31.01.06      SUMMER LEAGUE RESULT JAN 30 – England 2 – 5 Nigeria

 

Three defeats in a row and England’s hopes of being involved in any of the competition finals have now all but faded. We were never really in the game on Sunday against Nigeria, and with a second consecutive scoreline of 5-2, we certainly let ourselves down. This player has to put his hand up and admit it’s probably one of the worst performances he’s put in for the club – scoring an OG midway through the second half served only to reinforce my disappointment.

 

In honesty, we were fortunate to go in at halftime only one goal down. Nigeria had dominated the game and it was they that had created all of the best chances. We were being played off the park. They spurned a number of opportunities to open the scoring, but with the pace at which these guys broke from midfield, they always looked like the team that would register the first goal. That goal came about from a poor decision in defence, leaving Nigeria’s No.10 unmarked to race through and calmly finish past the keeper. 1-0. The new formation of 4-5-1 didn’t quite do the trick; sadly the midfield trio of Gus, Keith & Stu is one we won’t have the luxury of playing again, with Keith taking sabbatical abroad. On their game, very few teams would cope with that midfield.

 

Halftime saw us revert back to our normal 4-4-2 formation, Stu having to be withdrawn due to work commitments. There was a slight reshuffle at the back in the hope it would help us contain the Nigerian frontline, particularly their No.9; he was a quality player and was causing all sorts of problems with his strength and pace.  Unfortunately, it was with little effect and he continued to ask questions of the defense. We certainly started the second half with a little more determination; at 1-0 we weren’t out of this game by a long shot. But it wasn’t long before Nigeria doubled their lead. 2-0. Shortly after we gave ourselves a fighting chance when Biddy finished off a nice move with a neat finish to make it 2-1. This was his fifth goal of the tournament and his second in as many games; a worthy winner of the Man Of The Match award at the end of the day, and a front-runner for our Player Of The Tournament.

 

From here though, things just got worse. Nigeria scored again – 3-1, and a mêlée ensued on the touchline. A Basil Boli look-a-like decided things needed to get physical and he took a swing at our gaffer. Really not necessary when you’re leading the opposition by two goals, it was unwarranted behaviour from the guy and did little more than over-excite an already animated Nigerian support.  Soon after, 4-1, by way of an OG from yours truly. Sorry guys! It was typical of the game I was having and of the way the game was going. Dave Walsh then stepped up to coolly convert a penalty and make it 4-2, but it was merely a consolation goal as Nigeria beat the defense again and made it 5-2 for the second week in a row. What was disappointing on Sunday was that we never controlled the game for any significant spell; in past defeats we’ve played some good football at times and probably not deserved to lose so heavily, but against Nigeria, and I think everybody would agree, it was a poor all round performance.

 

Next week we face Chile and we’ll be hoping to salvage some pride by getting a result against these guys. We’ve come up against some quality opposition in this tournament so far, and to take a positive from it all, playing in such a higher standard of football can only improve our game for next seasons Winter League. We’ve represented ourselves well at Riversdale Reserve, and 4 wins & 4 defeats wouldn’t be such a bad record to take from a tournament we never gave ourselves much hope in from the start… Let’s give it our all for the last game!

The Editor

 

     26.01.06      7-A-SIDE RESULT JAN 25 – The Doctors 1 – 1 O’Carrolls

 

“Where do I begin, to tell the story…”

This game had it all… goals, penalties, red cards, punch-ups and quite possibly the poorest excuse for a referee that I’ve ever come across, but more of him later.

 

We were looking to rectify the scoreline from the last time we met The Doctors - we went down 3-0 on the night in what was a very poor display from us. We know we’re a better team than these guys, but unfortunately football isn’t that straight forward. The Doctors definitely started the brighter, catching us on the back foot a number of times and creating quite a few openings for themselves. It didn’t take long for us to settle in though, and soon after we got the opening goal of the game. An outstanding passage of play was finished nicely by Gus after a terrific ball from Gibbo. 1-0. From there we pretty much controlled the rest of the first half. The Doctors have a few good players, and they did still manage to create a few openings, but nearly all of their efforts sailed high and wide. Matt dealt well with every ball that came into his area.

