IBIS FC 4's 3-4 ALLEYN OLD BOYS 4's - (05-01-2013)

Match Report

Squad
Maksim Barinov
Liam Angell
Karl Bolton
Kendal Campbell
Nick Boid
Ben Newman
Baz Clarke

Josh Campbell
Mantas Zaveckas
Jordan Mills
Callum Mayfield
Matt Naughton
Robert Lusher
Yohan

On a day which started auspiciously with part of my bicycle being stolen, my day got slightly better on the football pitch, but alas any happiness was fleeting due to a day of defeat on the pitch, but i'll get onto that in a bit. I have to first thank my team mate Karl Bolton for giving me a lift as I was up sh*t creek without a paddle when I realized someone had stolen the part of my bike that holds the front wheel on but when we got to our home ground there were only about 6 of us there so the concern set in as we were closing in on kick off time and half our team was en-route due to travel problems, thank you very much TFL!!! But we got changed, got out on the pitch with our depleted numbers and eventually we had a full compliment of players, but before we came out we had to take Rob Lusher from the 2's and keeper Yohan to make up our numbers. 

There was a funny side note when we asked Rob (who came into our changing room looking for the 2's side) to play for us. We were saying 'come and play with us' as we were short on numbers and Rob's reply was 'alright but let me go for a poo first', classic Rob Lusher. But we went out onto the pitch, warmed up and started the game with 11 as Matt Naughton, Kendal and Josh Campbell turned up a bit late. So on to the game, our first 20/25 minutes weren't brilliant as we couldn't get hold of the ball and a few bad touches and we ended up 2-0 down early on, the first of the Alleyn Old Boys goals coming from a cross from our right which Rob tried to clear with a pass out but a poor first touch led to a whipped cross in which one of their strikers ended up bundling in. 

Their 2nd goal again came from a cross from our right back position and Yohan got in the way of it but spilled it and it got put away. So we were 2-0 and we actually started to play, knocking the ball around and stringing passes together but at the sharp end it wasn't happening and Josh cut a lone figure up top and his frustration was clear but we ploughed on. We did get a goal back before half time when Ben Newman was running forward with the ball through the middle and being repeatedly pulled back, he did well to hold it off and the ref gave us the free kick. Boidy took it and after a couple of unsuccessful free kicks (that their keeper had caught/had been cleared) Boidy put one right through the middle and Matt Naughton blasted it home from close range after a bit of a scramble in the box. Half time 2-1 and the message was clear from the team talk, keep battling, so we started the 2nd half and battled our way back into the game and eventually our 2nd goal came. 

In what was a keenly fought encounter the 2nd half saw 2 penalties and a good few goals, the first of which came after we'd made some half time subs, with Jordan, Maksim (coming on in goal) & Manthas coming on for Callum & Matt Naughton and Yohan (who was in goal in the 1st half). Jordan as per usual was hustling and harrying as usual and Manthas put in a great shift and was helping Ben & Boidy get their foot on the ball more as Old Alleyns no. 6 was playing between the lines and causing problems. Anyway our second goal came from the penalty spot after Jordan ran across one of their centre backs who pushed Jordan in the pack and he went down. Boidy stepped up and cool as ice sent the keeper the wrong way, jubilation set in as we'd battled back but Old Alleyns came fighting back and the battle raged on and soon they went 3-2 up. Once again we never let our heads drop and we battled back again and got it back to 3-3 and Jordan was the man who got it, after an assist/clearance from yours truly Liam Angell, in all honesty it was a clearance but Jordan did well to get round the keeper and his shot dribbled in and once again we were elated. I was so elated that when Jordan scored I was doing Degeneration X cross chops (Ben thought I was doing Gangnam style so I had to explain that after the game in the clubhouse) but we'd battled back from behind again. But the action and the scoring wasn't done, Callum had a speculative effort from a good 25 yards out come crashing back off the cross bar and Old Alleyns had one crash off the bar themselves but a bouncing ball came through the middle and as Rob Lusher (along with a couple of others) was shouting 'away' Karl was trying to clear it, miscued it but as he went to try and clear it again he caught their striker and the ref pointed to the spot. So they had a penalty which was scored, but due to encroachment had to be taken again and Maksim made a very good save down to his right (the 1st pen he went left) after Karl shouted 'same way again' before the penalty was taken. So, Karl had a reprieve due to Maksim's save but just as we all thought we might get a point from right back their winger skinned our right back (who was now Baz Clark & he's not a natural full back) and once again delivered a ball into the 'corridoor of uncertainty' and 2 AOB strikers were waiting to pounce, 1 of which I had covered but the other popped up out of nowhere from midfield, so a couple of minutes from the end of the game they stole the points and we felt extremely hard done by as we trudged back to the clubhouse for some changing room banter (the showers were flooded, could have used a paddle boat to navigate through it) and some beers after the game. 

Got to say all of us put in a real shift and it was a very well contested encounter but once again we've got nothing to show for it, the disruption before the match with the late arrivals didn't help but we're just over halfway through the season and I think it's going to be a battle in our league, but we've got to convert losses into at least draws and some more games into wins, you can't change the past but we can change the future, so it's onwards and upwards for the Ibis 4's.

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA & that's my take on the game, UP THE IBIS!!!