With no game last Sunday for the Vets, I wasn't looking forward to two weeks with no match. For me personally, I always find the more I'm playing - the more the chance of improving. So I made myself available to play on Saturday for the club again and was called into the 5's starting eleven. As it turned out, some the opponents pulled out quite late on so the 2's and the 5's were left to mix up the teams and play each other in a 'competitive' friendly on Enfield park. I'd rather play a meaningful game for sure, but this match turned out to be a great work-out and a much needed confidence boost for yours truly. These lads can run and run all day and I have to say I was very impressed with the ability of a lot of the young players on show. Latymer have a lot to be happy about because the standard is getting better and better within the club and the attitude and commitment all round is superb.
The game ended 1-1 although I think we really should have won. Their goal was a penalty and ours was a super diving header from my pal Phil Hartley, who should have had a hat-trick. It set me up perfectly for the Vets next game and like I said - I got a bit of confidence back after a couple of half decent stops.
That feeling of foreboding was in the air again through the week as Sunday approached when Lev's email went out with the familiar plead for players. We were short again it seemed. Sadly, injuries from the last game were still hanging over Jonesy and Nick who were to undergo a 'late fitness test' and with no AK or Shamsey on the team sheet I can only assume their injuries were still sore enough to rule them out all together. Other absences meant we needed to try and recruit more players! I tried to get a couple of pals interested but Damien was busy and I couldn't get a response from Mim. The last thing I think any of us wanted was another whipping - the last two matches were bad enough. Having only a bare eleven meant we could at least put out the correct number to start the game with but then of course with no subs, everyone would be fucked after an hour...And of course we were playing Gartson and Big Sam (he of the four headers and the crack across the back of my head a few weeks ago)! This was actually our home game but we're still waiting on clearance to play in the new stadium at Donkey Lane, so yet again we were at the Met Police ground in Bushey. Garston sit at the top of the league so were probably gagging to play us after our recent shite results.
Getting to the ground is pretty straight forward from Cheshunt but there was a bit of a nasty car accident en route that slowed the traffic on the A1. Thankfully it didn't take long to get past it and even more thankfully there was no-one hurt. Car crashes always put me on edge a little and I was left feeling rather subdued as I went past the incident. The delay meant I ended up arriving at about 10am - still plenty of time but much later than I would usually prefer. Preparation is paramount and all that.
We really were down to the bare eleven for the game and it was interesting to note that of today's team only five started the previous game with two others who had been on the bench last time out. The regular changes in the line-up each week does make it incredibly hard to get any real settled pattern of play together but I guess we'll just have to deal with it as we go along. So with me in goal and Mark, Wrexy, Codz and Scottish John in the back four we had a five-man midfield of Marcello, Dino, Sully and another John (who I was meeting both for the first time) and the other Greg. Matt was the lone ranger up front. We half expected Adam and Jonesy but alas they didn't make it and Nick, whilst he did make it to the game, was clearly unable to play as he was still hobbling around. With no Lev(!) either, Nick became Kenny Dalglish for the day.
Garston were clearly going to have a game plan that revolved around getting the ball behind our full-backs for their wingers to cross for Big Sam's head. We knew that from past experiences. But did that past experience make a blind bit of difference...?
Well, constant reader, yes - it bloody-well-did!
The master-stroke of the day was playing Codz at Centre-Back. Codz is by far our tallest player but not only that he's bloody brilliant in the air! Also, for a tall feller, he can play football!! Twinkle-toed and calm and collected on the ball, my opinion is that this team need Codz at the back whenever possible. I'm not sure if it's his favoured position and he'll probably thump me for these comments but hey-ho. Today he was absolutely superb and stuck to Big Fat Sam like glue, beating him to nearly every ball and stopping him scoring a single goal.
The truth is that everyone played well today but the back four were immense. Wrexy put in tackle after tackle and swept up everything and Scottish John and Mark as full-backs, held the line brilliantly.
The first half though was a bit of an on-slaught as Garston flooded forward trying to slice us down their wings as well as through the middle. We definitely rode our luck on more than one occasion and in terms of possession, we certainly had less of the ball than them. It was difficult to get a series of passes together and we rarely threatened their goal. But we held our shape and were digging deep to try and stop them as much as we could. Our best chance in the first half was a bit of a scramble in their box and I think our shot was cleared off their line (it's always hard to see from where I'm stood folks!)
Early on Wrexy tried to power a header wide of my left post to clear the danger only for the ball to fly at my goal and well on-target! Fortunately, I saw it in good time and was able to get across and actually hold the save. Phew! It actually served as a bit of a confidence builder for me so cheers for that Wrexy...
In truth, Garston had their chances to score with several efforts on goal that either went over or well-wide but at one point Big Sam had managed to pull out wide and as the ball came to his feet I was well pleased to smother his point blank shot on goal. One nil to me Mr Fat Twat! Ha!
