Ibis 4's 1-6 HSBC 6's – Sat 10th May 2014 - AWAY

Goals - Andrew Williams

Starting lineup –
Chris Innerd
Stephen Dodd
Olly Wooding
Pete Snell
Nick Etty
Gideon Barnett
Barry Clark
Jo Sibal
Andrew Williams
Jordan Mills
Manny Afful

Subs –
Liam Angell (c)
Christian Frixou
David Szabo


What can I say about Saturday's match? That it was win or bust and we didn't win? That we put in 100% but we were beaten by a more organized side?
Those things can be said and most may be true but on a wet & windy Saturday on May 10th 2014 we were beaten in a match we had to win to have any chance of survival, but this will be more of a thank you note than a match report.
With that said we had a good squad to travel down to New Beckenham with and I was quietly confident we could get something out of this game. Now, the intruigue with our match was in part due to Civil Service who were above us by 1 point & had a better goal difference, so we had to win v HSBC 6th (who were already promoted in 2nd place) and hope Civil Service lost v South Bank Cuaco 5th, who were already promoted as winners of Minor South Division 4.

So, with those stipulations in mind, we met up at the club house but our kit arrived late as Steve Dodd (who had the kit) was delayed due to witnessing a car crash, which from all accounts wasn't pleasant viewing, but due to that (and having to wait for the match on the only pitch available to finish) we only had time for a couple of corner drills which did slightly concern me, but i'll get onto that shortly.
Now, due to the fact we needed a win in this match I decided to go with an untried, but more attacking formation of 4-3-3 instead of 4-5-1 (and packing the midfield) or 4-4-2 with Andrew, Manny & Jordan up top, Baz, Gids & Jo Sibal in midfield as a narrow 3, with Nick Etty & Pete Snell effectively as wing backs covering in midfield when we were attacking to allow 2 of Baz, Gids & Jo to attack. Theory and practice as I like to say are 2 different things and due to not having time to practice it, the plan did backfire a bit on us as we were getting exposed, especially in the wide areas as HSBC did have natural width which made it difficult for us so I did get Pete & Nick to sit and got Jordan to come back to left midfield which helped a bit. There were a couple of guys (I will name no names haha) who started the match with astros instead of boots, even though I did advise wearing boots as the English weather can be trusted as much as pervert in a hoarhouse. We conceded 3 times in the 1st half and it was quite easy for HSBC to come through the middle of us but one positive is that even at 3-1 (Andrew Williams ended up scoring what turned out to be our only goal) we were still in it and there was all to play for.

I decided to change things at half time bringing myself and Christian Frixou on to slot in at left and right back respectively (taking off Andrew & Manny and pairing Gideon with Jordan up top) after i'd brought David Szabo on for Steve Dodd & switched Pete Snell to left mid in front of me.
So out for the 2nd half we went but we were getting caught on the wings especially as HSBC's wingers were giving us all sorts of trouble and we did conspire to concede 3 more times and as each goal went in we saw our slim chance at survival get slimmer and slimmer. But one thing I do want to point out is that even with our chances of survival evaporating during the match like spit on a pavement on a hot summers day, the guys never gave up but try as we might, no matter what formation we played, HSBC (who had ex-Ibis player Musab at left back) showed why they were promoted as runners-up to South Bank Cuaco 5th. It was always going to be a difficult job & unfortunately we couldn't do it, but we'll be back.
In my opinion we weren't relegated on Saturday v HSBC but probably the 1st half of the season did it and as said earlier, this was going to be more of a thank you than a match report, so with that in mind i'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has played alongside me in the 4's this season, thank you to those who gave 100%,  who put in the tackles, won the headers, scored the goals, blocked the shots, helped me from the sidelines and made this season a pleasure to lead for me, even in defeat.

In closing, i'd like to thank everyone who has helped the 4's this year, from the powers that be in the club, to those who helped us when we were short & anyone i've forgotten (for which I apologise).

From yours truly Liam Angell aka Straight Shootin' LJA, thank you for a season that will live long in the memory and hopefully i'll see you all next season and we, as a team, as a united force, will avenge this season by getting promoted next year!

I'm Liam Angell aka Straight Shootin' LJA & that's my take on the match

Find out more about Ibis FC on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ibis.fc

Ibis fc twitter - https://twitter.com/ibis_football  ( @ibis_football is our twitter handle )

Ibis Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/245379008997335/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Ibis FC official website - http://ibisfc.co.uk

In memory of Rob Evans R.I.P

Most of you will know of Rob Evans, a good friend and ibis teammate who tragically passed away last June while competing in the Nice triathlon. To mark the one year anniversary of that sad day, a number of us are going to run the Hackney half marathon on the 22nd June (a year to the day of his passing).

Please get involved to celebrate Rob's life, and raise a few quid for the charity that his family select. You don't need to that fit to get round, but the aim is to have fun. Beers and World Cup afterwards. What a way to remember Rob doing - something he loved with the people he chose to spend his Saturdays with?

