, Jon, Russ
Jan, Paul (No Alex, Stewart, Cowley, Rich M, Rob, Paddy, Darren)
14th Dec '03
'BILL BRAISTED' 2nd RND CUP MATCH (H) Vs REAL BECKENHAM
A good solid performance in this match against a side we'd already beaten on the same park.
We dominated this game and could probably have produced more on a better day for us.
Richard Cowley opened the scoring for us with a typical far post header from a corner which is becoming something of a trademark for the experienced defensive midfielder who also produced a solid display throughout the match, even after he nearly dislocated his arm which he heavily fell on in a second half challenge.
The second half needed to be better to maintain the standard we set and the boys came good.
We battled, kept our concentration and managed to score a second after a foul had been given. In all fairness, the ref blew his whistle which means the game has stopped, so the goal shouldnt have been allowed (see, unbiased I am!), but I have no doubt we'd have scored another and/or kept a clean sheet anyway even if it had been disallowed.
Overall, a good game and in to the 3rd round we come!
By Ian M
2-0
Team: Ian, Stewart, Matt, Chris, Alan, Jon, Dan, Mike, Rich C, Rob, Darren
Jan, The B-master
7th Dec '03
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs AFC HAYES
Rob got 2 I hear.
By ?
2-2
Team: Rich, Chris, Stewart (No Matt,Q)
30th Nov '03
CUP MATCH (A) Vs WELLING ALLSTARS
Postponed
23rd Nov '03
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs LONDON ALBION
Weather conditions made this a difficult game for both sides on a pitch that held out very well seeing as tho it'd rained for 48hrs & still continued to.
A penalty awarded to us in the first 10mins was a bit of a gift 'cos neither side had really done much at all, it was neatly slotted home by Danny boy, just as well otherwise the next was gonna be mine!
A poor first half performance which should have seen us play 10 times better ended fortunately with Russ curling in a hard shot over the keeper into the top of the net.
With the rain continuing to make football life hell, we aimed to start the second half more positively, only to let their best player break thru on the right & belt a corker of a shot into the top right hand corner of our net (it has to take a shot like that to beat me! Apparently I wasn't far off from getting a touch to it too! Damn it!)
So, we had to react & luckily after many minutes of nervousness, our top scorer Rob headed home from a neat cross. It eased the unnecessary pressure, we still weren't playing good enough.
About 15mins after that Rob nodded another home into the bottom left of their goal & made sure a come back was beyond them.
New boy Jon looked good coming on in the last 15mins & even managed to get a shot in which wasn't far off.
Apparently Dan set up 2 of the goals, he'll kill me if I dont mention that, even if I didn't notice. I guess 2 set-ups & a goal might mean MOTM to some but the fact he talks rubbish most of the game (except for the encouragement which is always good) means personally I dont think it was his. For me, I'd give it to Matt, another outstanding performance. Hard work, important challenges & being in the right place at the right time makes me think that. Well done, Matt.
A below average performance lads, but we won which is the important thing, no one played particularly bad but it HAS to get better for us to get promotion this season. By Ian M
4-1
Team: Ian, Paddy, Rich M, Rich C, Matt, Q, Chris, Daniel, Scouse, Rob, Russ
Jan, Jon & Paul T.
9th Nov '03
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs WOODSIDE CELTIC RESERVES
(Anyone wanna do a review as I was away, obviously, look at the result!)
Rob & Russ got the goals.
By ?
2-6
Team: GK, Matt, Alex, Paddy, Alan, Scouse, Chris, Dan, Q, Russ, Rob
Jan
2nd Nov '03
CUP MATCH (A) Vs FLAMINGO'S RESERVES
We recorded MCFC's highest ever (Dont quote me on that!) Cup win today against a side mid-table in a division above us.
An excellent performance from absolutely EVERYONE, closing down the opposition, working hard to get back & mark players, enthusiasm & the will to win, which we were missing the week before.
Within the 1st 10mins we'd put the pressure on, forced a corner & Stewart crossed in a near post cross which was deflected in by one of their players.
The increased pressure our midfield & strikers put on Flamingo's paid off again shortly after when Rob broke free to slot the ball into the left hand side of the goal.
For our 3rd & final goal of the half something beautiful & rare happened, Russ ran onto a ball just outside the front left of the area & with a superb outside of the right foot, lobbed the ball over keeper & into the net, is it me or is Russ having one of his best seasons?
An upset Flamingo side decided they had to do more to stop an absolute rout & improved their game, luckily we were spot on ours & didnt hold back at all.