 

Second half, and with Gus taking a breather, we lost our way a little and The Doctors gradually got themselves back into it. We dealt with this spell of pressure pretty well, but it was a dreadful decision from the referee that turned the game, and turned it for the worst. A penalty was awarded to The Doctors for an apparent handball by Neville; nobody else on the field saw this handball; in fact not one of the oppositions players even appealed for a handball, but we all know how referees are when they make a decision…! With the game being so tight it was inevitable that a decision like this is going to upset players, and while our protests were maybe a touch aggressive, it was a disgraceful decision and one that eventually cost us three points. 1-1.

 

From here it just went downhill. We were under the kosh for a good 5-10 minutes, primarily because we lost our heads a little. In that ten minute spell The Doctors had one cleared off the line by Tom and had a great effort go out off the outside of the post, Matt made a smashing save from an effort from distance; we certainly rode our luck a little, and then an incident with Gibbo and one of their players really raised the temperature. I personally had my back to the incident, but turned in time to see arms flailing and punches being thrown. The result - a bloody lip for one of The Doctors and a player off from each team. Tackles were hard and emotions were running high now, but it was O’Carrolls that took control from here on in. We laid siege on their goal and with minutes remaining Cameo-Keith bore down on goal. One foul; ref waves advantage; second foul; ref waves advantage saying he’s still got the ball – even though it was two feet away; third foul, in the box, definite penalty; ref has a look and turns his head away, blowing for full time! One word – pr**k! His two reasons for not giving the penalty: 1) Too much abuse from the sidelines (i.e. Richie) 2) ‘Well, they hit the post, so it’s even’ – or something to that effect. Who taught this clown how to referee??? We certainly let him know how we felt, and there will probably be repercussions, but once we never have a game refereed by that muppet again, we’ll be happy.

 

So 1-1 it finished and we’ve found our 7-A-Side archrivals! Till next time Doctors… I for one am looking forward to it! O’Carrolls – we’ve just got to keep on winning. Top spot isn’t out of our reach yet.

The Editor

 

     19.01.06      7-A-SIDE RESULT JAN 18 – Bohz Boyz 0 – 3 O’Carrolls

 

The 7-A-Side competition recommenced on Wednesday night after a short Christmas break. Our first opponents of the year were Bohz Boyz, a team affiliated to Bohemian Celtic, whom we met last year for a mid-season friendly. Bohs were ASFA Second Division at the time and they narrowly beat us by 1-0. They since have won promotion to the Premier Division so it’s clear these guys have got some quality players. They are also a great bunch of guys, so we were expecting a game played in the best of spirits.

 

Early exchanges were good from both sides, but it wasn’t long before O’Carrolls notched our first 7-A-Side goal of 2006. A strike from an acute angle from the right boot of Paul Gibbons – yes, you heard correct – his right boot, and 1-0 to O’Cs. (By the way, if I’m wrong about the goal being from his right boot, it’s only because Tim assured me it was). Not long after and it was 2-0. I rate this goal as one of the best we’ve scored in 7-A-Side, or any of the competitions we’ve been involved in for that matter. Some terrific passing play all the way from the back culminated in a deft back heel by Paul Tancell into the path of Nevchenko to volley home. Bohz were at sixes and sevens for that one. Half time – 2-0.

 

Second half and Bohz found their feet a little more and pressed on, always creating openings. Richie however was never really tested; most of the final attempts were off target. The danger of us conceding a goal at this stage has been highlighted in the last couple of Sunday League games we’ve played, so it was important we kept Bohz out. We rode out their spell of pressure and it was once more from the right boot of Gibbo (again, according to Tim) that we sealed the victory. A quick break from O’Cs finished nicely by the Brummie. A late penalty for Bohz could have stopped our fourth clean sheet in 8 games, but fortunately for us, the Bohz player blazed it high and wide. Richie reckoned he had it covered anyway. 3-0 it ended and we’re quite happy with our performance on the night.

