Mario writes:. . . And with the last kick of the match Mario wins the
game for Recreativo. A wonderful 25-yd left foot shot, come cross in the top
corner of Sloane's goal. It capped a great performance by the
little right back and completed the perfect hat-trick; header (yeah I know),
right foot, left foot. Ring, ring . . . ring, ring . . . Damn, it was
just a dream !!
Adam was ringing to
confirm the game was still on, even after all the rain the night before. KO was
at 2. The Clapham Common grass was rain sodden, muddy and our pitch had little pools of water
scattered around. Where was the ref ? He thought the game was cancelled after all the rain the night before.
Discussions were
made as to the rules when the home team couldn't get a ref and should we steal
the points? In the end we started the game with Steve, the League's Secretary, to deputise as the
man in black until another hastily booked official arrived.
With only 12
players, as opposed to the usual 17, we were till up for it. Adam had managed
to find a goalie last minute (Conor), who proved to be a very good recruitment, as in the first half he kept
us in the game and the score down to 1-1. We had gone ahead after good approach play in midfield from Joe H, he put through Liam with a
perfect pass, who sprinted with the ball on the right flank, leaving defenders
behind in his tiny, little wake and on hearing a call from Max in the
middle of the box, drilled the ball across for him to slot home for his first
of his two goals.
At the start of the
second half and the arrival of the match referee, things started to go downhill
. We hit the self-destruct button as is our thing. Adam had gone in goal for Conor and we started to
lose our concentration. A misunderstanding between Adam and 'Big' Dan in the six-yard area allowed a ball that should have been cleared,
'have it!' style, was left invitingly for Sloane's forward to react the quicker
and stab
home for 2-1. Big Dan's head dropped, he started arguing
with the ref who booked him. They scored a third and a missed judged, tame
shot, which allegedly swerved viciously, according to Adam, saw their
lead increase to 4-1.
Was this going to be the drubbing we were dreading ?
Possibly. Ben kicked out stupidly and felled one of their players, which gave
the ref no option but to send him off. Down to ten, no chance. But for
some reason we started playing better football, more composed. A free-kick for
us just outside the box. Who was going to take it ? Joe H said Dave should, he said. Dave had a go, he whipped it in and the ball flew over
Sloane's goalkeeper and dipped under the bar, 4-2. Surely not.
We continued to
attack and there were a few goal mouth scrambles from corners and long throws
for us to score again. Eventually one of these goal mouth scrambles came to fruition, 4-3. Big Dan started
going forward more and more. Opponents just bounced off his frame as he carried the ball forward. Another outburst of frustration with the
ref after a disputed free-kick and he decided to take himself off, before being
sent off.
It was the last incident of the game. A game which, with a
Sloane side much weaker than the team we played last season at a pivotal point of the campaign, were for the taking.
Special mention for
their great performances to Conor, Liam, Chris, Dave and of course Mario, Man
Of The Match again !!
Ring, ring . . .
Team : Conor, Adam, Mario, 'Big' Dan, Chris, Paul, Joe H,
Ben, Tom, Dave, Max, Liam