Ah, it's good to have the first men's game under our belts. It's even better to have the first victory of the season under our belts.
The game against FC Griggs was sweet revenge from last season. It was also a game that was truncated by darkness, and punctuated by horrific officiating.
We had a bit of "home-field advantage" going into the game Saturday evening, as several of our opposing players got hopelessly lost going to St. Johns'. But the lack of lights meant that we had a shortened second half, and we had to finish our business before sun-down.
And so we did....despite the ref cancelling our goals and calling niggling, non-existent fouls on us. We started off frantic. The transition from our summer home on the small pitch clearly hurt us, as our positioning was way-off. We lost composure and made a lot of errant passes. This led to their goal mid-way in the first half. Fortunately, we picked ourselves up, and got our equalizer just before the interval. It came off a nice lay-off from Mumbles, and Peter rifled it home.
As much as our small-pitch practices hurt us in the first half, it helped with our stamina in the second. The timing of our passes got better as well. Our second goal came after Ramon was brought down in the box. He then fired the ensuing PK onto the right post, and got the correct bounce this time. The "nail in the coffin" came from Ali as darkness descended. Final 3-1.
We should have had a fourth. Parham took the ball to the end line on the right, and crossed a beautiful ball to Mumbles who had sprinted all the way from mid-field to meet it. The goal was called off because of "off sides," which is clearly an error. Fortunately, the game was in hand by that time, and the ref's error didn't cost us.
It was a great team win. I think Imi played every position on the pitch at some point that day (thanks for the flexibility), Robb had some fine saves, Le Chef made some enormous sprints and the defensive-line was solid. Everyone contributed. Having said that, it is clear that we have to improve. I think everyone made at least one pass directly at our opponent, and when we hold onto the ball too long, the "open man" gets closed down. We have to find the "open man" who is usually, at least on Saturday, on the wings. I think James was wide open on the right flank at least 5 times.
Having four subs helped us as well, but please realize that we all have to share minutes. I try to do the best job I can to make sensible substitutions. If I am making frequent subs in your position, it either means I think you are out of shape (like Jeffy....doh!)...or I expect you to run, run, run.
OK, that's a wrap. No Wednesday nights anymore because students have returned, and there's no space. Stay tuned for possible Labor-Day kick-about.