Gartson's pressure led to an endless stream of corners which they put into my box with scary accuracy. Big Sam clattered the bar with one header (I like to think that my leap into his side put him off so two-nil to me) but in the end they finally made one count. Then two. And then three...
We must have got to half an hour before they finally scrambled the bar over my line with a header from the corner and I seriously thought we'd cave in. More corners followed and I even managed to get a punch on one, but 2-0 came with yet another header. They made it three with a carbon copy of the first two as the ball flew over to the back post and their lad climbed all over Scottish John to power another header into my net. We were pissed off because all three goals were identical. Big Sam hadn't scored but three of his bloody pals had.
At half-time it was pleasing that everyone was really positive and it just felt that the boys had decided that they weren't going to lie down and die. We'd suffered two heavy back-to-back defeats already and I don't think the lads were going to stand for another.
The pace and effort and pure commitment in the second half was just a whole new level for us. The amount of talking and tackling and running was so impressive. Yes, there were more corners for Garston but we finally managed to deal with these in a much better, more organised fashion and we actually caused them a lot of problems. Dino was playing a blinder in midfield and Matty up front was holding the ball up so well to try and bring our lads into the play. It wasn't easy but our efforts were well rewarded with a goal mid-way through the half when one of our lads was hauled down about six or seven yards outside their box. Garston have the tendency to be a bit bloody dirty so it was really pleasing when Matt stepped up and stroked the ball into the bottom left corner. A massive amount of credit must go to Dino though because he'd popped himself on the end of the wall blocking their Keeper. As Matt ran up to hit the free-kick Dino basically ploughed to his right, knocking their wall completely over and opening up a lovely space for the strike. Superb stuff. Steve Hodge used to do exactly the same trick for Stuart Pearce at Forest years ago and it was great to see it working for us too.
I have to say that Nick, who was running the line was a massive part of why we performed so well in the second half. He was so positive and never stopped talking and gee-ing us up. It had an effect on all of us and it was great to hear so many voices today.
I was pretty pleased with my own performance too, especially when for once Garston did manage to play their striker in on goal. I came out quickly and as he knocked it round me I kept my eye on the ball and managed to slide accross and claw it from under his feet and grab on to it for dear life!
Of course that feeling of invincibility was shattered when minutes later my goalkeeping gaff of the year occurred. It was fucking silly really - a cross/shot from my right floated past two of theirs and two of ours and evaded several kicks and attempted flicks only to go straight past me into my bottom left corner. I saw it in fucking slow motion and it wasn't even travelling at speed. I should have saved it and I was so hacked off. Garston didn't deserve it at all and I just wanted the ground to open up and snatch me into hell there and then.
As the game ebbed away our boys kept the fighting spirit and yet again, that super special long throw of Matt's did its magic and there was Codz leaping at their near post to get a flick on the ball to make it 4-2. We totally deserved our second goal and indeed to win the second half 2-1 but I had images of us grabbing another and my mistake on their fourth goal being the difference. As it was we didn't score again and the game ended with us all feeling rather elated. Sure, we hadn't won or even gotten the draw but we did prove that we can compete. The mood after our last few games had been one of despair and even embarrassment but here we were finally walking off with a smile on our faces. I've said it before and I'll say it again - we play because we want to enjoy it. And today we did.
Singling individuals out isn't always fair, especially when the whole team have done so well so apologies for harping on about the odd few. But it was doubly pleasing to see Big Sam subbed with about twenty minutes to go and even more funny that Codz, who'd marked him out of the game, actually scored for us.
The best bit was in the bar afterwards when Wrexy told us what had happened to him seconds before the kick-off: He decided that the pitch could "take a stud" and so he removed his moulded boots in favour of normal boots. As he put on his left boot by the side of the pitch he had the most awful pain occur in his left foot. Taking the boot off, a bloody wasp nest fell out of his boot! Wrexy had been strung by probably about three wasps! Instead of rolling around in agony and making a song and dance about it (which is exactly what I would have done) he pulled on his boot, laced it up and played the whole game with a numb left foot! I don't think he could actually feel his foot at all for the first ten minutes of the game! And he played a blinder today...Tough or what?!
The look-a-like section of my blog has got a few of the lads coming up with ideas so by all means if there are any ideas out there I want to hear them. Remember Codz, I've got a special one just for you coming up - but not just yet...
This week's look-a-like has to go to a man who, although he shouts and screams a lot, is full of blue-blooded Scottish passion. The one and only Braveheart - Scottish John.
And the whole Keeper number thing never really caught on so I've decided to keep the back of my shirt blank until we win our first game - and I'll use the result as my number.
No comments:
Post a Comment