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2006 |
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26.06.06 LEAGUE RESULT JUN 25 – O’Carrolls 4 – 0 City Fringe
This week saw
us at home against City Fringe. It was our first time to try out pitch 4. Not sure
what seed was used but the resultant grass/weed produced gave the ball a heavy
bounce, but at least it was dry.
The gaffer
started with Richie in goal, Biddy, Woody, Tancey and Tom making up the back
four. In midfield Gibbo and Olly took to the flanks with Nevchenko and captain
Gus in the middle. Up front we had birthday boy Ziggy alongside Stu, making his
first full appearance of the season. On the bench were Ash, Barry, Max, Bundy
and Lobster.
We had beaten
City 5-1 in our previous encounter, but with a bit of luck they could have
scored a few more on that occasion. They are a physically big team so we knew
to keep it on the floor and play a passing game. This we duly did from the
first whistle. OC's were winning good ballS in midfield through Nev and Gussy
who in turn were linking well with Olly and Gibbo. This saw some excellent
deliveries into the box and with a little luck on the bounce we could have
scored in the first few minutes. As it was we had to wait until the 14th minute
for the first. Olly broke in from the left and seeing a bit of space he thought
he'd have a go. The boy let rip with a tremendous back-pass, which somehow went
under the keeps body, and it was 1-0 OC's. The half remained competitive with
City looking to feed the boys upfront with a few long balls, which kept the OC
defence on their toes. Although OC's retained a lot of possession there were no
real major efforts on goal due mainly to some good City defending. We were,
however, to be treated to an excellent free kick from the skipper before the
half closed. The free was given about 25 yards out. Gus placed it and then hit
a superb strike over the wall and into the top corner. 2-0.
The half-time
chat was relaxed with the gaffer asking for more of the same in the second
half. Again the half started brightly with good controlled football being
played by each player. City kept pressurising and with a glaring sun in their
eyes the defence did well to deal with the high balls. Although OC's had some
good half chances, we hadn't turned them into goals. But in the 58th minute
Gibbo came up with the goods. Another strong run from the left wing saw him get
into the box, beat his man and prod the ball past the helpless keeps. 3-0. The
gaff introduced Ash upfront with Stu dropping to midfield, Bugsy came on for
Olly and Max came on for Tom. There was no discipline lost with the changes and
OC's continued to press. Ziggy was going to be drinking a lot of shots if he
didn't score, and maybe the thought of not being able to walk later stirred the
boy into action. The ball was played into the box and had a couple of bounces
and mis-hits before Ziggy hit it on the half-volley. It took a deflection on
its way in but you would have to give it to the birthday boy.
There were
few chances left in the game. The defence were resolute with Man Of The match
Woody mopping up well and restricting any saves Richie had to make to just the
one (and as editor here I’m going to mention that it was a top-class save from
the Irishman – definitely one for the cameras!)
An
excellent team performance, which hopefully will carry through to next weeks
Cup Quarter-Final.
The Coach
19.06.06 LEAGUE RESULT JUN 18 – O’Carrolls 8 – 0 NZ Chinese
Gameweek
10 of our 2006 campaign, and we welcomed NZ Chinese to Seddon Fields for the
second meeting between the two sides. OC’s ran out comfortable 5-0 winners in
the first meeting with the boys in blue back in April. Seddon #1 looked in
great condition for the game; a damn sight better than what Inter V Greenhithe
had to contend with just next door to us.
It
was Matt’s turn in goal this week; Richie kindly stepped in to referee the game
– our usual ref pulled out earlier in the day. The back four remained unchanged
from last weeks 4-0 win over Sociables; Tancell and Woody in the centre, Bundy
on the left and Tom out on the right. Dave Walsh returned to join Gus in the
middle of the park; this saw Nev shifting out to the right wing, with Gibbo, as
always, on the left. Up front the industrious pairing of Dan and Ash – now with
19 league goals between them. On the bench were Olly, Barry, Lobster and Alex.
