Reds prevail against tough opposition

PFFC 3 Davis Langdon 2

Andy, 10 December 2007

 

Back to Paddington Rec for the last fixture before the Christmas break last night against Davis Langdon. Last season’s fixtures against this team ended in a 2-0 win and a 2-1 defeat for the Thinkers, so this was always going to be a close match. Both the Gaffer and Chairman were in attendance for the first time this season.

Philosophy Football FC lined up in 4-4-2 with Andy returning at right back for Vipul and Vito starting up front with the in form Alger. We welcomed back Bionic Al – (temporarily?) free from injury – and Mauro. Confidence was high after the last two victories against the team second in the division.

The red men started slowly but then settled and from an Ally corner the ball came out to Andy who drove the ball into the right hand side of the goal. Journalistic licence forbids me from saying what I thought of it but I’ll let you into the thoughts of the team: ‘goal of the season’, ‘best goal I’ve ever seen in my life’, etc. 1-0 wasn’t going to be enough as the opposition were quick and dangerous on the break and the equaliser came from one of their left-sided attacks. Davis Langdon swept down the wing with men spare and the ball was driven into the corner. The pace was frantic with not much time and space in midfield but the Thinkers were out-thinking the opposition, moving the ball both short and long and from this came the second goal. Bryan played through, breaking the offside trap and lifting the ball over the keeper and square to Vito. 2-1 just before half time.

Half-time team talk from the skipper (concentration and determination the watchwords) but again the Thinkers started slowly with the majority of attacks coming from the opposition. The pressure eventually told and from a left-sided attack Langdon made it 2-2. Time to raise the tempo and from then on every 50-50 ball was a red ball and every second, third or fourth challenge was a red ball. From another Langdon attack, Andy won the ball in defence, released Tom, who evaded a challenge and played it through to Bryan, who exchanged passes with Kieran, who played the ball through to Vito for an excellent finish. 3-2 to the Thinkers! Mauro came straight on for Vito and we held on for a hard fought and out thought win over the opposition. Man of the match was Matt for his finger-tip save on to the top of the post when the score was level at 2-2 (almost as good a save as the first goal).

Another great all-round team performance, only excelled by the 15-strong Xmas party at Meson Bilbao (additional match report to follow) with the Gaffer and Chairman as guests of honour. Both Geoff and Hugh welcomed the new players to the club and mentioned the tours forthcoming in 2008 and 2009. Ally thanked everyone for their support during the year.

 

PFFC (4-4-1-1): Matt: Owen, Andy (1), Damian, Phil; Ally (c), Tamber, Bryan, Tom (Cornish Al 60); Alger; Vito (2) (Mauro 75)