Ibis faces old and new are going to unite on the 22nd of June.
There are still places - but we need to sign up quick.

http://runhackney.com/half-marathon/

If you're up for joining this great cause & celebrating the memory of a beloved former teammate please let Alex Minshall know ASAP - alex.minshall@gmail.com

Ibis 4's v Old Wilsonians 6's – Sat 3rd May - AWAY Double header

Match 1 - Old Wilsonians 6's 3-1 Ibis fc 4's (Addy)
Match 2 - Ibis fc 4's 1-1 Old Wilsonians 6's (Williams)

Starting lineup -
Liam Angell (c)
Josh Banks
Olly Wooding
John Ewens
Stephen Dodd
Callum Mayfield
Jordan Mills
Alex Laugharne
Mark Addy
Ash Farrell
Andrew Williams

Subs -
Pete Snell
Patricio Baptista

Hard times, crunchy times, times when you're in a difficult situation is how i'd like to start this match report on a defining double header. Our season didn't quite hinge on this double header as we still have a slim chance of survival on the last day. Survival would have been guaranteed had we got 4 points v Old Wilsonians who as I mentioned in last week's match report were above us only on goal difference, but unfortunately we only got 1 point as opposed to 4. We did originally have 14 players but late morning of the match we had a dropout which did mean I had to adjust my plans slightly, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't really hurt the cause.

The trip to Hayes (Kent) was a bugger, but it was a lovely sunny day for footy and our 1st match was an interesting one as it was tighter than a ducks behind (as the old saying goes) but their no. 7 & no.9 were tricky and they had a no.5 playing just off them causing problems. With our back line I was confident of dealing with the threat but with Andrew Williams & Jordan Mills rekindling their partnership up top with Addy & Mayfield wide I thought we were fine. With Steve Dodd & Olly Wooding as a centre back partnership and Alex & Ash sitting in front of us we were solid through the middle but it was their tricky wide men who kept drifting between the lines & causing us problems. On a personal note I felt aggrieved by 2 of the goals as I felt they were offside but that's just my feelings. We did concede 3 times in this match with an own goal from Callum & a couple of defensive mixups costing us dearly but the glimmer of light was from Mark Addy's goal (a cool finish into the bottom corner) which ended up being our only goal of the 1st game which was the away leg of the double header. We did use Pat Baptista up top alongside Andrew Williams but no matter how much we probed & tried we just couldn't get another goal.

So, match 1 down, but still another to go and we didn't let our heads drop, I tried to give a rousing speech to the lads, which may or may not have worked but the gist of it was, keep your heads up because we have a shot at winning the next match.

The 2nd match was ultra tight and I decided to switch formations for this game to 3 at the back in a 3-5-2 formation with Stephen Dodd sitting in front of the back 4 alongside Ash & Alex to give them a bit more licence to attack & having Callum Mayfield & Pete Snell as wing backs as we needed to go for a win in this match. For a lot of this match we actually did control it, especially in midfield with Stephen doing a great job attacking headers whilst sitting in front of the back 4 and we stayed at 0-0 until half time. Considering we were pushing for the victory I decided to switch formations again at half time and I brought Andrew & Jordan back on & put Mark Addy up top as well to give us pace & work rate up top so I sacrificed the aerial presence of Pat Baptista & Stephen Dodd in front of us as I wanted us to go for it. We ended up getting the goal that our play had richly deserved & it was Andrew Williams who got it after superb play from the right hand side got him in behind the defense and he beat their keeper, mission impossible was looking a bit more possible but heartbreak was waiting around the corner. As soon as that goal went in I switched from the 3-4-3 formation back to basically a 4-5-1 with Pat dropping in as an extra midfielder (I had taken Mark Addy & off) and reverting to a flat back 4 just to hold what was a hugely important lead.

Alas a few minutes later a hopeful cross came from our left hand side after Callum had come off with cramp & i'd brought Stephen Dodd back on at centre back to partner Olly Wooding again which one of their strikers rose highest for and he nestled a header into the bottom right hand corner. A true heartbreaker of a goal which pegged us back & didn't give us a chance to get another goal but the guys fought their hearts out and as disappointing as it was, at the time I was annoyed with the ref (especially after i'd been clattered in a 50/50 challenge, won the ball 1st but got penalised for it) but I can't blame the troubles of our season on a few questionable decisions in a double header as the buck stops with me & us who've played this season. Post match was a touch somber as the reality of destiny not being in our own hands set in, but I had to thank the guys for their efforts.

The side I have been fortunate enough to play alongside this season has been tremendous, especially for the 2nd half of the season and I believe consistency in availability has been key to that. We've got 1 more game away at HSBC and from what the league table shows, just like the relegation battles in the Sky Bet Football league, we must win & hope that Civil Service draw or lose their last game, we've come so close to pulling off the great escape and we could be 1 more win away, so guys, LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN ON SATURDAY MAY 10TH 2014!!!

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA & that's my take on the match!!!

IBIS 4's 4-5 South Bank Cuaco 6’s - Saturday 26th April - AWAY

Goals - Andrew Williams x2, Alex Laugharne, Jordan Mills

Starting lineup –
Jamie Bailey
Liam Angell (c)
Karl Bolton
David Szabo
John Ewens
Alex Laugharne
Ash Farrell
Callum Mayfield
Pete Snell
Andrew Williams
Jordan Mills