The
3pm kick-off was delayed due to the fact that NZC had only 7 players available
to start with. Ref Richie gave them about 10 minutes, but with no sign of their
players turning up, the game began, and it was 11 v 7 – but you know what they
say about playing against seven men… Needless to say, the first 15 minutes were
pretty much played in NZC’s half. The AWOL players gradually began to show and
about 20 minutes in NZC had their full compliment, but by now they were chasing
a 1-0 deficit. OC’s should have perhaps made more of the fact that we were up
against only 7 or 8 men in the early stages, but we still had the lead thanks
to some great determination from Nevchenko. The NZC keeper hadn’t been holding
onto much so every shot on target was worthy of following in; and that’s
exactly what the Scouser did to give OC’s the early lead. By now OC’s were
knocking the ball about comfortably enough, but with the mindset that we were
still playing against eight men. A lack of concentration allowed NZC in to
create one of their best chances to get on the score sheet. A quick break saw
their forward beat the defence and there was a sigh of relief when he dragged
his shot wide of the goal. Matt made his feelings clear about that effort. That
was pretty much the only clear chance NZC had on the OC’s goal for the first
half as they were resigned to long balls over the top for the remainder of the
half, most of which were comfortably dealt with by the defence.
OC’s
settled a bit at this point and it wasn’t long before the lead was doubled by
captain Gus. A great passage of play resulted in a neat one-two with Ash, and
Gus made no mistake in finishing off the move to make it 2-0. The third goal
came from the free-scoring right boot of Paul Gibbons as he powered home a
trademark goal from the left wing. It was another cracking finish from the
Brummie, the first of four goals he would score today. And that’s pretty much
how the first half played out. One moment worthy of mention, and we can laugh
about it now, was a flash of brilliance from Bundy - stood out on the left wing
scratching his chin completely unaware of the ball Woody has just played to him
from the back. I think he might have been watching Inter v Greenhithe… surely
should have been challenging Dave Walsh for NOTW!
The
gaffer made a few changes at HT, Gus coming off for Alex and the two front men
were replaced by Olly and Barry. This is the first game of the season that both
Dan G or Ash have failed to score in. It didn’t take long for OC’s to stretch
their lead further and it was Gibbo with his first of three second-half goals
that did so. Olly whipped in an early cross that looked destined for the
keeper’s hands, but alas he spilled the ball once more and Gibbo was there to
tuck home the loose ball. 4-0. His hat-trick was completed shortly afterwards,
this time a long ball from Woody picked up by the Brummie and he smashed a right
footed shot into the bottom corner of the goal. 5-0. OC’s were applying all the
pressure by now and it was certainly looking like ‘how many can we score?’. A
wave of corner after corner followed and goal number six soon followed. This
time it was Dave Walsh with a pea-roller of a strike that saw the keeper
scrambling across his goal line crab-stylee, but it was all in vain as the
Irishman’s shot nestled in the corner of the net for his second goal of the
season. It was a goal reminiscent of Paul Tancell’s effort against Sociables
first game of the season – just goes to show what can happen when you hit the
target.
Man
Of The Match Gibbo then completed his scoring after being pushed up front to
allow Lobster in on the left wing. This time Paul picked the ball up on the
right side of the pitch and cut inside before burying one in the left corner of
the goal. He had covered every blade of grass yesterday and fully deserved his
MOTM; those four goals now see him take over the lead as league top scorer with
11, one ahead of Ash and two ahead of Ziggy. The rout was completed by Olly,
heading home from a corner to make it 8-0. NZC won themselves a late penalty
after their forward was brought down by Matt, following a momentary lapse in
concentration from the defence. Fortunately the penalty was blazed over the
crossbar and OC’s kept their fifth clean sheet of the campaign. Alex had a few
late efforts a la Deco/Frings style but he couldn’t manage to keep his shots
down while Olly rattled the woodwork with only seconds remaining, but the
scoring was complete at 8-0.
Thanks
to NZC for the game and best of luck for the remainder of the season. Thanks to
Richie for reffing for us and we’ll see you back between the sticks next week
against City Fringe. The following week the cup run continues against Bay
Olympic Reserves where we’ll be looking to book our place in the semi-finals.
Adios!
The Editor
12.06.06 LEAGUE RESULT JUN 11 – Sociables 0 – 4 O’Carrolls
We are
now at the halfway stage in this year’s league and Sunday saw us play our
return match with Sociables. Although we beat Sociables comfortably on the
opening day of the season, this return fixture was billed as a top of the table
clash.