Rob managed to get 2 more goals to complete his hat-trick but in all fairness he could have had a few more, still, he'd done his job & done it well.
Dan worked very hard, played some great football, missed a sitter, same old Dan performance then (which is a good thing, this is a positive comment, Dan), enthusiastic encouragement too.
Which leads me to Man Of The Match, Scouse, from just before KO to the final whistle. Fantastic performance up & down the right wing & a clearance off the line, determined & inspirational, well done la'.
I was adamant that I was going to keep a clean sheet & therefore made sure I was behind every ball & just when everyone thought 'Ian's been lobbed' from a good shot from outside the box, I managed to tip the ball into the top of the crossbar & over. First clean sheet of the season & I hope many more to come.
Remember lads, its a team game & everyone counts, every single member of this 22 man squad is important & valued, lets keep the high spirits & encouragement right until the final whistle of our final match! By Ian M
5-0
Team: Ian, Paddy, Alex, Stewart, Darren, Q, Chris, Daniel, Scouse, Rob, Russ
Jan, Alex & Paul T.
26th Oct '03
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs SUNDRIDGE PARK
Possibly the best team we've played so far in the league, they played well & at the end of the day the best team won.
So what if we were missing 2 influential players in Dan & Stewart?! We needed to put the effort in and it wasn't there, few tried hard enough to keep their places in next weeks team and Dan & Stuart wont have to worry about losing their place!
Their main striker broke thru plenty of times & had shots saved & there was no hunger for a team who are top of the table. Chris, Cowley & Mike battled well & showed enthusiasm but 3 players doesnt make a team.
After going 1-0 down via a header, heads dropped, I gave away a penalty to which I'll still object to no matter how blatent it looked (the ball was by the tree's when the player looked for my foot to trip over, I missed the ball coz it was hugely over hit. A friggin goal kick should have been given by the time he'd hit my foot on his way AWAY from the goal!) Still, a scuffed penalty (I'd like to have recieved his intended penalty) went in.
The second half was slightly better, Chris with all his determination hit a hard shot in the middle of their goal which the keeper decided not to save (isn't that 2 assists in 2 games from me?!) & shortly after, another lapse of concentration allowed King (their players have names & numbers, how sweet) to finally get a goal after many efforts.
A handball gave us a penalty to make it 3-2 but unfortunately Mike had it saved. Let ME take the damn penalties!
Oh well, lets hope the away fixture is a little more positive for us.
Oh, and I saved a few. ;) By Ian M
1-3
Team: Ian, Alex, Matt, Richard M, Chris, Alan, Richard C, Paul T, Scouse, Alex, Jan
Darren, Mark & Q.
19th Oct '03
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs WOODSIDE CELTIC RESERVES
It was one freezing day on Sunday, with blistering gusts of wind & on a pitch with bumps & a hill, this made for an interesting game.
Except, it wasn't really, a pretty mdeiocre first half performance which thankfully saw Mike tuck in an assist by me, into the inside right of the net.
I'm one for excuses, so all first half I had some kid kicking a ball onto the pitch by me, I knew I should have moaned coz it ended up being MY downfall. An attack by them saw their player shoot from inside the area off of my hand & then in. My distraction was the little shit who ran on the pitch to get his ball about a second before the Woodside striker shot, I looked coz I saw something out of the corner of my eye, thanks kid!
The second half was a better performance for us, doing well playing up mountain, sorry, hill & the wind had got stronger so we did well to hold out. By Ian M
1-1
Team: Ian, Alex, Matt, Stewart, Chris, Alan, Richard C, Daniel, Scouse, Alex, Darren
Jan, Richard M & Q.
12th Oct '03
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs REAL BECKENHAM
This match proved that for the first time ever in a Morley game I've experienced, we played badly & won.
Well, maybe not badly but not very well, I think there is a difference.
Starting off reasonably well, as well as you can without our main 2 strikers, we managed to take a lead half way thru the first half with a great 'Hyypia style' header from Richard Cowley (Im sure he'll love that description), he rose above everyone else near the back post & put the ball in the net.
Going into the second half uncomfortably, we gave away a silly goal within the first few minutes. A defensive error gifted their striker with an easy chance with which he took full advantage of. With a positive attitude & determination in the camp, we battled on, finally one of Dan's thru-balls ran kindly for Russ to run onto, taking it past the keeper and slotting home.
The game wasn't over there, quite a few chances were had by Real, their one good player having a few shots, one of which skimmed the top of our bar.