 

Moment of madness from the referee… both teams claimed a ball out was their throw in. Unable to decide (i.e. referee the game!!!), the man in black (he may not have been wearing black, I can’t remember, but you get the point), anyway, the man in black decides a dropped ball will solve it. Bizarre decision, but fine, that is until the dropped ball goes out for a throw… with both teams again claiming it to be theirs. Oh dear, it could have went on all evening!

 

Thanks to Bohz for a good game and all the best in the rest of the competition. Maximum points from our three games in the Premier Division 2, with six games to go.  Up Next week, The Doctors – the only team to beat us in 7-A-Side so far. We’ll be looking to put the record straight.

 

     18.01.06      SUMMER LEAGUE RESULT JAN 15 – Brasil 5 – 2 England

 

With three games left in the tournament, any kind of result against title favourites Brazil would have been ideal. There was an early setback for boss Tim when Angus Welton was forced to make a late, late withdrawal on Sunday morning. The classy midfielder had a previous engagement that he had already started and just had to finish... So a reshaped line-up took the park, with Bidcom Factor 5 stepping into central midfield.

 
Early exchanges were good... so good in fact, Olly won us a penalty, which Dave Walsh dispatched with casual ease. Fortunately there no wannabees desperately stepping forward for their slice of glory. So 1-0 and the perfect start. Despite some silky touches from the Brazil side, they weren't overly intimidating in the early stages. Bidcom, Gibbo and Woody worked hard in midfield and pushed them back into their own half. It was no surprise when we went further ahead. A delicate chip over the top from Olly landed at the feet of Bidcom Factor 4, who struck the ball first time into the corner of the net - a lovely finish. A PlayStation-type goal of the highest order.

 

Now this really wound up the league leaders...they didn't like it up 'em. But 10 minutes before halftime, the game changed. Brazil had a goal disallowed for a blatant offside. They refused to accept the decision, and their monkey-like goalkeeper decided to run three quarters of the pitch to make his point. Anyway, the ref, who didn't seem to like any physical contact, stood by his linesman. This all seemed to fire up Brazil, and just before halftime they scrambled a goal, as O'Cs failed to clear the ball. Brazil had played well in patches, but didn't particularly deserve the goal. Halftime – 2-1.

Everyone knew they were going to come out fighting in the second half, and so it proved. After surviving an initial onslaught, a right-foot strike out of the top drawer brought Brazil level, and the writing was on the wall. 3-2 down, the back four were again caught square; appealing for offside, as they made it 4-2 and 5-2 wasn't far away. It was at this point, however, that we finally found our feet and started passing again. Alex (impostor) came on to good effect and started linking well with Man Of The Match Tom and Bidcom. Woody worked his tail off, while Olly received a nasty bang to the head. Chances were slowly created and a 5-3 scoreline would have been a fairer reflection but it wasn't to be.

 
So a disappointing 5-2 defeat but plenty of positives to come from the performance. Although our heads dropped at the start of the second half, we soon regrouped and worked hard. When the play became too condensed in midfield, the Brazilian skills came to the fore. We work well on the counter-attack but just couldn't seem to control the ball and our passing and gave it away cheaply - something you cannot afford to do. One off our centre backs was under the weather, a crucial midfielder was missing and we didn't seem to believe that we could go on and win when we were 2-0 up. We gave them way too much respect. Basically the equation now is simple. We have to beat Nigeria and Chile to have any chance of making the top four. If we do make the top four, I think we can make the final - we just have to believe.