The gaffer was
taking no chances and ordered us to meet 14 hours before kick off. The whole
squad (almost) assembled in OC’s at 0100 hrs ready for the other big clash...
namely England's opening fixture in the 2006 World Cup. Stu was delighted; he
was no longer alone on 'wannabee' planet. With the Irish and Welsh wannabees
firmly supporting their English comrades, team spirit if nothing else would be
present for our journey west later that day. There were however a couple of
noticeable absentees; namely our two loveable Kiwis, Lobster and Ziggy... ($2
fines)
The gaffer
gave us permission for a few hours’ kip before the game. Some of the boys
looked as if they could have done with a few more. The gaf started with Richie
in goal, birthday boy Tancey and Woody in central defence, New Tom on the right
and Bundy on the left. In midfield Capt Gus in the middle with Nevchenko, Alfie on the right, Gibbo on the left, with
Biddy and Ash upfront.
The game
started wth OC’s comfortable in possession and moving the ball well and it
wasn't long before the first goal came. The ball was moved well from midfield
out to Gibbo who squared a good ball for Ash to pivot, shoot and score. 0-1.
Sociables were up for it and didn't let OC's relax on their lead so the boys
continued to push hard to try and kill the game early. This was duly done,
again with good movement from Alfie Gus and Nev resulting in another good
delivery for Ash to bang home. 0-2. Six minutes later and the lad from
Liverpool had his hat-trick. The ball was fed through the centre of defence and
with the Sociables keeper advancing Ash took his chance early with an excellent
finish. A late flurry towards the end of the half saw Sociables force a couple
of corners, but they were comfortably dealt with by Woody and Tancey.
The second half
saw Ziggy come on for Biddy. The boys were now showing a few of the strains as
a result of last nights extra training, and like England, we looked in control,
if not a bit lethargic. It took Gibbo to lighten up an otherwise eventless
second half. The Brummy played a ball in that was cleared back out to him and
from an acute angle his dipped right-foot shot left the keeper, who was having
a great game, helpless. The gaff made his final changes bringing on Lobster and
Olly for Ash and Alfie. Although the scoring was finished, the game wasn't and
the boys at the back needed to keep their discipline. With Man Of The Match
deservedly awarded to Welshman Woody, the only one still running on 90 minutes,
the final whistle was blown.
A mention to
our strong support yesterday with the ever-present Anna supporting her birthday
boy. Also a mention for OC’s Simon who witnessed his first ever OC’s match.
Louisa, Verity, Amanda, Matt, Dave and Freddie for killing the boys in the
warm-up and running the line; a big thanks.
A big thanks to Sociables who like ourselves had been
on the beer the night before but still lived up to their name in the excellent
hospitality shown to us in their bar afterwards.
The Coach
12.06.06 Another word from our good friend EJ…
I'm
skint, I have no-where to live, no job offers, my stuff is in storage costing a
fortune, I still have a calcification in my leg and the car we are driving is
leaking oil and I'm expecting a baby!! .............. BUT do I care?
DO I F**K.
I am taking another month off starting tomorrow. I feel for
you all not having the class of punditry and 3 games a day plus highlights plus
replays... that's a small win for me in my overall sadness of missing NZ. Allow
me that. I'll do just as bad in the fantasy games so everything else remains
the same.
There are St Georges as far as the eye can see (and no lucky red
socks!) and 40 bottles of Stella for £16, and a curry for a fiver... life
doesn't get much better than this. Even birds seem to know what they are
talking about and 'that foot' could have beaten science.
I don't even need sun cream to sit in the balmy sun between
games cos there is Ozone........... and believe me the weather has been one
highlight in the English Riviera of late. Least you will all be able to stay
awake with the pounding rain on the windows.
Enjoy the festival one and all and I'll be in touch along the
way with some insightful comments that only the pages of the Currant Bun could
ever bring to the world game. They already have had to make several apologies
to the immigrant nations of England for terms such as 'sore war losers' etc.
Bring it on then, cue German fireworks at 4pm tomorra.
Cheers
John
07.06.06 A word from our good friend EJ…
Boys,
What can I
say, the wanderer has finally hit the land of broadband. My old man had been on
dial up until yesterday and it was struggling to load your site for the last
month. So, all systems returned and Jesus.............business as usual I see
from the results. Fair play to you - shame to not be partaking.