With about 10mins to spare, drunkard Daniel Lawrie found a moment of magic when he nutmegged a defender on the edge of the box on the left hand side, & then curled a shot into the top right hand corner of the goal. Superb. Still, 1 out of 100 efforts in a season aint so bad. ;) By Ian M
3-1
Team: Ian, Rob, Russ, Dan, Stewart, Alex S, Rich C, Scouse, Alan, Matt, Chris.
Darren, Q, Paul T
28th Sept '03
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs TLR
Tougher game than expected, pretty even game which we deserved a win for, slightly marred at the end by the noisy twat manager of theirs. Good goals from Rob & Alan gave us the win with a header from a cross & dispite what anyone says, I wasn't lobbed from the half way line. I merely was a few feet off my line, expecting my defenders & midfield to close down & pick up attacking players, one of which had a lucky pop & caught me flat footed. End of, END OF.
MOTM in my view: Alex S, a superb display, excellent closing down & challenges. Well done, son. By Ian M
2-1
Team: Ian, Paddy, Ricky, Russ, Dan, Stewart, Alex S, Rich C, Alan, Matt, Chris.
Scouse, Darren, Paul T
21st Sept '03
LEAGUE MATCH (A) Vs CROFTON ALBION
Due to popular demand (well Mike moaning at me to do the report (I wonder why?) here we go :
We begin the story with some classic sunday morning antics ie. The opposition changing the ground at the last minute & Stuart (with the kit not getting the message till he was at the old ground) Lucky it was only 15mins away!!
To the game, a rousing team talk from skipper (can't remember a word I said!) Morley set about their task with gusto. As the opposition kicked off (& I was facing the other way!) we surged forward to close them down. Im told that a combination of Ricky, Dan & Paddy disposessed them and with MIKE pegging it down the wing a through ball was on, Ricky picked out MIKE with a great ball & with little time to think (as the whole thing had lasted about 8 seconds by this point!) he tucked it away with a tidy finish. I turned around at this point & was wondering why they were taking so long to kick off!. The ref duly confirmed a goal time of 12 seconds , the fastest Morley goal I have witnessed (any quicker Rich, Stu?)
Fresh from this early advantage we duly threw it away with some poor defending at a corner allowing a 6ft 3inch player to ghost in with a free header.
Thankfully this didn't knock us out of our stride & we created a few decent chances, one in particlar where Ricky got to the by-line and pulled the ball back across the area for Paddy to run onto, he made contact but defender came from nowhere to clear off the line.
We continued pressing & closing down to good effect as our pressure forced them into a high back pass to the keeper, he duly had to handle the ball to stop it going in & we had a freekick on the six yard box. Being inpatient as ever I ran from my left back spot to the ball, & while the defence was dithering passed to Ricky who smashed the ball into the top corner via a defenders arm. (quick thinking even If I say so myself!)
This break spurred us on & in the second half we moved in for the kill. Dominating the midfield as usual we piled on the pressure, and Ricky was able to convert this with a lovely overhead kick that arrowed into the corner.
Our defence was proving resolute with Alex & Stuart looking formidable & I don't think they had a shot on goal (apart from the header) up til this point.
This continued & Ricky capped a fine display by beating two players & tucking in his hat trick (he could have a match ball but I don't know who has them, if you have let me know please)
I can't finish without mentioning the crossbar boys:1) Dazzer's dazzling run in the final moments where he ghosted (yes ghosted!!) past two defenders before dispatching a sublime lob over the keeper & onto the bar! 2) Mr Cowley decided this was greedy & rather waste time with one of his tree hugging efforts blasted a thirty yarder plumb on the bar! (Unlucky boys) One last mention to Ian for pulling off some important saves late on.
Keep it up boys! By Christian N
4-1
Team: Ian, Paddy, Ricky, Dan, Alex S, Rich C, Scouse, Chris, Graham, Stewart, Alan.
Matt, Paul T
14th Sept '03
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs ROYSTON
A quick report on this one (cos I've forgotten most of it)
An interesting game involved blending a poor Morley performance with our own ref (Paul who hasn't been a ref before) I won't say that it showed as I could be in trouble with the FA. Anyway we struggled through the game producing few moments of quality. The match was marred by some bitter opposition to some of the ref's decisions, from the opposition (and from me for one) anyway after getting 2 penalties, one scored, one missed from Daniel we found ourselves 2-1 up. With just 5mins to go we were holding tight & creating a few chances through the lively Ricky when a penalty was awarded for handball against me! (clearly ball belted at me but never mind) this was scored (I so nearly saved it too!-Ed) & a draw seemed on the cards til Ricky popped up with the winner with a couple of minutes to spare.
