Proof, if needed, that Recreativo don't play as well as we
know we can on weed. Dandelion, ground-elder, dock-leaf. We just can't handle
it. Heaven knows what they're treating the grass with in Stockwell these days
but the weeds love it and the foxes or badgers or whatever has been digging
holes seem partial too. It looked like a battle had been fought and lost on
this patch of English soil. Even so we bossed large areas of it. The area
around the centre circle, for example, was ours all ours. And the area right in
the corner by their goal line. No one could get near us there. If we can extend
this dominance to the 18 yards around their goal-mouth we'll have nothing to
worry about.
Project Clapham are a well-drilled side - and not in the
farmer planting seeds sense. When they get players into goal-scoring areas
(which wasn't often today) and goal-stopping areas (quite often) they tend to
do the business. Number 9 lashed one in from 20 yards almost before the ref had
got play under way. Of course he had got play under way, but we were still
mulling on weedy stuff and struggling to focus.
Soon after, a good
old-fashioned winger got a good old-fashioned cross in and a good old-fashioned
boot found our good old-fashioned net. Our makeshift keeper (me) had a half of
two halves, one moment giving away a free kick which, to call a schoolboy error
would be disrespectful of any school boy (and girl) over the age of 6; the next
making an incredible one-handed save; and the next incurring a bloodied skull
at the foot of an oncoming striker. But, for long stretches of the first half
our makeshift keeper had nothing to do but try to stamp weeds down. Meanwhile
at the entertaining end, Ben thumped one past their goalie to confirm the
growing sense among our buoyant band that we could get more than a headache and
a wildlife walk out of this game. Even an unlucky deflection that saw us go in
3-1 down at half time didn't cramp our swagger.
Makeshift goalie No 2 for the second half - Dave - showed
how it's done. All calm assurance and sticking to the rules - but for picking
up what the ref judged to be a passback - a 50 yard belter of a tackle from
Aaron. If only all our passing was as powerful and accurate.
For the last half hour it was like Man U laying siege to
Spurs' goal. Except we actually dug tunnels, lobbed tar over the parapet, cut
off their water supply and laid waste to their harvest. And although it was to
no actual avail it made us all feel better about ourselves. On the way home
some of us started to appreciate why history is so well endowed sieges. They
help get stuff off your chest. Here's to the grounds-people getting non-grassy
stuff off the pitch for next time.
Team: Aaron Gayle, Adam Bradbury, Dave Perrett, Tom Perrett, Daniel Fergus, Max Bland, John Stowell, Jimmy Lloyd, Tom Winter, Ben Chambers, Chris Chambers, Joe Haley