Subs –
Nick Etty
Barry Clark
Stephen Dodd

A beautiful day for football and a few returning players, including Karl Bolton (after a few weeks away) & Barry Clark (after his London Marathon exploits), made me feel quietly confident about this match. After my cycle from South Ealing to South Bank Cuaco (Dulwich) was a smooth ride but this match was anything but. After our recent run we were in great spirits & the banter in the changing room was good with a couple of, let’s say, controversial additions to jokes made by yours truly, but we went out for our warm up and drills awaiting one of our centre backs. Shooting practice was done as we had the time & early in the game it seemed to pay dividends early on, but i’ll get on to that shortly.
By the time the match started we were ready to go but South Bank actually had a good few players who showed up late, ringers? not sure, but even so it shouldn’t have mattered as we actually raced into an early lead that should have been unassailable. Think, Liverpool v Arsenal at Anfield in the way we raced into the lead with us being ruthless in front of goal & even when we mis-kicked attempts, we seemed to have luck on our
side, definitely a description of Jordan Mills’ goal after Andrew Williams scuffed his attempt. Alex Laugharne’s swivel & shot to score left their keeper grasping thin air as he dived towards the corner. Andrew was in somewhat inspired form this week as he bagged a brace with a ruthless strikers instinct, pouncing on mistakes, and their GK seemed to be in a giving mood in terms of mistakes.
Just like Brentford v Chesterfield we conspired to concede at least 2 goals from corners but balls over the top caught us at the back as well with us trying to play a high line & the ref not calling offsides playing against us, a 4 goal lead surrendered and all of us weren’t happy about it. When South Bank got themselves into the game they started to impose themselves on it and their wide men were getting a lot more of the ball & the sheer pace of their attacks were bothering us as we’re not blessed with pace at the back. They were controlling the ball in midfield as well which put Ash & Alex under a lot of pressure & meant that on a general basis we didn’t have much respite between attacks. The goals we conceded were generally sloppy & could have been avoided but a definite lack of communication meant we conceded, and kept conceding especially from corners, which was doubly frustrating as we did do corner drills pre-match. With every goal we conceded, South Bank grew in confidence and eventually they’d drawn level & then edged ahead and THE turning point of the match was when Andrew Williams 3rd goal was disallowed for a supposed foul on the keeper who in my view, bottled out of the challenge.
The 2nd half had fight but the lack of communication was still blatantly evident as we kept trying to press for an equaliser after we’d let a 4-0 lead slip. Half time changes were made with David Szabo & Pete Snell coming off & Barry Clark coming on to make up the extra man in midfield & Stephen Dodd filling in for me at left back as I switched in to centre back to partner Karl to try and improve communication in the back line. It improved a bit but Karl ended up having to come off so Stephen ended up moving alongside me at CB & Pete Snell came on and became the 2nd person to fill in at my LB position.
Chances came & chances went from open play & from corners, most notably with Andrew heading over and their keeper pulling off a couple of saves which would have been regarded as impossible based on his performance in the first 30 minutes. My personal rallying cry at half time saw us fight and fight hard but unfortunately we went down to defeat in yet another match at South Bank Cuaco this season where we could have left with 3 points.
The final whistle brought to an end a frustrating match (which must have been brilliant for a neutral) which was summed up by Pete Snell’s evident frustration when he shouted the words ‘F’N SH*T REFEREE’, of course I don’t advocate that behaviour (I did apologise to the ref in the clubhouse) but I felt the same way so I could understand the frustrations. I did reiterate to everyone back in the changing room that our survival destiny is
in our own hands but our double header v Old Wilsonians becomes even more important, in fact it’s now absolutely crucial that we get at least 4 points (I want 6) as they are just above us in the league table.
Our Arsenal-esque capitulation aside, we can’t expect other teams to do us favours if we don’t do ourselves any. We need fight, we need heart, we need energy,
we need communication and bottom line, WE NEED POINTS!!!
Destiny is in our hands, so let’s make survival ours & make these efforts worthwhile as we’ve had a great run to get ourselves to this point!

I’m Straight Shootin’ LJA and that’s my take on the match

IBIS FC 4's 4-1 Old Salesians 4’s - Saturday 19th April - HOME

IBIS 4's 4-1 Old Salesians 4’s - Saturday 19th April - HOME

Goals - Patricio Baptista x3, Joe Elvin

Starting lineup –

Josh Banks

Anrdew Matthews

Jo Sibal

John Ewens

Pete Snell

Jordan Mills

Anrdew Williams

Ben Pierre

Joe Elvin

Patricio Baptista

Mark Addy

Subs –

Liam Angell (c)

A beautiful day for football and a strong squad to face the guys who'd beaten us 4-1 away from home earlier in the season, revenge was sweet but getting some more positive numbers in the goal difference was even sweeter. There were a couple of concerns with late dropouts & a no-show but the side we had went out and did the business. Because of the strength of the side I was able to start myself on the bench after tweaking my knee last week in the win v Old Actonians. We'd started well and were getting the ball down and playing some nice stuff around Salesians, especially when we got it out into the wide areas and used the sheer pace of Mark Addy & Andrew Williams but we did concede somewhat against the run of play as our back line of Pete Snell, Andy Matthews, Jo Sibal & John Ewens were relatively untroubled in the 1st half. Salesians got down the right (our left), and their wide man played the ball into our 6 yard box, it was a bit scrappy as the ball bobbled around our box but they put it away and went 1-0 up.

Our 1st goal, which brought it back to 1-1 was by Pat Baptista, Andrew Williams got in down the right and his pace had theif left back on toast, he had his shot saved but Pat gobbled up the rebound and got the first of his 3 goals. 1-1 is how we went in at half time in a game we felt was there for the taking if we stepped it up a couple of gears and started using our wide men a bit more.

