Spud 1168174665|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
There’s no doubting he has a certain swagger about him. There’s no doubting he has style and charisma. However, I think the after match dressing room was more than a little surprised to find out that Zahid has an Italian bloodline or so our opposition thought!
The third round of the League Knockout cup once again took us on our travels this time to Catcliffe and the Norfolk Arms, currently lying in mid-table in Division 1A.
I think the pre-match omens were good from the moment that Pacey Pete, Butch and I worked out how to put the heating on in the changing rooms. The opposition’s psychology of freezing our nuts off before kick-off was thwarted.
Saulio made two changes from the team that won convincingly last time out at The Nags. Mark Harby’s absence opened the door for a return at left back to Alec. Saulio also sacrificed himself to allow Wadds to take up a central midfield position alongside Chris H.
The pitch was long and flat which, again, seemed to give positive vibes. The three subs were joined by groupies Kev and Steve standing on the very convenient bank to oversee the proceedings.
The Buoys started the much brighter of the two teams. Pacey Pete, even without his lucky shorts, was dragging the opposition’s defence all over the pitch leaving huge gaps for Darren to run into.
Therefore, it was somewhat against the run of play when the hosts took an unexpected lead. A long ball/clearance from the defence saw the No.10 latch onto the pass, hold off the attentions of Ian, round Butch and stroke the ball into the empty net.
Perhaps it served a wake up call or normal service was resumed as it wasn’t long before the Buoys were back on level terms. The Italian was put clear on goal and although the keeper closed him down quickly his chip/shot was rolling agonisingly wide when Banjo appeared like lightening at the back post to slide home the equaliser.
Soon afterwards we lost Ian at the back as he outfoxed himself trying to control the ball and subsequently pulled his hamstring. Therefore, this gave way to a first appearance for the Buoys for Jamie slotting in alongside Torrs.
It wasn’t long before the free-flowing football that the fans have come to expect resulted in a second goal for the whites. There were loud appeals for handball as a ricochet came off Banjo’s arm to land at the Italians feet. However, he placed a beautiful right footed shot from the edge of the box in off the right post – a cracker.
It wasn’t long before it was 3-1 as a great cross from the left by Wadds dipped over the covering defender and the Italian powered home his second of the game with a bullet header.
It all seemed to be going well, a bit too well and perhaps just for entertainment value Nick firstly placed the ball high into the trees when in a great position to kill the game. Soon afterwards the home team’s left back went on a Maradona-esque run, i.e. no one put in a challenge, played it out wide and a great curling cross was met by Kevin Francis to nod home to make it 3-2 at the break.
Wadds then laid it on the line in the half-time team talk. We employed the 51st variation of a midfield formation and strategy for the same game in attempt to stop the amount of space the opposition were getting and to get the defence out from their ever deepening position.
It certainly worked as in the second half Norfolk Arms were stifled as a creative force. However, our forwards did seem to be getting a bit more isolated and the game was even-stevens for the opening period.
There was a rare chance for Norfolk but Butch raced off his line to smother the danger. Butch was subject of an injury scare to his left arm when Banjo very scarily volunteered to go in goal should the need arise. The look of fear alone on mine and Saul’s face at this statement inspired Butch to persevere…
However, replete with spats, a Tommy gun, sharp pressed suit and trilby (not to mention Kev’s shin pads) the Italian finished off the opposition almost single-handedly. First he took a page out of Pacey Pete’s book to fire in another beauty from the edge of the box. A right foot curler over the keeper and into the top corner to chalk up his hat-trick.
A fourth, and a 5-2 scoreline, wasn’t long in coming as he was on hand to finish off a bit of a scramble in the goal mouth from an original chance that I think Pete had.
The introduction of Saulio and I didn’t disrupt proceedings as Pete added a sixth for a well deserved goal to cap another great performance from the number 9.
And so the match ended with another convincing scoreline and performance from the Buoys of 2A. Everyone did their job and the understanding of how we play as a team is evident.
The only consolation the home team could take was that they’d been beaten by the better team and that they had several yellow cards, mainly for endless dissent, to reflect upon for the rest of their league campaign.
The heady heights of the cup Quarter-Finals await and who knows we may EVEN get a home draw next time round (and Chris H may EVEN get that elusive first goal…)
The three games to date have shown that there should be no fear in whoever we are drawn against. Three teams from higher divisions have all been dispatched. Therefore, if the cup form carries on into the league then, should promotion be achieved, there’s no reason to fear the future.
The availability of a ‘squad’ to choose from is a bonus too. The recent additions of Nick and now Jamie have given us some much needed strength and having some real competition for places will serve us well in the coming months.
Well done to everyone and onto Penistone…
