After scraping through last week´s match by the odd goal we were hoping not to have a groundhog day and see history repeating. The early signs were good, we had five bona fide players lined up and registered to play by Friday, no Saturday Scramble in store. (I don´t know why but that sentence brings to mind Saturday Superstore, the sequel to BBC kid´s TV Saturday programme morning Multi-Coloured Swapshop. Mike Read and Noel Edmunds eh?). We even drafted in a sixth player to make us feel comfortable.
The day arrived, a very wet morning was followed by sunshine. The odd puddle had been left as a reminder of the inclement night and morning but a combination of the sun and the cracks in the concrete would seen put paid to these water features. The oppostion started to assemble and no sign of my crew, hmm. Soon everyone started to come out of the woodwork and we had an almost workable four, time to take shots at the keeper to get us warmed up. Eventually the opposition had their full six but were wearing mostly white tops and that was our colour, they should be wearing blue. To my relief they were divied out there blue kits from their kit bag, but we still were short on players. We then had five, yes we can play and within a minute we were up to six. The past it parade evacuated our pitch and we could take our pick of goal area then place our kit their. Clocks checked, ball selected (somehow the opposition favoured their flatter version of the same ball we have - curious).
Game on! We wanted to make an early impact, as on previous weeks it had taken quite a wee while to break the deadlock. Low and behold we had an early opener, a speculative left footed drive was hit down the right channel which took a minor deflected and ended up in the back of the net. A good start but more goals would be needed to provide a cushion to win the match. The game was tight and tough and the opponents had a player who seemed to delight in knocking lumps out of anyone and everyone´s legs and had a running style not dissimilar to the Tasmanian Devil of Looney Tunes fame. This was going to be a hard game for the un-shin guarded i.e. everyone! Ding dong, ding dong the ball went back and forward and neither team bossed the game. The opponents lacked attacking flair but made up for it in lumpy defending, their keeper was agile too. Eventually we managed to nick another goal taking us up to two goals to the good. However they managed a break away run that saw a low drive squeeze in the the keeper´s right. The first half was beginning to fizzle out when somehow we managed to grab a third during the last two plays (i.e. after the 25 minutes was called but the ball had not left the field of play twice). Bang! Going into the half time break with a two goal cushion was great, given how tough the game had been thus far.
Half Time: Triskel´s Tavern 1 - 3 FC Twenty
There seemed to be some conflab going on in the half time break on the opposition´s part, we were keen to get the game underway as was their keeper. The second half followed a similar pattern of turgid football on each side and niggly, needly challenges being put in. We discovered the chief offender was more accustomed to Gaelic Football than 5 a side, it showed. It was not raining, that is something positive to report. The opposition managed another break away run, like in the first half, and squeezed a shot in which was to the goalkeeper´s left this time. Beaten at the nearpost, not great (btw it is the keeper´s hand that are typing). So we were sitting on a slim one goal lead, nervy stuff eh! We kept trying to attack and break through. As Robert the Bruce said "if at first you don´t succeed try, try and try again", and we obeyed the famous Scot´s maxim. Determination and perseverance paid off and the fourth was created and taken. A two goal lead and about ten minutes left, sufficient but still enough time for anything to happen. Time eked away and the opposition tried to catch us and a speculative lob was successfully launched from their right into the top corner of the net with a stranded keeper helpless to do owt about it. Three goal to four, edgy! Time ticked on and it was down to five minutes then the opposition clarified the last two minutes. Those two soon sloped away and time was called shortly before the opponents took a shot, it went out. Only one more dead ball left, or so I thought. The ball went out for a throw in, play continued, then another side ball - end of game? No! Finally the ball landed in the FC Twenty keeper´s hands, this time launch it out. Was the fourth time good enough to be the second dead ball? There was some debate but enough was enough. Victory was ours! My direct kick to touch was greeted with a comment from an opponent: "We don´t use to do that!". Ignorance is bliss.
Full Time: Triskel´s Tavern 3 - 4 FC Twenty
Next week another game again Madrid Reds. Let´s get a clear win!
NB: the title of this post is alluding to the Song/Poem written by the Bard of Scotland, Robbie/Robert/Rabbie Burns who penned "A man´s a man for a´ that" (a man is a man for all that).
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