Second half the guys went out and a 2nd goal came via a Jordan Mills corner Pat headed into the top corner and this goal seemed to really deflate the oppo as they did start to complain at the ref a bit more. In all fairness there were occasions where the ref did make the game a bit disjointed instead of letting certain things go but refs decision is final

Our 3rd goal came from the edge of the box by Pat who'd pounced on a poor clearance from their keeper, shown good footwork to get it under control and after myself & Andrew Williams screamed 'SHOOT', Pat duly obliged and slotted in a precision side footed finish. By then Salesians were playing sloppy passes and after John Ewens took a bit of a clattering I'd came on in my familiar left back position for the last half hour or so. Andy Matthews had to leave early so we had another defensive reshuffle with John Ewens (after he'd recovered from the previously mentioned late challenge) filling in alongside Jo Sibal at centre back for the rest of the match as I asked Joe Elvin & Ben Pierre to sit back & hold in midfield as I felt we had the win in the bag.

Our 4th and final goal came from a Joe Elvin belter from outside the box, shoot on sight was definitely the call here and from about 20+ yards out Salesians gave Joe the time & space and he finished with aplomb. Apart from a couple of routine saves & clearances Josh Banks wasn't troubled too much, as I said to him pre-match, if you're not troubled too much then the backline has done a good job, which was true in this match.

When the final whistle went I was definitely thankful for the effort the guys had put in and thankful that Jordan Mills' Torres-esque miss from about 4 yards out (a volley that went high, wide & butt ugly) ended up as little more than a hilarious footnote to laugh about in the changing room afterwards.

A great result, making Easter exertions thoroughly worthwhile, big thanks to those who made themselves available, we've still got a good few games left including South Bank away next and what will be a crucial double header v Old Wilsonians on the horizon. Any team is beatable, but as we've shown over the past few weeks we need the numbers to do it because we have the quality!!!

I’m Straight Shootin’ LJA and that’s my take on the match

IBIS 4's 2-0 Old Actonians 7’s - Saturday 12th April - HOME

IBIS 4's 2-0 Old Actonians 7’s - Saturday 12th April - HOME

Goals - Own goal, Liam Angell

Starting lineup –
Chris Innerd
Liam Angell
Jo Sibal
David Szabo
Stephen Dodd
Alex Laugharne
Callum Mayfield
Pete Snell
Ash Farrell
Andrew Williams
Jordan Mills

Subs –
Gavin Henry
Rico Boyce
Carlos Gordon

Following an important win in our mid-week fixture on Tuesday and an impressive performance in last week’s 2s game, it was important that we kept the momentum going and picked up another result in our battle to avoid the drop. Our opponents this week were Old Actonians, who are sitting second in the league, making this a challenging game on paper.

Nevertheless, we fielded a strong side, with the majority of last week’s team taking to the field and some able replacements coming in to fill the gaps. The game started well, with both teams aiming to get the ball down and play. However, we settled more quickly and were soon playing some nice stuff, using a combination of width and quick breaks to threaten their goal more than once. Our attacking intent paid off mid-way through the first half, with the ball being well worked out from the back and a break emerging down the right hand side. The ball eventually came to Pete Snell who fired in a dangerous ball across the box. Despite no IBIS players getting on the end of it, their centre back contrived to shin his clearance over their keeper and into far corner of the goal in true comedy own goal style, putting us into the lead, although very much with the run of play up until that point.

We soon followed this up with a second. A sustained period of attacking play resulted in a corner from the left. Jordan played a great ball right into the heart of the box and captain Liam rose highest, or at least got there first, to power home a header from six yards out and get his name on the scoresheet from the first time in a while, possibly years, no one was really sure or bothered (I’m sure he can tell you exactly how long it’s been). The important thing was that we’d given ourselves some breathing space.

The second half was scrappier than the first had been, with the opposition increasingly pushing forward as they attempted to reduce the deficit, while we were more content to defend our lead and try and hit them on the counter. We kept it tight at the back and reduced them to a few speculative efforts from outside the box. As we entered the final 15 minutes, the game became more stretched, but they failed to take their chances when they arrived, mostly due to some excellent work by Chris between the sticks. A couple of sharp saves at his near post, were followed up by a full stretch tip around the far post, from a decent curling effort. Although we spent the latter part of the game defending we succeeded in closing it out and securing the 3 points, taking off the bottom of the league. With several games in hand over the teams around us we now have a great chance of survival and also have our destiny in our own hands, so let’s make it happen. 

Match report by Callum Mayfield

IBIS 4's 4-3 Polytechnic 7’s - Tuesday 8th April - HOME

IBIS 4's 4-3 Polytechnic 7’s - Tuesday 8th April - HOME

Goals - Own goal, Gideon Barnett, Jordan Mills, Han Cho

Starting lineup –
Jaymie Bailey
Liam Angell
Jo Sibal
Stephen Dodd
Mas Resai
Jordan Mills
James Soi
Ben Pierre
Alex Konstantinou
Nick Etty
Gideon Barnett


Subs –
Rico Boyce
Saul Fitton
Han Cho

Another crucial match in the 'cup finals' that will keep us in Minor South Division 4, and another win that will give us the same end result. An evening kick off and a local derby with 3 big points on the line was always going to be a great battle and this match didn't disappoint. A bit of a mishmash of a team due to the 5.45 kick off but we started well and were actually 3-0 up in the 1st half and cruising at one point, complacency was the one thing I was trying to encourage against, especially as in the wide areas they were getting in behind us but the back.

For the 1st 3 goals Poly couldn't live with us, when we were getting the ball down, and exploiting the wide areas and also through the middle when Alex was getting on the ball and running at Poly. Bear in mind we owed Poly after the heavy defeat we received at their ground with 9 men earlier in the season so I wanted us to get more but when we ended up 3-0 to the good I was over the moon after Gideon, Jordan and an own goal (which Jordan was claiming) had given us a firm advantage.

