LCW v Barker Old Boys 23/4/2005

Well its becoming a little bit repetitive but the Mighty Reds travelled once again to the boondocks eager to put their sluggish start to the season behind them and rack up a win.

The name “Barker Old Boys” connoted overweight 40 some-things who couldn’t let go of their school glory days and whilst it seemed as though they were less organised than we were, they had (as usual) age on their side.

After seeing the Ressies fight back to earn a well-deserved draw, the 1sts took the field full of running and confidence.

1^st Half

For the first time this season, the team started on fire. From the calm and orderly distributions from the back, the creative interplay between the midfielders and the energetic running into space by our burly front two, the Reds belied their place on the table and played football that would have made Mourinho proud. Judging by the lack of shouting from the sidelines, our own Mourinho was pleased with what he saw.

The opening 10 minutes of sustained pressure reaped its rewards when Ivanusevic found space on the right and used his electrifying pace to get around their aging back 4. Seeing it was setting up nicely for a right foot dig, their defender brought Jason down just inside the box and the referee duly pointed to the spot – then proceeded to measure it out anyway.

Kez trotted up to take a penalty and faced a barrage of weak sledging that would have struggled to make a 9yr old girl blush. Kez brushed it off and proceeded to send it high to the right, ricocheted off the post, back onto the keeper’s head and IN! 1-0 to the Reds.

Within a couple of minutes the early balls to our front two again paid off with Whattam in acres in space and the BOBs defence being run ragged. Whilst Whattam was pushed wide on the 18yd box, he calmly and expertly lobbed the keeper to sneak the ball home by the far post. Coupled with his goal in the Reserves, Whattam proceeded to milk the glory for all its worth, bypassing his wife and son on the sidelines to jig with the corner flag. 2-0!!

It was great to see our pressure being converted into goals so early in the match but the last 20 minutes of the half showed there is still much work to be done. The Reds froze in the face of uncharted 2-0 up territory with passes missing their mark, poor man-marking and tempers ultimately fraying with some colourful language filling the kiddies ears and earning the ire of the ref.

BOBs sensed our unease and reluctance to push forward for the kill and began to win the battle in the midfield. The ease with which they played the ball our through their defenders to the midfield meant the Reds were scrambling to pick up the many runners bearing down on our goal. It was a well worked move down the right that saw Cachia and Fuller drawn in and failing to pick up a runner from midfield and one-on-one with Laux, he slotted home. 2-1

Heads went down and the Reds were looking forward to half time to regain some composure. Committed defending for the last 5 minutes of the half from Thompson, Coatsworth and Fuller thwarted a couple of gilt-edged chances to BOBs.

2^nd half

Having survived the late onslought in the first half, the half time finger pointing strangely worked a treat with the Reds starting the 2^nd half like they did the first. The midfield re-asserted their dominance with Kez and Ian running their boots off and Seb and Scotty providing valuable outlets on the flanks.

The Reds’ dominance translated into a glowing opportunity to get a 2 goal cushion as a flowing move down the right lead to a pin-point cross which Whattam blasted just over the cross-bar.

As the half wore on, our fitness levels again proved lacking as BOBs asserted midfield dominance with their defenders being largely unchallenged. A free-kick given away for 30 yards out saw BOBs whip it in to the box and the Reds static defence was no match for an on-rushing winger who headed to ball home to tie things up: 2-2.

Heads dropped and the Reds were chasing the game after that. Exhausted players were strewn across the park as the final whistle blew. Whilst no-one was happy with the result, all players gave their all with commitment and desire growing stronger each week. Only a matter of time before the Reds get the results that they deserve!