We scraped this one boys and when we go to their place there will be no moaning from them cos we will hammer them! By Christian N
3-2 (Who else scored for us in this game?)
Team: Ian, Rob, Paddy, Russ, Rich M, Dan, Stewart, Rich C, Scouse, Darren, Matt.
Ricky, Q
7th Sept '03
LEAGUE MATCH (H) Vs AFC HAYES
In Ian's absence & the slating I got last week I think I will add my own match report fot the first game of the season.
Morley's season got off to a cracking start with a fine home win over the league newboys.
Everyone who took part performed admirably with special thanks to Darren who not for the first time stood (with not too much daylight) between the sticks (only joking mate).
Anyway to the game. After a nervy start we began to take hold of the game with some fine passing and good tackling. This culminated in newboy Rob belting home a 25 yard volley into the top corner (it nearly got stuck there!)
This was followed by something that the Morley veterans (me included) haven't seen for a while (apart from pulling a fit bird!). A flowing ten pass move involving 4 or 5 Morley players, this resulted in Rob crossing for Russ (yes RUSS) to head the ball home. This also prompted our goalkeeper to shout "It's like watching Brazil! again something not heard since "their not fucking JJJuventuSSS".
The quality play continued with slick passing around the box ending in Danny boy (wrap up!) sneaking a 20 yard effort into the bottom corner, (another assist for Rob I think). The half ended with a strong appeal for a penalty for a foul on Rob (the ref admitted it was a foul at halftime!)
The second half continued in the same vain as the first with good passing & movement all round. Rob's tireless running caused panic in the Hayes defence & Russ was able to send a sublime lob over the stranded keepr without even moving! (there was a customery powderpuff effort later but we won't mention that!)
The away team got some sympathy from the Ref by getting an unjustified penalty after Darren had done well to fist the ball away. This was scored & was only their second shot on target in the whole game!
We wern't finished then & responded almost immediatly. I (Chris) sent a cultured Veron like ball (okay it was a big punt upfield!) to Rob who beat three defenders & finished well for the fifth.
Darren continued doing what needed to be done in goal, storming off his line on several occasions ( well that's relative ofcouse!) to clear the danger.
Rob then capped a fine debut performnace earning a penalty after bein felled going round the keeper, Dan tucking away the resulting spotkick.
Praise to fellow new boy Mike & again to everyone for the way we played & worked aswell as the result!
We are top of the league! (okay no one else has played but I've waited a long time so I'm gonna milk it while I can!! By Christian N
6-1
Team: Darren, Rob, Graham, Russell, Rich M, Dan, Stewart, Rich C, Scouse, Q, Matt, Chris.
31st Aug '03
FRIENDLY (A) Vs BELMONT
In a scoreline which flattered Belmont, a team in the 1st division, we didn't play too badly.
They scored via a fluke header, a Christian flick on, another Christian flick on that hit Richard for an own goal & then a goal from kicking it out of my hands, lovely. (Only messin around, Chris-Ed)
They were a side that fouled & cheated their way to victory with help from their manager/ref, with a few more of our key players, we'd have definitely had a closer scoreline.
Darnell scored with a fine throughball from Matt, he then took the ball past the keeper to slot nicely away. By Ian M
1-4
Team: Ian, Chris, Stewart, Richard M, Alex, Darnell, Graham, Mike, Rob, Ricky, Matt
Q, Jan.
24th Aug '03
FRIENDLY (A) Vs EXBRIDGE
Paddy, Dan & Darn scored in this win against a side 2 divisions above us.
By Ian M
3-2
Team: Ian, Chris, Paddy, Daniel, Alex S, Q, Alan, Ricky, Rob, Graham, Matt, Jan, Ben, Russ, Kevin & his mate, Darren, Paul T, Darnell
17th Aug '03
FRIENDLY (A) Vs SYDENHAM
To Follow, maybe.
By ?
2-2
Team: Darren, Chris, Paddy, Daniel, Alex S?, Q, Alan, Paul M, Rob, Mark, Matt, Jan?, Ben
"Dan, get ya hands out of ya shorts!"-Everyone
Have your say!
[email protected]
HORNFAIR
HONOURS
SQUAD
LEAGUE
PHOTOS
VOTE NOW!
