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YC&AC Sunrday 13th December.
Kit there, Evans there, going well……….but no bibs, unbeknownst to me Muzzy had apparently lost them. We play in red – Embassy play in red - they don’t have bibs. A bit like America’s foreign policy over the last 65 years…..nothing ever really goes as you thought it would. But YCAC stepped in to do a Jimmy Carter at Camp David and thus stop an all out battle over who would have to play in skins on this reasonably chilly Sunday evening.
Thanks YCAC. (don’t tell TML that neither team had bibs btw cause there is a clause buried somewhere very deep in the rule tomb mentioning castration for this kind of heinous crime and it’s my nuts on the line – and Keith’s…).
A measure of how far the Vags have come along as a unit is that Richard even dispensed with any kind of team talk because everybody is already completely aware of what they’re doing after a quick 2 minute talk with each person beforehand. That’s what I would like to think anyway, but the lack of the aforementioned pep was more to do with the fact that half the team couldn’t be found (though a couple were sighted playing on the swings in the kiddies park and at least one other refusing to leave the changing room until the very last moment possible – we were in the ladies changing room). The ‘warm up’, (and I am using this term in non-Panthers sense) saw a record number of shots off the bar and gave Graham a worrying, to me, sense of invulnerability.
Steve lost the paper/scissors/stone as usual and we got underway.
Early doors Vags had the edge and looked good – an early lead was also rather scrappily gained from a corner. Last week’s opener was from what I had described as a ‘wicked’ Lyndsey Hughes corner and nodded home by Ollie. This was a shite Lyndsey corner and though Ollie wheeled away with his hands in the air, he later admitted that it was an own goal and he only watched the mishaps. The fact that is credited to Lynsdsey is a shameless attempt by myself to either get a pint out of Hughes or, failing that, an unknown Embassy player. Blushes spared mate – you owe me.
We haven’t had anything but a close game against the Embassy in the last few seasons though, and they came back into it very well – started to dominate our 5 man midfield and looked very dangerous down the flanks, though Evans did have a good goal chalked off for offside and there was a general and justified feeling that the various Embassy linesmen were trigger happy throughout the game. This is a shame because this was a first playing against them, they are a good bunch of guys and the game was played in great spirit. If we had gone in 2-0 up at half time, though, it really would have been an injustice on the Embassy and we were hanging on a bit by the end of the half.
Wise words from Captain Glenn at half time about the midfield organization certainly worked however, and having Matt on for the whole second half made a difference too as people stuck to their man more and generally tightened things up. There weren’t too many chances before the second came along but it was worth the wait. Great ball by Garry (could be wrong on this) put Evans away just over halfway and Paul was in space and screaming for the ball, which is the rarity that proves the exception that shows the rule or however it goes. In other words he wanted it so badly that he opened up the vocal cords (don’t take this the wrong way…..don’t take that the wrong either….shit…already getting mired down in innuendo here and haven’t got to the end of the sentence) er…got it – and umm…stuck it home firmly and confidently. Just as he did in that movie set in a Swedish bakery……(2999 yen and a bargain at that price, if anyone wants it there is a place in Ameyoko…just ask me).
What I really meant at the start of the paragraph was that it was a good move and good finish.
Things were a bit more comfortable from then on, though never too easy and their entire left side was always a handful. Darren got his first ‘official’ goal for the Vags (Muzzy was at least five yards away and can’t snaffle this one). This from another corner and a diving header and looked to have wrapped things up at 3-0. Darren had another great effort, from a much more difficult chance, off yet another corner soon after, but this one went wide. As well as winning everything at the back in the air he is such a useful addition from set pieces. (note to other managers for defending these set pieces – Darren is the young, skinny, Asian looking guy with dreadlocks and a mustache that looks as though it came out of that same Swedish bakery movie).
However, shades of former Vags came back to haunt us with 10 minutes left as Graham came for one and was already thinking, Reina like, of where to launch it before he had actually picked it up. He failed to pick it up and Richie Atwood finished it. In fairness to Graham – he had a slip when we were 3-0 up with 10 minutes remaining…..he had also pulled off a fantastic one on one when we were one up with 50 minutes remaining. One handed, diving to his left off a powerful strike from 10 yards out. Will settle for this every time.
So, the conclusion once again is 3 points in the bag – a strange game in as much as no one on the team really had a blinder – Ged was good, Ollie really put it about in the last 15 minutes when we needed it, Lyndsey, Garry, Phil and Darren were also good – but the key is that nobody had a bad game at all and this solidity is getting us through and a nice way to finish 2009.
Ref was good and the Embassy, as ever, gracious losers.
Report by Richard Straughan
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