Second half we sat back and did invite a lot of pressure on to us and Poly could smell blood in the water as they started committing more men forward as they had nothing to lose at 3-0 down. They did end up starting to overrun our midfield and every ball we were winning easily in the 1st half they began to win in the second half and they were working the back line harder, and in the 2nd half they did end up getting 3 goals back. During this half I did bring on all 3 subs and to get a bit more bite in midfield I switched Mas into centre mid (after Jordan Mills mentioned that and brought Saul Fitton on to partner Jo Sibal at centre back, put Rico at right mid and Han Cho up top but then I had to switch that over and put Rico right up top and Han at right mid.

Even though we conceded 3 in the 2nd half we had good spells of play but it was Han who got the last goal (which was a cool & clam finish coming from the right hand side) that proved to be crucial and ended up giving us the win, and made a midweek game a relief and a brilliant game with another 3 crucial points to close the gap on West Wickham and Old Wilsonians (who we have a double header coming up against soon).

I’m Straight Shootin’ LJA and that’s my take on the match

IBIS 2's 4-3 Old Finchleians Res - Sat 5th April - AWAY

IBIS 2's 4-3 Old Finchleians Res - Sat 5th April - AWAY

Goals - Afful x2, Williams, Gayle

Starting lineup –

Jaymie Bailey

John Ewens

Jo Sibal

David Szabo

Liam Angell (c)

Jordan Gayle

Jordan Mills

Alex Laugharne

Callum Mayfield

Andrew Williams

Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Afful

 

 

Subs –

Pete Snell

Rob Lusher

Carlos Gordon

 

An unusual trip up North (London) greeted the 4s this week, as we stepped up to fulfill a 2s fixture away at Old Finchleians Reserves. Although we were competing at a higher standard, we had a decent squad and knew that if we played well we could come away with a result. Although most of us had played together before, there were a few new faces and a couple of players returning to 11-a-side action after a prolonged break, notably Jaymie Bailey who donned the green keepers shirt, meaning captain Liam was at his preferred starting position of left back. Lusher also secured his preferred position and duly started the game on the bench, vociferously giving out instructions to anyone that would listen, and those that wouldn't.

We started the game well and immediately caused them problems, with Manny Afful and Andrew Williams proving a handful up top. We came very close to opening the scoring within the first five minutes, a speedy counter-attack ending in Callum Mayfield powering a shot against the bar with their keeper beaten. However, almost immediately after this they went back down the other end and scored against the run of play. A slight trip by Andrew gave their centre forward all the encouragement he needed to hit the deck right on the corner of the area and the referee duly awarded a penalty. A soft way to concede but, probably the right decision.

With the penalty dispatched, we set about getting back into the game and trying to restore parity. We continued to create chances going forward, particularly with Callum's long throws into the heart of the box; Liam and Andrew both going close. As it was, the breakthrough came from one of these long throws, with the opposition again failing to deal with the ball in the box and Andrew pouncing on the loose ball to poke home.

Although we were playing some nice football, the direct channels seemed to paying the most dividends for us. The second goal was classic route one, with Manny getting in behind their centre-back directly from Jamie's kick and then finishing brilliantly to guide home the dropping ball on the half-volley into the corner of the net. And Manny added a third before half-time, this time unleashing a rocket into the corner from the edge of the area. However, he hit the ball so hard he tweaked a hammy and had to go off, being replaced by Carlos, who then also quickly departed after falling awkwardly and injuring his knee.

We reached half-time with our 3-1 lead intact, despite a few personnel changes. The second half started slowly from an Ibis perspective, the opposition increasingly getting the ball down and playing it around more than they had in the first half. Our priority was to keep our lead, but in doing so we invited too much pressure on ourselves and conceded a second following a powerful shot from the edge of the area. As the Old Finchleians chased the equalizer the game became more stretched, allowing us to hit them on the counter. Indeed, a counter-attack brought us our fourth goal, with Jordan Gayle managing to find a way straight through the middle of their defence and beating the keeper to bouncing ball to stab home. An important goal, which gave us some breathing space heading into the last 20 minutes.

Two goal lead restored, we set about shutting up shop and seeing the game out for the three points. Old Finchleians continued to push forward, with the back four of Liam, Jo Sibal, David Szabo and John Ewens proving up to the task and repelling their advances, while Alex and Jordan effectively breaking up their attacks in the centre of midfield.

Nevertheless, there was one final twist before the end of the game, with another long-range effort from an Old Finchleians midfielder finding the corner of the net, making it 4-3 and setting up a nervous final eight minutes. However, with Lusher continuing to coordinate the defence from the sidelines, seemingly having resigned himself to a coach role for the whole game, we battled through to the final whistle to record a excellent win in a second team fixture. If we'd have taken our chances the margin could well have been greater. This result should also bode well for the 4s fight against relegation the rest of this season.

