You Shall Not Pass!

As I watched the green bibs being handed out I have to admit I was slightly concerned with the balance of the teams. I looked across at the Greens and thought they looked a very strong team and that we might be in for a bit of a hard game. The Greens were sporting the more attacking team and with Guy and Geir in the engine room I thought that we were going to be doing well to keep in touch.
But from the kick off my concerns seemed unfounded and I have to admit I felt a little foolish for harbouring such concerns. The Colours, were straight on the offensive and before you could blink were holding a 4-0 lead. The Greens didn’t know what had hit them…..by the time they realised that they were leaving their back line short was it already too late. Adrian and Jacob were doing their best and were putting in solid displays but were finding themselves outnumbered. Chib came back to help support but found his right midfield slot not being covered and was covering 2 positions. The Colours had however found a good balance and when The Greens formidable attacking line up came forth the Colours defence rolled up their sleeves and did their best not to allow anything to pass and did some good old fashioned battling.

They threw legs, heads, toes, heels, knees…anything bar their hands in the way….With Momodou leading at the back, Matt, Pierce, Dave, Marcus were all on cracking form in defence and with the midfield of Tim, Darren and Fraser and an attacking line of myself and Zak, the balance seemed perfect……and Zak pulled in a phenomenal game up front, every cross and pass that seemed to fall into the Greens area seemed to end up at Zaks feet and shortly after in the back of the net. At one point I put a low cross in and Zak finished it with from I could see with his groin. The Colours were playing a very quick counter-attacking game which worked well due to the attacking nature of the Greens which often left themselves short at the back. The Greens were very dangerous up front with the pace of Pete, Rich and Joe and being followed up by Guy, Geir, Dan and Jarvis but they were constantly being thwarted by the Colours defence and with the Colours having Tim and Daz in the engine room in midfield they were quickly able to clear their lines and go on the offensive.
Part of the game was a bit of a blur for me as I found myself in the way of an Adrian clearance and may have seen little birdies flying around my head briefly and any onlookers may have seen me running round in small circles muttering to myself. The Greens did manage to bring the game back to within a couple of goals but the Colours managed to keep them at arms reach with a three/four goal lead for most of the game. The Greens did find a better balance later on with Rich dropping deeper but by then the damage was already done. Zak walked away with a bag full of goals, the Colours defence had held up like a brick wall, the midfield a bunch of assists and the Greens left to rue a forward heavy balanced team.

Young Vs Old!

As I finish tightening my laces I look up across the flood light lit football pitch, people are warming up and raring to go. Tonight there is a game happening which comes up every so often and only occurs when there is the right mix of players….Young versus Old!!!!
Now there is normally a pattern that arises from these matches, the olds are very organised and disciplined in their positioning and the young whipper snappers aren’t so much…..and tonight’s game appeared to fall into that all too familiar ilk.
Billy and Guy were manning the centre for golden oldies with Billy constantly shouting for them to keep their shape, “Keep ye shape ye ole fellows”. Darren, Joe and Rich formed a strong front line…and the respected elders forged into an early lead, with Guy singing his teams praises from the early exchanges “Well done ye Oldies, let us embrace this fine game we play and go forth to victory!”
But the youngsters then started to take the initiative and forge forward with Zak and James leading the front line, Momodou again was a rock at the back with Matt (thunderboot) and Pierce alongside him. Dan took up the mantle in midfield. But with a back line of Tim, Tom and Barry the oldies put a brick wall across the back line which the youngsters battled well to try and break down.
Billy tried to motivate his team “Are we made of the metal of the finest swords or mere whimpering flowers? What say ye? What say yeeeeee???”, and with this the goldens pulled the difference back to one and it appeared the game might be their’s for the taking, but alas it was not to be. A resource the youngsters had used throughout the game to good effect was the Momodou long ball, with Dan, Zak and James reaping the rewards up front.
Darren called on his team to try and battle back, “let us embrace this game and hold it against our bosoms and show these pretenders of the younger generation how the fine art of football is to be played”. But despite these calls the youngsters came out on top in what I have to say was a very good game of football, excellent stuff played from both sides!!
As I left the pitch I’m sure I heard Darren muttering under his breath, “the battle may be over today, but ye youngsters be wary of the sleeping giant, his time will come as will ye comeuppance, but that is for another day!” Not sure what he meant so I went home!
But it was a very good game of football and despite my comments on the elders I do reluctantly add that I am no whipper snapper myself anymore and will soon be added to the ranks of the Elders, but not today!

[Peoples comments and views may have been altered for entertainment purposes].