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YC&AC, Sunday 25th November,
The Swiss have been zealously guarding their neutrality ever since the Napoleonic Wars. The odd World Cup Qualifier in Turkey aside, they have managed to avoid a battle on foreign soil for 200 years
Penknife wielding, holey cheese eating surrender monkeys they may be but they are certainly not above a bit of highway robbery now and then. Anyone with the misfortune to be at YC&AC last sunday lunchtime could surely bear witness.
That misfortune crack is a bit harsh. Given a pitch chewed up by an all day rugby tournament 48 hours before and the absence of several of the more renowned "creative" players on either side, the Swiss and YCAC did manage to serve up some fairly decent fare in the November sunshine. No Turkey Pie or whatever the Americans missing from both sides were busy tucking into but a fast and furious football match played relentlessly in the Swiss' last 1/3.
Again with the journalistic licence...in the Swiss' last 1/3 except for the 1st 15 minutes and last 15 seconds is more accurate. Playing further forward than our scouting reports had suggested he would, Dave Pratt was a bit of a pain at the start. Undoubtably one of the better players to grace the TML, DP is more than capable of playing the target man role which he did to great effect. More surprising was his outpacing the 2 YCAC central defenders to calmly lift the ball over the Keepers head for an early Swiss lead. All 4 protaganists working in the money markets must have ensured hefty Bloomberg traffic on Monday morning as news of DPs turn of speed replaced "sub prime" on everybodys lips.
I hope it was worth it, Dave. The next time he tried it he pulled up lame. Either hamstrung or shot in the arse by one of the little monkies trying out their air rifles over by the swings. (thats another 20 cigs i owe them). In case the injury means he won't play again before he leaves Japan next month, YCAC bids you farewell Pratty, youve been a worthy opponent. Too bad you didn't join us on any of the 20 or so occasions we've tried to poach you but good luck back in Blighty anyway.
As DP left the field so did any pretensions the Swiss had of scoring again, or at least so it seemed for the next 65 and a bit minutes. I often read what a big side YCAC are, how strong in the air we are. With Tyson Masar away giving thanks for whatever there is left for Americans to give thanks for, YCAC, in front of the back 4 at least, is not big enough to rely on the high ball these days. To give credit where credit is due, the likes of Joe Takeda, Tom Taw, Matty Wallace and Hide Yoshioka like the ball at their feet and to play a bit of football. And that's exactly what happened. Down the wings and through the middle but rarely over the top, YCAC ripped the Swiss to shreds creating a host of chances.
Now I get this far and remember that the equaliser was actually a header scored by the biggest bloke on the pitch, Neil Shonhard, but buggered if i'm going to rewrite the last paragraph. It was a well worked goal anyway. Kita worked his way to the byline and pulled back a cross which Neil threw himself at and powered his header into the back of the net. 1-1
(Most of ) the rest was a personal duel between Hide Yoshioka and Peter Paulie in the Swiss goal. If you saw Torres vs Given last saturday you'll know how it was. Hide (and others to be fair) were unable to convert any number of 1 on 1s with the big German. Its commendable to create that many chances against a side as good as the Swiss. Also beyond reproach is that the commentators mantra of "hit the target, make the keeper save it" was generally followed. Trouble is the target seemed to be Paulies, admittedly considerably sized, frame and he didnt appear to have to work that hard to make the saves. Thats a tad offside of course, he can only save whats thrown at him for sure. If Paulie was English, absolutely no way the 1st Croatian goal doesnt hit him square in the chest and we're probably all going to get David Beckham Euro 08 Y fronts for Christmas. We still might in our house actually; Her Indoors not exactly completely up to date with Matters Football
Anyway as his Keeper doesnt seem to need him, Raffa, the Swiss sweeper, wanders off up the field looking to make himself useful. Nobody takes too much notice of him and the ball duly arrives at his feet in the penalty area. One step forward and he calmly lifts the ball over the keepers body as he dives. 2-1. Game over. Doh!
Report by Steve Taw
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