Match Reports
24/03/07
St Francis 1s 1-1 Men's 4th XI
BHHC 4s 1 - 1 St Francis 1s
Too good to go down …, too good to go down ….. similar to Notts Forest when they got relegated to the third tier of English football, the unmentionable word hung over the Super 4s. Also the question was being asked that, similar to the current Leeds Utd squad, there surely was too much quality in the Super 4s squad. (Quality !!?? Well there’s Wappy, Don & Delea (when they play) and err …. that’s about it - Ed.)
So the final game arrived with the Super 4s still not safe and with a tricky tie against St Francis to negotiate. A loss, and the Super 4s would have to rely other results to ensure their safety, a draw or victory and a finish above St Francis would be achieved and hence out of the relegation zone - subject to the vagaries of the Kent/Sussex league structure relegation issues !!
Early morning sunshine soon turned in to grey gloom at Fortress Deason, with a biting north wind making sure that the game was going to be hard slog. Unfortunately, the centre mid lynchpin Wappy was away at crafts fair in Bath but luckily Don, released from Elite Vets Hockey Inc., stepped into the breach along with Delea and Andy C back from his sun-kissed beach and golf sabbatical in Bermuda.
The game started with the Super 4s powering into action, quickly establishing control. With Don the lynch pin in the centre controlling things and Delea and Duncan making surging runs into the ‘D’. Opportunities soon started appearing, with Tosh, Andy C and Graham all going close. It was only going to be a matter of time. The positive vibe also grew with the fact that unlike most games the Super 4s had managed to avoid the obligatory comedy calamity goal in the first 5 minutes that normally graces such encounters, but wait, that came later !
The pressure was all Brighton with several short corners being won. Unfortunately, although Sleaze was having a faultless game at the back (Are you sure !??! Is this the same Alex Lees that normally passes to the oppo centre forward on a regular basis ?? - Ed.), his short corner injections were positively Spears-esque and failed to reach the edge of the ‘D’ !! Reedy’s opportunities to catch top scorer Pilsbury were thus non existent.
After all the pressure, the game turned with a disputed short corner awarded to the Saints. It seemed like it was going to be one of days. However the Saints injector making too much effort not to do a “Sleaze” injected it like a rocket, far too quick for his teammates bypassing them going straight to Andy C on the half way line. A quick interchange of passes between Andy C, Delea and Tosh and Graham slapped the ball in, 1- nil ! Relief all around. There was time for a few more exchanges before the half time whistle.
Half time was positive with the general consensus that it was only a case of playing the same as in the first half and it would be job done.
The second half started with immediate pressure from St Francis. This seemed to set the tone for the half by causing the Super 4s to descend into STAGE ONE PANIC MODE. There is something about the Super 4s and panic, suddenly instead of shelling the ball off the side of pitch if there was the slightest danger, players now decided to try and dribble out of the ‘D’. Unfortunately defenders being defenders, they aren’t naturally blessed with these skills and so this led nicely into STAGE TWO PANIC MODE.
St Francis sensed that this level of panic had been reached and constant pressure coupled with a bizarre moment led to an equalizer. Stand-in skipper Thompo (I’m confused now who actually is the skipper ?? Maybe they should be called the Rudderless 4s ! - Ed.) was busy deciding on the next substitution with Sheff chomping at the bit on the sidelines, when he saw Tosh swap with Sheff. Thompo went back to concentrating on defensive duties, only to see Sheff back on the sidelines berating Thompo for not subbing him on !!?? Thompo was confused by Tosh’s 30sec substitution and allowing himself to be distracted by this, gave the Saints right winger that all important head start to get away from him, to mop up a rebound from Hehir’s pads, 1-1. We now entered full on STAGE THREE PANIC MODE, Corporal Jones “Don’t Panic Mr Mainwaring” hockey. This phase lasted a full ten minutes of blur, of which little can be remembered apart from scrambling the ball away and the occasional tonk up the pitch to waste time. Final Score 1-1
Perhaps it was a fitting end to the season that an underachieving Super 4s spent the last 10 mins of the last game in panic mode and now await there fate with fingers crossed.
Relief hid any signs of jubilation at avoiding a loss and in the aftermath the awards didn’t get done. If they had been it would have been something like this :
Man of the Match Crown - Reedy, for some storming tackles and intercepts
Teapot - Sleaze, for having Tosh bring out all of his short corner injections out of the ‘D’
Dancin Homer - Tosh, for 30 secs of cramp
Handbag - Maybe Sheff, for sideline sub strop or perhaps Andy C, for showing too much passion (certainly couldn’t play for England demonstrating that!) but in fact it has to be Thompo for justifiably going ballistic at Reedy and Sleaze for allowing the Saints centre forward to be unmarked on the 25 whilst they chatted on the halfway line !
Thanks to Zoe and John Colban for umpiring “a good game for the neutrals to watch” !