I had all the
addresses of the boys under my Telecom email and in the rush to emigrate didn't
transfer to my Yahoo. I asked Biddy to pass on my email but I am yet to hear from
anyone so I guess he's focussed on his new love. Anyway, here I am. Good to see
him at left back. I rate him there..............but only when I was right back
myself. Leaking goals isn't exactly a concern for OC's though is it!
I did promise
Richie some ideas for training. I haven't forgotten. By now though you have no doubt got into a routine and started
working out what works etc and started making things up yourself. The offer to
provide some additional ideas is still there but I don't want to spout off
random ideas until you tell me what areas you might like some input with. If
you send me your landline numbers I can call you as it will be easier. It's
free to call NZ landlines with the phone provider my dad has but I only have
everyone’s mobiles which is still expensive.
No news on
job front for me or Jacs. All is well with pregnancy though and weather is now
looking up so hopefully I won't be working too hard during the World Cup!
Look forward
to hearing from you.
Cheers all
EJ
06.06.06 3rd/4th/5th
DIVISON CUP RESULT JUN 04 – Blazer 0 – 8 O’Carrolls
It
was back to the pursuit of the 3rd/4th/5th Division Cup this week as we lined
up against the elusive Blazer. Our Division 4 adversaries had their three
previous league fixtures postponed for various reasons (it now appears that the
pitch goes a long way to explaining that), so earlier in the week there had
been some speculation as to whether the cup fixture would actually go ahead.
Thankfully it did go ahead and O’Carrolls looked to better our cup record from
2005 of one win and one defeat. We got a bye at this stage last year having
beat Mezze Wanderers 6-2 first game, but went on to lose 2-1 to eventual
winners America in the quarter-finals. We’re certainly planning on sticking
around a bit longer this year.
The
gaffer made a few changes from last weeks starting line up against Kamarak. The
goalkeeping rotation policy saw Matt step in for Richie this week, while the
back four was almost unchanged; Dave Walsh and Tancy kept their centre-half partnership
going for the third successive week, Biddy was out on the left while Tom
replaced the injured Dan Bradley on the right, who limped off after 15 minutes
last week with a hamstring injury.
Captain Gus paired up with Nevchenko once more in the centre of midfield
with Gibbo on the left, while Olly came in for Barry, who had to settle for a
place on the bench. Up front Ziggy and Ash continued to lead the line, the pair
now with 16 league goals between them so far this season. Joining Barry on what
was a very strong bench for the second week in a row were Alex, Ben, Bundy and
Woody.
The
weather was a bit hit-and-miss today; some heavy rain Saturday night/Sunday
morning ensured a pretty soggy playing surface, but the rain had cleared up in
time for the 1.00pm kick off. There were areas of surface water on the field
and we had to wonder how well it would hold up as the game progressed. Blazer
looked well prepared for the cup-tie; the intention of both teams was apparent
as we lined up some seven minutes early to get the game under way.
From
the whistle, OC’s made the brighter start and a few early attacks down the left
orchestrated by Gibbo and Bidcom augured well, resulting in a corner or two and
the first attempts on the Blazer goal. The majority of the early exchanges were
played out on the left side of the pitch with Biddy heavily involved in almost
every passage of play. Unfortunately this was the most torn up area of the
field, with a few spots of excessive surface water, so it did inhibit the flow
of the game somewhat. With a surface like this tackles had to be spot on, and
needless to say there were a few early free kicks awarded for some late
challenges. The referee acknowledged that there was no malice in any of the
challenges and that the conditions certainly played a part, but after the first
three or four infringements he made it clear there were to be no more and both
sides obliged. OC’s continued to press on in search of an early goal, but (and
I hate to mention it too much) the surface did cause a few problems. Bouncing
balls were misjudged, passes were left either short, stopping dead in puddles,
or they skipped away off the wet surface – the wingers were left chasing more than one or two lost causes. But that’s the last I’ll
say of it; we acclimatized to the conditions and tried to play the best
football we could, Gus in particular was bossing things. Blazer obviously
settled into the game too and they began to create some openings and force a
corner or two for themselves. It was from one of their corners that OC’s showed
how good we are on the break; the loose ball was cleared by Tom and picked up
by Dan Green just inside the Blazer half. With Ash in support to his right,
Ziggy coolly played in his strike partner and Ash made no mistake with a
clinical finish to make it 0-1, with about a quarter of the game gone. The next
chance of the game however, and probably their best chance of getting on the
score sheet, fell to Blazer, and were Matt not on his toes the boys in orange
would almost certainly would have drawn level. A rare Blazer attack saw their
pacy forward get in behind the OC’s defence and he unleashed an early strike
that was destined for the bottom corner. Matt got down superbly though and got
a strong right hand on the ball to tip it around the post. Not long after and
OC’s should have doubled the lead. A
poor Blazer clearance was intercepted by Tom outside their box (New Tom by the
way… Old Tom was never that far forward apparently…), and having carried the
ball into the box he squared it for Dan Green who’s snapshot was charged down
by the Blazer defence. The loose ball fell beautifully for the right back and
with the sight of goal and glory in his eye he weakly stabbed the ball right
into the keepers hands. I would say a typical defenders finish but that
wouldn’t be very fair on the rest of the defence. The Robbie Keane-style
celebration will have to wait… And that was pretty much that for the first
half. OC’s carried the slender lead into the break along with a significant
amount of the pitch on their strips.
