Lane Cove West 3, Gordon 0

18 August 2007, Blackman

Again today we struggled for a long while against lesser opponents. But in the end we came rampagingly good, and could easily have won by a lot more: should have done, probably.

We started, as we prefer, up the hill, but with an unusual line-up: Tim and Eric in midfield, and both got in shots early on.

But we were generally slow to settle, and quiet, again, until Jon B brought the game spectacularly alight after about 10 minutes. Winning the ball around halfway, he surged forwards past a several defenders, who hesitated in the suspicion (shared by some of Jon’s team-mates more familiar with the attacking phases of play) that maybe he was going to offload, and return quietly to the back of the defence. But no: on and on he went, until at the edge of the area he let fly a shot to the keeper’s left. The latter got a hand to it, but only to deflect it on its path to goal: 1-0.

Jon’s gasping progress back to the car-park end was slow, giving time for ruminations about when a goal was last scored by someone playing in the back four. (The simple answer is May 2004: Eric scored an own-goal! But, if we confine ourselves to goals for: unless any of Peter’s many goals in the last few years were scored on the few occasions when he’s been centre-back, I think that the answer might be 2001, when Mick Mol scored from - I suspect – full-back. The records suggest – and I know that I will be corrected very quickly if I am wrong – that none of Jon, Tony, Howard, Martins C or P, Tim or Eric have scored for us since then: or had done before today: read on).

I went off injured soon after this, and with the help of the trusty clipboard, recorded the ensuing facts as follows:

13 minutes: Mark S shot, hit bar, Dave header missed.

16 minutes: Gordon lob, just over.

19 minutes: Bob cross from right, Phil header at far post [I’d like to be able to tell you why the header didn’t go in, but Ernie was pacing in the way]

24 minutes: good Dave pass to Mark S but shot needed more power.

33 minutes: Howard shot [That’s all it says! Did I record this fact as remarkable in itself?! Howard was, though, at this point playing up front, having spotted that whilst we had an abundance of defenders, strikers were now an endangered species].

39 minutes: Bob low cross. Dave good first time-shot saved.

So 2-0 it was at half time. But attentive readers will spot that I’ve only told you about one goal. Unlike Alan McGilvray, I’m now confessing readily that I missed a bit of action. (He missed the end of the first tied Test in cricket history – Brisbane, 1960 - having got an early plane home, as he thought that the game was petering out. He told – but only many years later - of the sinking feeling he got when walking across the tarmac at Mascot & asking someone how the Test had ended. “A draw” he was told; “No, not a draw: is there another funny result that sounds a bit like a draw…?” The next day his newspaper column, courtesy of information from kind colleagues, wrote of the drama that had unfolded at Brisbane: all quite accurate - he just failed to mention that he hadn’t been there!).

I missed our second goal not because I’d sloped off, but because I’d gone to my car to get a towel as the ice under my hamstring was melting all over my chair. But I’m told that Dave struck well a rebound from a shot (by Peter?) which had been saved; or possibly hit the post? But anyway, it was a good goal by Dave, and long enough before half time for more statistical ruminations: will this be the first half of the season in which we score more than two? (No, turned out to be the answer, as you already know.)

Satisfied as we were with the score at half time, there was general agreement that we could play a lot better. Which eventually we did, as the clipboard reports:

44 minutes: Mark S good through-ball to Bob in area; tackle, corner.

52 minutes: Tony one-handed save, low, right post; Gordon hit bar/post from corner.

53 minutes: Steve L low cross; keeper half saved. Steve L pass to Mark S, shot, corner.

54 minutes: Bob cross, Mark S glancing header across goal.

Dave winning lots of ball in the air.

57 minutes: Phil wins ball back on left, but cross to keeper.

62 minutes: Phil cross from left almost in.

63 minutes Peter header just wide.

64 minutes: Peter shot just over.

65 minutes: goal! Bob trickily wriggles for by-line on right when turning back looked easier; finds space to chip cross to left; Eric steams into the area to power downward header inside far post. [Yet another goal from a Bob cross. But not another back-four goal, as Eric was playing in midfield at the time]. 3-0.

69 minutes: move of the game. Steve L passes up the wing from right-back. Mark S holds it up and slips it inside; a couple more passes see Bob bearing down on goal; the move is worth a goal, but his dipping shot is just over.

Our fluency has now returned. It’s exciting: I hardly notice the soggy seat! Surely we’re going to score a few more?

71 minutes: Tony comes out: shot over him is just wide.

73 minutes: Eric hits bar!

74 minutes: John S long-range shot just pushed left by keeper. Peter header just over from Bob corner; Bob shot hits post; Howard header over [a big minute, that one!]

But, dominate as we did, we couldn’t finish off with a flourish, and 3-0 it remained. Tony’s sixth clean sheet of the season, and - eventually! - a good performance all round. All three goals from novice scorers this season: an impressive eleven of us have now scored.

Jon B was third in MOTM, not just for the goal but also for another solid display at the back: Eric’s goal & shots & mid-field running got him second (will he ever want to go back to full-back?!); and Bob was first – unusual for a non-scorer when we’ve won comfortably, but his running and crossing in particular made him the popular choice.

So fourth is where we will finish, since we now find ourselves in a lonely 11-point range in the table: no-one below for 6 points, but we’re 5 behind third. We’re in a class of our own!

And a juicy prospect next week: we play Northbridge A who are top, but only a point ahead of second & third, both of whom look to have easy games. So Northbridge will want to win, to secure the championship. But we will want them not to be the only team to beat us twice, and ourselves to exit over-35 football on a high.

Thanks to Pete Nolan for reffing our game and various subs (& then Stuart) for running the line; likewise to John S & Howard at 3pm; to Ernie for managing; to Tim for doing the beers; and to Nigel for organizing the BBQ – which was very welcome as we watched All-age win a tense game 4-3, and so avoid relegation.

MARK BRYANT