 

Match report by Callum Mayfield

IBIS FC 4th v CIVIL SERVICE 6th (DOUBLE HEADER) - Saturday 29th March 2014 - AWAY

Match 1 - Civil Service 6th 0-1 Ibis FC 4th (Mitchell)

Match 2 - Ibis FC 4th 0-1 Civil Service 6th

Goals - Elliot Mitchell (match 1)

Yellow cards - n/a

Red cards - n/a

Starting lineup - 

Liam Angell (c)

Karl Bolton

John Ewens

Christian Frixou

Jordan Mills

Callum Mayfield

Mussie Goyrom

Elliot Mitchell

Henock Woldeslassie

Andrew Williams

Manny Tesfail

Subs - 

Isaac Penza

Pete Snell

Double double toil and trouble, well, it was double and toil without much of the trouble as we had a double header this week and to add a bit of spice it was a local derby with Civil Service's 6th side. We had a full squad of 14 including birthday boy Pete who was carrying a couple of injuries from the week before and on the morning there were rumblings of Manny being able to bring someone along but that didn't happen in the end. On my way to the ground I actually bumped into Isaac who was struggling to find the Kings House Sports ground which is a bit awkward to find as there are a couple of well concealed entrances and oddly enough Henock was the last man to arrive as he'd gone to our home ground by accident, fortunately with some direction from Olly Wooding (the 2's captain) and Manny he found us in the end. So after a bit of banter in the changing rooms we made our way out and got into some defence v attack corner routines so we'd be organised. I started in goal and in front of me I started with the 3-5-2 formation that I thought worked well when we went down to 10 men v West Wickham so I thought we'd use it to start with and see how it went. We had Karl at the centre of a 3 man defence along with John Ewens & Christian Frixou, we had Jordan Mills as right wing-back and Callum Mayfield as left wing-back and in a 3 man centre midfield we had Henock Woldeslassie, Mussie Goyrom & Elliot Mitchell and a 2 man attack of Manny Tesfai & Andrew Williams, so we had a 3 man bench including Isaac Penza & Pete Snell. After my pre-match team talk which consisted partly of 'we need these crucial points to have any chance of staying up and we want all 6 not just 3'.

We started very well actually especially when we were playing the ball along the ground and the partnerships between people were blossoming and we were carving out chances and good passages of play but it was a moment of luck that got us a goal that turned out to be the winner in match 1. In the 1st half due to the enormous slope in the pitch we had an advantage and Elliot's goal looked hit and hope from my vantage point but it was a goal which Elliot hit from distance and not only did the solid ground help it bounce up and over the keeper which gave us a half time lead. Civil's looked frustrated and a bit annoyed that they'd conceded and that they were being outplayed when we kept the ball on the deck. We went out for the 2nd half buoyed by having the lead & seeing their frustration and we defended well with the hill and wind against us. I stayed as close to my goal as possible after what happened a couple of weeks ago but apart from a few saves (including one which bobbled right in front of me) I wasn't overly troubled. We actually had a few good chances even thought we were playing uphill and into the wind but we couldn't get a 2nd goal even though we had a good few chances. Civil Service gave us a couple of minor warnings but I did bring on Isaac for Jordan to freshen things up a bit on the right hand side of the midfield. We ended up deservedly winning the first game and in my post match team talk after the first game I wanted to keep the guys on their toes and up for the second match as in a double header 1 match completed is only half the job done.

2nd match began and we lost the toss so we had to play uphill in the 1st half but we did pick up an injury midway through the half which meant a quick reshuffle with me coming out of goal & a gk switch as the evergreen Karl pulled up with an injury. So John Ewens switched to the centre of the defence with me going as the left centre back and in the 1st half we got lucky a good couple of times as Civil's did get in behind us from the wide positions, I felt a bit rusty but part of that was due to not expecting to get on that early. Originally I had a plan of switching gk's at full time of the 1st match but I felt for consistency's sake i'd keep myself in goal and keep the same side out that finished the previous match but as plans will be plans will go awry. Karl's injury had meant a reshuffle but we also lost Henock during the 2nd match to injury, he'd been in the wars a bit so we had another reshuffle to do with Manny dropping into centre midfield and Jordan coming back on and going up top alongside Andrew to rekindle that partnership.

We conceded a goal which turned out to be the decisive goal in the 2nd half of the second match which was a diagonal ball over the top which was frustratingly out of my reach as I tried to head it clear and even with Callum covering their guy got in behind us from our wide left and scored what looked like a scuffed effort that bounced in past our gk and left us with about 10 minutes to find a reply. There was one negative of the match with an awful challenge on Isaac Penza from from a guy at least twice his size which I wasn't happy about as he went in 2 footed and could have really hurt Isaac, the Civil's player saw a deserved yellow and from what our ref told me post match he could have seen red. In this second game I must honestly say that Civil Service did deserve the win and even our ref afterwards said that to me, especially considering Civil's hit the bar a couple of times and I think hit the post too, but Jordan was unlucky himself not to draw us level after hitting the post in the 2nd half of the second game.

Full time came and as disappointed as we were to only get 1 win the important thing is that we got a crucial 3 points on our quest for survival, to a man I once again couldn't fault the effort put forth by the guys, especially in both games, they were played in a great spirit. We've got another double header coming up and a Tuesday game 3 days later so it's time for us to roll our sleeves up, put the work in and MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE as much as we can.

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA & that's my take on the match

WEST WICKHAM 6th 2-2 IBIS FC 4th - (22-03-2014)

Match Report - 

Goals - Jon Ewens & Karl Bolton

Yellow cards - n/a

Red cards - Gavin Henry

Starting Lineup - 

Gavin Henry

Liam Angell (c)

Karl Bolton

Rob Lusher

Jon Ewens

Pete Snell

Christian Frixou

Alex Laugharne

Callum Mayfield

Andrew Williams

Jordan Mills

Subs - 

Nhamo Matamisa

If fighting spirit alone could keep us up then I think we'd be fine but unfortunately it's points that matter and we need to start racking them up. Still though in battling for a point today filled me with more optimism in terms of us surviving. Away at a west Wickham side we'd beaten 3-0 at home was a welcome return to 4's action after spending the last 2 weeks fulfilling 3's fixtures but one thing that was a bit annoying was actually finding the ground! We all ended up finding it in the end even after a couple of the guys had rather difficult times the night before and even that morning in Alex's case. The match was an interesting one as we started the game well after winning the toss to switch ends, I was at my preferred left back finally for the first time in about 2 months, ironically enough it was myself and Rob Lusher who played centre back when the 2 sides met back in mid December.