The
halftime team talk was stern, but fair: not our best first half performance of
the season, and we needed to be quicker to the second ball. Basically ‘Let’s
get our s**t together’! Well it worked, and OC’s produced one of the best
halves of football of the season (even on this pitch – sorry, I know I said I
wouldn’t mention it again…) First, time for a change - Olly pushed forward in
place of substituted Dan Green while Barry came in on the right side. Apologies
if this second half report seems one-sided but, well, there’s simply no other
way to write it. Five minutes into the half and captain Gus scored what is
certainly the quickest hat-trick of OC’s history and is unlikely to be topped
in the near future. His first was an absolute peach – one of those goals where
everybody stops and holds their breath – a screaming effort from about 20/25
yards out that left the Blazer keeper rooted to the spot. 0-2. His second, only moments later, was another
strike from distance, this time low and hard, in off the inside of the keepers right hand post. The momentum was now with OC’s and it
would be fair to say that at 0-3 Blazer were out of the competition. Those two
goals were minutes apart and the third was not far off either – a terrific
delivery by Gibbo from a corner, Gus rose to meet it and his hat-trick was
complete, albeit in off his shoulder. Both Gibbo and Gus celebrated this one,
but the last touch was certainly off the captain and Man Of The Match. Unlucky
Gibbo – it was have cost you $2 anyway had it gone to you. So barely 10 minutes
in and the game was all but decided at 0-4.
A
couple more changes at this point, Alex came on for Olly and Woody replaced
Nevchenko in the middle of the park. The fifth goal came from Biddy, for me the
stand out player of the first half. After a bit of a goalmouth scramble the
ball dropped on the edge of the area and Bidcom was there to smash it home into
the roof of the net – a well-deserved goal. Ash completed a brace after some
outstanding individual play following a break down the left. The ball was
squared to the frontman, he beat one player and looked up before hammering one
into the top corner. 0-6. Not content with a hat-trick, greedy Gus (I kid you…)
increased his tally to four after a pinpoint cross from substitute Woody found
the captain leaping like a salmon to glance a header home past the flailing
keeper. 0-7. The icing on the cake came from another substitute, this time
Alex, with a somewhat fortunate goal ;o)… Picking the ball up outside the area,
the Ipswich man beat a defender and went round the Blazer keeper. Just when it
looked like he may have gone too far he unleashed a shot from the acutest of
angles and the ball nestled in the back of the net – 0-8. Terrific finish, and
along with Gus’ first of three, one of the goals of the game. Muddiest player
of the day was without a doubt Tancell. Like a pig in s**t, he insisted on
throwing himself Klinsmann-style into the
dirt in celebration of one of the second half goals. Cleanest player – Woody -
that cost him $2. Worthy of a mention is Dave Walsh – it took the centre half
about 60 minutes to get his shorts dirty and then he couldn’t STOP rolling
around in it!
So
that was that, 0-8 and OC’s see themselves into the quarter-finals of the cup.
We’re confident of going all the way to the final this year, and if we keep
playing like we did second half, we’ll get there. How great would a league and
cup double be…? Congratulations to Kerri on being the first fan to be fined by
the club - $2 toward the end of season trip. Next week, Round 2 of the league
and we’re out in the wild west with the Sociables. That’s SociABLES Tim,
SociABLES!
The
Editor