Last of the Shadow Puppets for the Thinkers
PFFC 1 Rogue FC 4
There are many things one could do in hindsight; learn another language (having just started Spanish) earlier in life, work harder in college, eat more vegetables, etc. To add to this list is to write a match report past 48 hours of the game being played and yours truly is struggling with this one for two reasons. The Thinkers lined up with a bare eleven and a change of keeper with Owen deputising for the injured Matt. Players were shuffled around the team with a back four of Tom, Phil, Vipul, and Tony, midfield with a welcome return of Bryan back in the centre with Ronjon, Andy on the left, Mauro on the right and Kieran and Conrad up front. Both Ally and Clarkey added their support and were available as subs from half time.
This was always going to be a difficult fixture as Rogue FC have started brightly at were top of the division coming into this fixture. Added to this they 3-1 against PFFC in our opening fixture so we needed to ensure a tight first half. After about 10 minutes in, Rogue charged down the left from some nervous interplay at the back. Players streamed forward to score a fairly easy goal to go 1-0 up. However as the skipper has said all season being 1-0 down is never an issue. Keep your heads up and keep playing and that’s what we did with some neat interplay on the right with Bryan at the centre leading to a Kieran finish to make it 1-1. And that’s how it stayed despite a lot of Rogue pressure until a corner with about 2 minutes before half time. The ball broke with the first shot charged down by Andy but the second shot dipping viciously just over the fingertips of an outstretched Owen.
1-2 at half time and Ally came on for Andy. Sadly your correspondent missed most of the next 25 minutes trying to find a match ball that had gone out of the ground. For those of you unacquainted with the joys of the Linford Christie Stadium or indeed White City or West London generally, at times it is Narnia like in its complexion. Everything (from White City to the stadium, from the stadium to the pitches, showers, lockers) either doesn’t work or is far, far away. By the time I had retrieved said ball, we were 4-1 down and I hadn’t seen either goal. However what I did see was a very spirited last 20 minutes with Mauro, Kieran and Clarkey all coming very close with the Rogue keeper in outstanding form. The opposition had got away with it and as some of their players said at the end, the result flattered them.
The plus point of hindsight is that this is written after two spirited performances with 6 goals scored and 1 conceded. Back to Maida Vale on Guy Fawkes Night and if we play the way we have it’s a Bonfire of (Debit) Calamity for Visa!
PFFC (4-4-2): Owen; Tom, Phil, Vipul, Tony; Andy (Ally 45), Bryan, Ronjon, Mauro; Kieran, Conrad
Goals: Kieran