Still though after a couple of minor scares in the first half we ended up taking the lead after a corner was half cleared and Jon Ewens placed a lovely finish into the left hand side of the net. 1-0 up and deservedly so as we'd played some nice stuff and gav looked comfortable in nets. There was a change on the horizon though as Wickham got more of the ball and their players started connecting and it was a ball over the top that led to us going down to 10 men. 1-1 came from a quality fk which clipped in off the bar. After keeping a generally good line their nippy no.10 bent his run, got in behind us and he nicked the ball past Gavin who absolutely clattered him and even though I had dropped inside after seeing Gavin come out the ref gave a spot kick and gave Gav a straight red which left me as the next in line to go in goal. I tried everything to put their penalty taker off (basically dancing on the line) but they took a 2-1 lead 2 minutes before half time as I guessed the right way but was beaten from 12 yards.

At half time feeling a bit unlucky to be down to 10 men  we had to do some reshuffling after destiny intervened and I was back in goal and with the help of Alex Laugharne who'd noticed something tactically about their attack (they were using their full backs to get forward instead of out and out wingers) & Rob Lusher we switched to a 3-5-1 with Jordan & Pete as wing backs & Christian as the extra man in the middle just behind Andrew. So we went out in the 2nd half knowing we'd have a battle on our hands and the wind against us and to a man we all put in a great shift. During the half I made use of the rolling subs with Christian coming off for Nhamo who was nursing a sore calf but then coming back on due to Pete limping off with a pulled calf after a brief stint up top.

It must be said that our ref in the second half could have given another penalty after a risky last ditch challenge on our right hand side in the box but it wasn't given. But we kept on battling and after limiting Wickham to only a few chances we equalised with a Karl Bolton header which had me jumping for joy and Karl needing to work on his celebrations after doing jazz hands! We kept working hard & trying to create chances (especially using a bit of Andrew's pace over the top) and oddly enough we seemed to play better with 10 as we knew we needed to work harder but from Karl, Rob & Jon at the back to Callum & Alex in the middle everyone put in a great shift which filled me with pride to wear the Ibis shirt.

Full time came and as I did my post match dress down I reiterated the pride at the effort put in, a match which made me think of the 'this is what our business is all about' line wwe commentator Jim Ross used to say about Wrestlemania, but replace our business with grass roots football. We're in a dogfight at the bottom so that point was not just hard earned, but crucial against a side who are directly above us and that kind of fight & spirit will be needed for the rest of the season along with numbers as we have double headers on the horizon.

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA & that's my take on the match

IBIS FC 3's (4's) 1-4 OLD FINCHEANS 3's - (15-03-2014)

Starting line up 

Liam Angell

Karl Bolton

Rob Lusher

Jon Ewens

Stephen Dodd

Joe Elvin

Ash farrell

Isaac Penza

Gideon Barnett

Barry Clark

Emmanuel Afful

Subs/dropouts 

Jordan Mills

Kendal Campbell

Nick Etty

Another game where the 4's were filling in for the 3's and try as we might, continuity got the best of us. We were somewhat of a changed side from the away game from the week before but it was quite good to be playing at home again on the Dukes Meadow pitches and may I say, it was a lovely day to cycle to the game as the sun was shining, the river thames was glistening and the lycra clad women at the boathouse were looking tremendous, but I digress.

On a beautiful day for football we got our pre match drills in and welcomed back some familiar faces in the for of Gids, Barry, Manny & a couple of others but due to a clerical error on his side Andrew Williams missed out on the match as we had 14 men. As usual we did our pre match drills and Kendal had brought along his friend Natalie (one of the Haringey Borough Women's fc players) to watch but unfortunately the game ended in defeat. We started off well and after everyone got familiar with each other in the pre match drills we all knew our roles and in my starting lineup (especially up top) I paired Baz & Manny & was hoping that they'd exploit their familiarity with each other being that they are work colleagues but we were under a lot of pressure 1st half as Old Finchleans clearly had played alongside each other regularly as their wingers were playing some neat 1-2's to get at our full backs and carve out chances.

We lost the toss before kick off which ended up being crucial due to the way we conceded our 1st goal but more on that later. We actually took the lead in the 1st half after great work by Manny from a through ball, he was brave & beat the keeper and similar to David Nugent's only goal for England in as much as Manny did the hard work and from close range Isaac Penza scored his first goal for the club on only his 2nd appearance. The equaliser from Old Finchleans came in very fortuitous circumstances and even though I had a cap on the sun has to take the blame. Now of course i'm not a keeper but I came to the edge of my box with the ball in my hand to kick it out, but I booted it out and the ball came straight back and as I was so far off my line and the ball bounced as I was caught in no mans land as I desperately looked into the sun, lost the ball and whilst stretching for the ball I basically palmed it into my own net. Fortunate goal yes, but a goal it was and I had to hold my hands up and apologise to the guys and I did at half time. 1-1 at the break and we were holding our own with a fortuitous goal levelling things up, but I thought i'd change things up a touch with Nick Etty coming on for Isaac at right mid after Ash Farrell had limped off with an injury in the 1st half which forced me to bring Jordan on replacing Baz up top & putting him in midfield.

