Match report by Rory
Happy New Year to all walking footballers. After the winter break there was plenty of eagerness to get back onto the hallowed turf of the polideportivo. The big crowd of under 10s added to the atmosphere although their piss-taking was at times a tad harsh. It was a warm welcome to Alan who was playing for the first time on the right side of a reds back 3 and returner John bringing some fresh energy to the dark blues.
The dark blues looked particularly strong and their energetic high-pressing game kept the reds penned back in their own half for much of the initial period. With big Al dominating the mid-field exchanges and Dave (the Owl) ghosting into some advanced positions it only looked like a matter of time before the dark blues would break through the beleaguered reds defence. For the reds, Steve was having a solid game shoring up the defence and Mike started out dependably between the posts.
The inevitable eventually happened when some sharp interplay allowed Alvin to score imperiously from the edge of the box. With big John Hudson providing a good outlet for the blues down the right wing the reds continued to look stretched. Despite Keef’s pleas for the reds to push out they couldn’t break through the well organised and tightly packed blues midfield. Dave’s mobility up front was proving to be too much for the reds defence in which Steve and Frank were putting in some robust tackles. Dave’s constant probing paid off when he confidently slotted in his first goal.
Up front for the reds, big Frank was proving to be their best hope for a goal. Sure enough in one of his forays upfield he spun the blues’ defender and majestically fired a long-range shot into the bottom corner. Unbelievably, Keef blew up for a free kick for the reds instead of allowing the goal to stand. However, the reds got over their disappointment and pulled a goal back through JC. Just as the reds looked like they were going to get themselves back in the game they received another blow from the blues. The busy midfield triumvirate of Dazza, Alvin and big Al proved impossible to break down and with Mats threading through some excellent passes.
Dave’s movement up front continued to cause havoc in the red’s defence and his cool finishing was proving decisive as he slotted the blues into a 3-1 lead. However, with half-time approaching the reds played out from the back before Dave who had been making progress down the left flank for the reds, threaded the ball through to KDN who had found some space in the previously watertight blues defence. In a one on one, KDN gave the advancing blues keeper the eyes before firing the ball into the bottom corner. As the half-time whistle blew, the reds genuinely harboured hopes of turning the game around in the second half.
With the Commander providing a good focal point for the reds in midfield and Mike and Geoff starting to forge a partnership in the attacking third. The reds were right to have some optimism. Big Frank was linking midfield with the forwards and Keef was deployed in a free roaming role in an attempt to break through the two banks of 4 being deployed by the blues. Unfortunately, what they hadn’t banked on was the mercurial form of Dave (the Owl), who really started to open his legs and show his class. Dazza, who had had a relatively quiet game up to this point (only one shot into the stands) started to become more influential, and Alvin increasingly playing more like Declan Rice on steroids wrenched midfield control away from the reds.
With Dave (the Owl) channelling David Hirst the reds looked vulnerable to the blues pacey counter attacks. Before long the blues shots were peppering the reds’ goal where the Commander could only look on in admiration as Dave fired a further 4 goals past him in quick succession. The blues eventually ran away with a resounding 7-2 victory with Dave keeping the match ball (can you remember to bring it with you to the next game?).
Well played everyone, and a big thanks to Bob McNeil for donating €50 to the drinks kitty.
Final Score: Red Tabards 2-4 Blue Tabards
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