Thursday, December 08, 2005
Stunned Silence
My programme article from City's home game against Canvey Island on 3rd December 2005.
While one of my teams has made a pretty good start to the season, my other team has not. City have done well so far and find themselves in a solid 3rd place in the Conference, well placed for a promotion push. My 6-aside team, on the other hand, hasn’t quite hit form yet, and finds itself languishing in the lower reaches of the University’s Friday night 6-aside league. This is not a complete surprise. The team is called Team 54 because there are 54 teams in the competition and we thought we might as well let people know where we expected to finish.
Everything had, unfortunately, been going as anticipated. We’d scraped a few draws but had generally been out played – one week we lost both our matches 4-0, which meant it was only just worth us turning up as a walkover is given as a 5-0 defeat. I’d even felt comfortable enough to offer the incentive of a round of drinks for the team if we won both games one week. Everything changed last Friday however as we surged up the league (one place) after a stunning series of results. The pitch was covered with snow and looked unplayable, but there was no way our matches were going to be postponed. You will be delighted to hear that the conditions didn’t affect our slick passing game at all, with just as many passes as usual going astray. Our first match was a solid 0-0 draw that we could (some would say should) have won. It was the second game that represented the real breakthrough.
The game had been hard-fought, with challenges flying in all over the place and both goalkeepers being tested by shots skipping off the icy surface. Early in the second half it looked like business as usual as the ball was poked into our net. However it was ruled out, much to the opposition’s dismay, as the shot had been struck from just inside the area. The match was heading for a draw when, with only seconds remaining at the end of the game, Team 54’s influential midfielder Matt Soper (our highest paid player, signed on a pint-per-goal contract at the start of the season) scored the all-important winning goal: a 9-yard left footed screamer that crept inside the left post. No doubt it’ll be on Match of the Day’s Goals of the Month list for November.
As the final whistle went, all were stunned. At the 14th attempt, we’d won a game. Our captain, Damien Goy was speechless. We undertook the necessary ritual of writing the scores on the board with a spring in our step before finding our way to the pub, where Matt was denied his pint because, as with so many lower league teams, our finances are a bit tight.
The team is now confident that we’ve finally hit some form and can finish the term on a high, perhaps with a couple of draws. While the pessimists may be praying for more snow to come to our aid, I see that as unnecessarily negative. Team 54 must be seen as genuine lower mid-table prospects after picking up 4 points out of 6. I’ll up-date you on our progress in a few weeks, as I’m sure you’ll all be desperate to find out how we’re getting on.
While one of my teams has made a pretty good start to the season, my other team has not. City have done well so far and find themselves in a solid 3rd place in the Conference, well placed for a promotion push. My 6-aside team, on the other hand, hasn’t quite hit form yet, and finds itself languishing in the lower reaches of the University’s Friday night 6-aside league. This is not a complete surprise. The team is called Team 54 because there are 54 teams in the competition and we thought we might as well let people know where we expected to finish.
Everything had, unfortunately, been going as anticipated. We’d scraped a few draws but had generally been out played – one week we lost both our matches 4-0, which meant it was only just worth us turning up as a walkover is given as a 5-0 defeat. I’d even felt comfortable enough to offer the incentive of a round of drinks for the team if we won both games one week. Everything changed last Friday however as we surged up the league (one place) after a stunning series of results. The pitch was covered with snow and looked unplayable, but there was no way our matches were going to be postponed. You will be delighted to hear that the conditions didn’t affect our slick passing game at all, with just as many passes as usual going astray. Our first match was a solid 0-0 draw that we could (some would say should) have won. It was the second game that represented the real breakthrough.
The game had been hard-fought, with challenges flying in all over the place and both goalkeepers being tested by shots skipping off the icy surface. Early in the second half it looked like business as usual as the ball was poked into our net. However it was ruled out, much to the opposition’s dismay, as the shot had been struck from just inside the area. The match was heading for a draw when, with only seconds remaining at the end of the game, Team 54’s influential midfielder Matt Soper (our highest paid player, signed on a pint-per-goal contract at the start of the season) scored the all-important winning goal: a 9-yard left footed screamer that crept inside the left post. No doubt it’ll be on Match of the Day’s Goals of the Month list for November.
As the final whistle went, all were stunned. At the 14th attempt, we’d won a game. Our captain, Damien Goy was speechless. We undertook the necessary ritual of writing the scores on the board with a spring in our step before finding our way to the pub, where Matt was denied his pint because, as with so many lower league teams, our finances are a bit tight.
The team is now confident that we’ve finally hit some form and can finish the term on a high, perhaps with a couple of draws. While the pessimists may be praying for more snow to come to our aid, I see that as unnecessarily negative. Team 54 must be seen as genuine lower mid-table prospects after picking up 4 points out of 6. I’ll up-date you on our progress in a few weeks, as I’m sure you’ll all be desperate to find out how we’re getting on.