Later on in the 2nd half the evergreen Karl Bolton came off with a twisted ankle after a corner so we had another reshuffle to make as Kendal Campbell came on at left back after we'd switched formations at half time with Gideon switching in to centre midfield, Baz went out to the left. When Karl came off Stephen Dodd slid in to centre back alongside Rob Lusher and we battled on but we conceded 3 more goals, 1 of which I had came from a corner after i'd made a low point blank save and from the resulting corner I made a couple of saves but it fell to one of their guys who blasted past me. 2 came from slide rule finishes that were buried right in the corners, 1 top right and one bottom right after some slick interchanges of play with their wide men coming in centrally and causing problems. We did have our chances but in the end we were beaten by the better side who had a lot more fluidity in their play, but again this week I couldn't fault the guys for effort, it's hard times at the club right now with a lot of things up in the air and we need to dig in to survive.

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA and that's my take on the match

OLD PARKONIANS 3’s 4-0 IBIS FC 3's - (08-03-2014)

Starting line up
Liam Angell (c)
Karl Bolton
Kendal Campbell
Stephen Dodd
Ash Farrell
Ollie Lewis
Rob Lusher
Jordan Mills
John Richardson
Andrew Williams
Manny Tesfai

Subs/dropouts
Christian Frixou - ILL
Nhamo Matamisa – No Show
Mussie Goyrom – late dropout

So another day, another defeat but the circumstances of the defeat were a bit odd this week as there is a bit of concern about the future of the club, at least in terms of number of teams but that's all i'm at liberty to say at the moment. The simple fact is, the double header that us 4's were supposed to have at home ended up being a treck to fairlop in Ilford, Essex to fulfil a 3's fixture v Old Parkonians. Now, on the morning of the match we had a dropout but on the day we also had a no show from Nhamo Matamisa which was extremely disappointing and that's me putting it mildly, I actually had to hold my tongue with my real feelings post match, but I digress. The fact is, 11 men (mainly 4's players) had to play against a 3's side from Old Parkonians which was being contested for league points, but nonetheless we soldiered on. 

Now I must say that as the 4's captain I didn't tell the guys until after the match that we we're playing as the 3's this week due to extreme under-availability throughout the club, I didn't lie when asked about the game, I just avoided the question when asked about where Old Parkonians were in the league in terms of position as I didn't want to lie to the guys, but at the same time I didn't want them to play like the points meant nothing, for the good of the club would be the short way of putting it. Anyway, we started off very well after practicing our corner routines, it was a mission to find the ground so we didn't get to practice as much as I would have liked, but for a team with a good few people who hadn't played together much I felt we did well.

First half we had a couple of warnings and near misses but we contained Old Parkonians very well and limited them to few shots on target but midway through the 1st half the returning Kendal Campbell basically was knackered so eventually I had to switch him and Jordan Mills around just to limit the damage. There was a chance from a free kick that Jordan had but he put it over and ended up on his backside (there was another chance that had the same outcome later in the game). Lateron in the half just before half time after a really organized performance we ended up conceding from a corner, the ball was played in from the left and I think, as I didn't see it go through my legs the ball dropped to a striker and he fired it past me, sucker punch but 1-0 it was. Ollie Lewis came really close to a quick equaliser after a lightning quick break down the right which ended up in him flashing a shot wide which the keeper got finger tips to.Half time rolled around but it was a tad disappointing to be a goal down but I had to emphasize to the guys to keep going as Andrew Williams chipped in saying give him the ball early and Ash Farrell adding some notes in as well, by the way Ash is one of the fittest players i've seen come through the 4's in many a year, can run for 90 minutes.

But 2nd half we went back out and after a chat with the referee to clear the air after he accused me of cheating in the 1st minute when I asked the ref (who took an eternity to signal) to clarify a whether it was a corner or a goal kick, which our opposition hit the bar from the resulting corner, by the way it was a corner but refs usually signal and say it is before it's taken. 2nd half started and we had our chances but early in the 2nd half Old Parkonians came out of the blocks quickly and had us penned in for a while and forced me into a few good saves which at times surprised me that i'd made. Old Parkonians did end up scoring 3 more goals as fatigue and cramp started to set in and as we only had a bare 11 due to no shows and dropouts we couldn't make subs so we had to switch people around on the pitch, one of the goals was a quality finish from the edge of the 18 yard box to my right which even at full stretch I could do nothing about, but even with the deficit we still had chances, the best of which fell to Ash after a great run and cross by Andrew but somehow the keeper got over to it and saved it, I still don't know how he managed that, even before Ash hit it I screamed YES!

Another hilarious chance we had fell to Kendal and after he'd done the hard work on the edge of the box with a great turn to open up the space to shoot, but he fluffed his lines by falling over and basically hit the corner flag his effort went so far wide! After the match the revelation was made by Karl Bolton and Rob Lusher about the side we faced being a good 4 divisions above us and us filling in for the 3's this week but we felt that we have the fight and we have the heart for a battle, but once again we don't have the legs because we lack the numbers, 37 people available for 4 teams tells it's own story and it's not a positive story. But I can't fault the guys for effort and even writing this on a Saturday night I can feel my knees seizing up so my ice pack is going to become a very close friend, big shout out to the effort put in, we just need the numbers to turn that fantastic effort into fantastic wins.

I'm Straight Shootin' LJA and that's my take on the match