Alexander Bell

 

     09.01.06      SUMMER LEAGUE RESULT JAN 08 – England 3 – 4 Fiji

 

Yesterday saw England’s second defeat of the Ethnic Summer League at the hands of Fiji; a team just off the back of a 5-2 thrashing of Iran prior to the Christmas break. Once again weather was glorious, the heat was going make for a tough game, especially after the indulgences of the festive season – lots of food, drink and doing not a whole lot left us less than at our fittest, and this was a concern going into a game where we knew the opposition to be quite a fit and pacey side, similar to Iran.

 

There was more or less a full squad to pick from, the most notable absentee being Paul Gibbons, still serving out his suspension having been red-carded against Peru. Dave Walsh returned to the centre of defence alongside Paul Tancell. Tom & Max kept their places at the back. Midfield was solid with EJ, Gus, Neville & Stu; Olly & Biddy started up front. It was Matt’s turn in goal this week; Richie generously ran the line. On the bench were Dave Meadows, Bundy and Woody; another new face we welcomed to the team.

 

For me it would be tough to separate the two teams up until the first goal was scored. Both teams were passing the ball comfortably and working good openings, the first goal could have come from either side.  Fortunately it came from England; a well-delivered corner from EJ was missed at the near post by the goalkeeper and bounced nicely to Nevcroucho to head home from a yard or so out. 1-0. Their keeper looked less than comfortable with his handling, any effort on target was going to cause him problems.

 

Having taken the lead we should have really controlled the game, but instead we fell apart for a 15-minute spell and it cost us dearly. Fiji’s left midfielder had lightning pace and was causing Tom all kinds of problems. It was from him that Fiji levelled the score; a break down the left, he beat a few defenders, cut inside and slotted a right-footed shot into the back of the net. 1-1. EJ came close to clearing the ball, he was very unlucky, but it was fantastic tracking back by him. Soon after and Fiji broke again, this time from midfield, a measured pass missed by Tom found its way to their left winger, his pace took him into the box and a cool finish handed them the lead. 2-1. Frustrations threatened to boil over for England, Fiji were controlling the game, and we were fortunate not concede again before half time.

 

The half time talk was a little heated, and we started the second half as poorly as we finished the first. Fiji were knocking a lot of long balls forward for their strikers to chase, they certainly had the quickness to do this and it was causing us problems at the back Not long in and we gave away a foul on the edge of the area. The resulting free kick found it’s way through the wall; Matt got his hands to it but was unable to keep it out. 3-1. Fourth goal was a long ball over the top, this time Max beaten for pace and the Fiji forward got to the ball first, finishing well to seemingly put the game beyond us. 4-1. This was the first time O’Carrolls/England had ever found themselves trailing by a three goal margin. Fiji had also struck the post in an earlier effort, they very unlucky not to extend their lead.

 

The response to going down like this was outstanding and one every player on the team should take pride from. Perhaps the belief that the game was beyond us gave us a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude, but whatever it was, the last half hour of football from England was hugely encouraging, it showed just how much spirit this team has got.

 

The gaffer made a few changes, and it was no more than 10 minutes after his introduction that Woody got a goal back. The dodgy keeper failed to hold onto a crossed ball from Man Of The Match Biddy; Woody nicked it from his grasp, rounded him and slotted home from an acute angle. 4-2. He looked like a good player and will be a welcome addition to the squad. Next a free kick won on the right side was whipped into the box by Olly Beckham, Stu climbed high and powerfully headed home to make it 4-3. There was a real feeling that we could get something out of this game. Everybody on the team was fuelled up. We pushed forward in search of an equalizer, and the best chance perhaps fell to Neville. Another quality cross from Olly found the Scouser in the box but unfortunately he blazed his effort over the crossbar. So close! Had that one gone in I would have tipped England to go on and win the game, in a comeback that would have eclipsed the Scousers second half revival against lowly Luton Town earlier this week in the FA Cup. But it wasn’t to be… final score 4-3.

 

We showed immense character to come back from such a large margin, had we went down four goals to one, heads would have been down coming up against Brasil next week. But as it is we can be confident we’ll give them a game and maybe get something out of it. Till then…

The Editor