Ocean’s
Eleven Thursday 3rd
May 2007
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Three
games to go, and a change of night for the evening game. Would Thursday’s be better than Friday’s?
Game
1 - The line up was:
Joby
Jack Callum
Josh Joel
Tom
Joe
Rolling Subs: Luke &
Dan
We
pushed and forced an early corner. Joe
hit a cracking corner which Josh met at the far post. It came back across, Tom controlled with his
right, then switched onto his left to shoot, but the ‘keeper made a great save
with his legs. Joel won the ball from a
throw and passed inside to Tom, who
took one touch and blasted it low and hard through a crowd of players into the
right corner of the net 1-0. Callum won the ball on the halfway line and
ran forward. Played a one-two with the
ref!, then went past three players and found Tom who passed it past the
advancing ‘keeper, but unfortunately it hit the wrong side of the post and went
out. We took a goal-kick, which they won
and shot, but Callum managed to get his head to the ball to clear it. They hit the corner in and is headed
goalwards, but Jack on the line made the clearance. A very high ball forward saw Joby start to
come for it, however Callum tried to head it forward and only succeeded in
heading it goalwards. We all thought the
worst, but Joby reacted very quickly and raced back onto his line to catch
it. Joel ran forward and shot, the
‘keeper palmed it up, and as two of our players ran in, he managed to catch it
as he and it fell. Tom played it wide to
Joel, he knocked it inside to Josh, Josh played it through to Joe, and he hit a
shot which the ‘keeper saved for a corner.
They
took a goalkick which Joel won and attacked from. The ‘keeper came out, forcing him wide, and
although he got past him, the angle was too acute, and his shot went into the
side netting. A high ball from Tom
towards their last defender saw Joe gamble that he would miss it, which
happened. Joe was in on the ‘keeper who
raced off his line, Joe shot, it hit the ‘keeper and came back hitting Joe in
the unmentionables, however it then fell forward and Joe had an open net to roll the ball into 2-0. We attacked and Jack on the halfway line was the last
man. The ball was cleared to him so he
welted it and it flew hard and low through the whole crowd, hitting the left
post before flying into the right corner of the net 3-0. Tom won the ball on the
right and attacked down the wing. He
curled a low ball into the box which saw Dan and a defender go for it as well
as the ‘keeper from his line, and Dan
got the first touch and it was enough to flick past everyone and in to the net 4-0.
We kept up the pressure and won a corner. Tom
swung it in and the ‘keeper under pressure could only palm it into his own net 5-0.
Tom headed on for Josh to flick past the ‘keeper, however a defender got
goalside and cleared from the line. Joe then hit a high ball from wide
which the ‘keeper seemed to catch, but then also dropped and it went in 6-0.
At this stage of the season Callum was the only regular outfield player
not to score, so for the last few minutes, Luke dropped back into defence, Joe
into midfield and Callum went forward.
Almost straight away Joe launched a ball forward over the last defender
for Callum to chase, and as the ‘keeper rushed out, Callum just flicked it over the ‘keeper’s right shoulder, like a
seasoned forward, and watched as it rolled into the net 7-0. He then asked if he
could go back into defence!
Man of the Match – Chosen by Andy for
excellent play and effort – Callum
Game
2 - The line up was:
Jamie
Sam
B Spike
Jim Sam K
Max
Chilly
Rolling Subs: Mark &
Josef
We
won a bit of a dubious corner but Max was convinced so Jim went to take
it. He hit a great ball in and Chilly
came in with his toe, but it went just the wrong side of the post. For quite a few minutes not a lot of action
happened, although against a big side, our players were passing the ball around
really well and keeping possession.
Jamie took a goalkick and toe-punted it through everyone and Chilly
chased and crossed to where Max was running in, but the ‘keeper just got there. Jim battled hard down the right and crossed
in, where it was a clear handball which wasn’t given (dodgy ref!) and they
eventually cleared it. Sam K won the ball wide on the left and
just ran at goal, past the challenges and past the ‘keeper into the left corner
1-0.
Handball was given on the halfway line and so Sam B had a shot. Jim ran across it hoping to get a touch or
put the ‘keeper off, but he stayed firm and held it well.
Mark
chased a forward into the corner, however Jamie came out there as well and it
was crossed in towards another attacker unmarked in front of goal, however
luckily it was just behind him. Chilly
chased our pass into the corner and managed to concede a throw rather than let
them have a goal-kick. We moved up to
pressurise and won the ball down there where Chilly went for a cross, however just like Rio Ferdinand and Edwin
Van Der Sar recently, their defender running back touched it wide of the
‘keeper and there was nothing they could do as it rolled in 2-0.
Josef played a one-two with Sam K and then crossed it in, Chilly turned
it across goal to where Max was steaming in two yards out and he lifted it over
the bar to calls from the line of “You’ve been watching Drogba!”. Suddenly their forward was through against
Jamie who rushed out and bravely saved it with his face. They then picked up the loose ball, but Josef
came in with a last ditch tackle to clear it.
Josef won the ball and gave it to Max, who ran past two players before
being brought down 12 metres out. Sam K stepped up to take it and chipped
it over everyone and just in under the crossbar 3-0. Jamie hit a big ball
forward which Max chased and crossed to the right side. Spike won it, came in at a fairly acute angle
and hit it high, off the top of the crossbar.
Josef won the ball and played it into the right corner which Jim chased. He turned his man, and although Chilly was
the square ball for goal, elected to hit it inside of the ‘keeper and it crept
in 4-0.
Man of the Match – Chosen by Andy for
excellent play and effort – Sam B