Beaten By The Better Team

It's been a long old day today. Work on the Sunday night was longer than expected, (not 12 hours, but just felt longer!) and a change in schedule due to extreme tiredness means that for once, I am awake on a Monday evening, albeit nearly falling asleep again.

Football on Sunday was good for once. For the first time in a couple of weeks, we had a real test on our hands against a team from Luton. St.John's they were called and before kick-off, we found out they were in fact the County Cup's losing finalists last season. A huge test for the up and coming Mowsbury Athletic. This next passage is pretty much a match report, so if you have no interest in my football career, please skip to the bit entitled, "The Wall is A Bastard". Thanks.

Conditions were awful. It was peeing it down at a rate usually seen in the rainy season in Vietnam. We started incredibly tentatively. St.John's were the much better team for the first 20 minutes. They went 1-0 up about 10 minutes in thanks to a cross-come-shot that was inadvertatantly deflected into my top corner by our left back. Not much you can do as a goalkeeper when the ball is pinballing around.. Still, a long way to go and I put it out of my head as soon as possible. Minutes later however, they were through on goal again, and I am happy to report that I made a very good one-on-one save to keep the score at 1-0. From the resulting corner, I made a very good claim and suddenly felt very confident amongst our team of struggling starters. Not long after though, they were through again and only a poor finish from their striker kept us from the worst start possible. Time after time they were carving us open like a Christmas Turkey, with one and two touch football. We were chasing shadows.

We had our chances. We put a couple wide and a volley from our left midfielder grazed the bar after a delicious cross, but it just wasn't happening. We went into the half-time break 1-0 down, but certainly not out.

In the 2nd half, we had a bit of a re-shuffle and played much better. Creating chances but lacking quality in the final third, (I sound like Harry Redknapp!), and then they scored again. A decent cross from the left hand side across the 6-yard box and a simple tap-in for their striker. I could do little about it. After that, our heads went down and we let them control the game. We kept them at bay until the end, where they scored two more breakaway goals while we pushed forward looking for a glimmer of hope.

So, we lost 4-0, but I enjoyed yesterday's game more than the rest of the games we've already had this season put together. My performance was good, making a few saves, (one for the Sky Sports cameras!) and despite conceding 4, and I was happy I was kept busy, and more importantly, awake, but just a shame about the final result. They were just too good..

We can concentrate on the league now. Anyway...

The Wall is a bastard. (Told you!) That Sunday night at work he literally sat in his chair for 8 hours, blaming his dislocated knee and now sprained ankle for being useless and dictating what should be done and should not be done. The rumours that I may be transferred to day shifts in exchange for someone who isn't doing so well, cannot be true enough in my mind. I want them to be true anyway! We've got the Crimbo Do coming up aswell... which will be ... interesting.

As for the issue with that girl from last Friday? After many probing texts from her, I have decided that I'm not going there. End.

I hope you all have a good week. I'm certainly looking forward to tomorrow anyway. As I dust off the old golf bats and go and have a good whack around Mowsbury GC with The Angry One and Marrrrrrio! We're going to be crap...

Cya x