Lane Cove West 2, Lindfield 3

We wuz robbed again! For the second week in a row, we dominated the early stages, should have scored several then, but ended up losing by one goal. This time, however, it was not dodgy refereeing that cost us, and having stormed back from 0-3, we finished not entirely disgruntled (though not with the gruntlement that a win or draw would have brought).

Steve, Dave C & Charlie had succumbed to injuries, but Matt & Gareth were with us again, and well they played, too. Bill returned unscathed from another career-ending injury: indestructible!

Just like last week, we began with a flurry of attacks and half-chances. We didn’t let their defenders settle on the ball, and often won it back in dangerous positions. And a series of corners (nicely floated over by Gareth this week) caused problems. Amazingly - also like last week – Matt had a thundering shot well turned over by a keeper stretched to the limit. But still it wouldn’t go in.

So it was particularly disappointing when a rare attack by Lindfield led to a corner on their right. It came in right under the bar; Dave W pushed it out, Ernie’s header was weakened by his neck condition, and the half-chance was gleefully accepted: 0-1.

But we kept on playing good football. A shot/cross of Eric’s nearly found its own way in, and nearly got Dave B on the end to help it in; but a goal-kick was all that resulted.

We thus reached the break in good spirits. But, again – just like last week – something changed at half-time. This week the something included their strikers, who we suspect were from their As: in any event, those starting the second half didn’t know whose kick-off it was because “we weren’t here”.

Whoever they were, the new strikers caused more problems, and a couple of well-taken goals soon found us 0-3 down, sick as parrots, and ruing the chances that hadn’t quite gone our way in the first half. Another 5-goal drubbing looked distinctly possible if – as we were probably entitled - we were to wallow in self-pity.

But no, this was not our style today. We battled on, still playing good, passing football, and with about 20 minutes to go, got our reward. A move up the right spotted John free on the left, and passed it over to him [notice the absence of a personal subject of this sentence: this is my way of hiding that I don’t know whose assist this was, but I’ll be happy to put it in the corrections section next week]. John blasted a beautiful right-foot shot into the top right corner, and it was 1-3, and respectability.

But respectability wasn’t enough. What we wanted was more goals, and another came before long. Dave B capped another good move [Neil was probably involved in the build-up to one goal or the other, if not both] with an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net, and it was 2-3; and the sniff of a result for us. (Did I not say last week that Lindfield had conceded an average of 2 goals per game, and defending was not the way to beat them? I did.)

But cruelly – as last week, yet again – our final efforts fell just short. I was pushed aside in one goal-mouth scramble; a queue of us just failed to get on the end of Peter’s free kick that went inches wide. And, at the death, Peter had a chance from way out that he lined up nicely, but lacked the punch to find its way in.

But it was not all one-way. At the other end Martin P and Mark S had their work to cut out to keep clearing the ball upfield, and Martin C deserved his 2^nd in the MOTM voting (as did Eric & Peter who shared 3^rd). John’s goal, and general tenacious play, earned him the winning vote this week.

But, in the end, we had to settle for another narrow defeat, in a well-fought and good-spirited game. We were particularly sorry not to have a result to relay to Tim, as he recovers from surgery. The card we all signed will reach him this week, but we failed on the tricky question of: what do you buy a football team member who is recuperating? Ernie, who kindly took on the task of pondering this one, could only come up with knitting or a jig-saw, both of which Morag – rightly, we can only conclude – vetoed. So the card, with the stains attesting that we were, indeed, having a beer for him, will have to do.

Oddly enough, it was a year ago to the day that we played Lindfield A (15 May being a Saturday last year, but a Sunday today). That time, we won by the odd goal – but 4-3, after (it will be recalled) we had had two defeats by the same score earlier in the season. So: our turn again next May!

Thanks this week to Bill for the beers (in Tim’s absence); to Stuart & Davoud for being ref & linesman for us; and John & Martin C likewise for the victorious A team.

MARK BRYANT