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| Select a match report to view:Homerton II 8 v 1 Clare III | Homerton 3 v 1 Clare | Homerton 1 v 0 Kings | Homerton II 1 v 5 Corpus II Homerton 2 v 3 Robinson | Homerton II 8 v 4 Catz III | Homerton 1 v 5 Downing | Homerton II 10 v 5 Kings II Homerton 3 v 2 Selwyn | Homerton 0 v 2 Churchill | Homerton II 5 v 5 Fitz III | Homerton 9 v 0 Peterhouse Homerton 3 v 6 Clare | Homerton II 3 v 6 Pembroke II | Homerton II 3 v 1 Christs | Homerton 2 v 1 Cauis Homerton 1 v 2 Emma | Homerton 1 v 1 Fitz II | Homerton II 6 v 0 CFTC | Homerton II v Cauis III Homerton 5 v 0 Johns II | Homerton II 1 v 6 Churchill III | Homerton II 6 v 3 Pembroke III Watts' Season Round-Up | Homerton 3 (4 v 2p) 3 Orient | PostGrads 5 v 2 UnderGrads | Homerton 4 v 3 Old Boys
Homerton II 8 v 1 Clare III (Friendly) by Josh
Jackson Goals: Kam 2, Jon 2, Josh, Dan, Dave We turn up at Clare’s pitches with a depleted and inexperienced team of 12 players. As the game started, we clearly had the superior team yet were unable to get the coherency and the final ball eluded us. It was not until Clare’s butter-fingered keeper let the ball run through his legs into the back of net that we remembered the point of the game. Dave and I, two drugged up centre midfielders, set about making a mockery of Clare’s defence with incisive balls to the strikers and the wings. A tremendous solo effort by me resulted in another goal: chipped back over the defender from the touchline and volleyed into the bottom corner. Jon scored a cracker and Dave scored a majestic lob which was, however, disputed by the Clare team. Clare grabbed a goal before half-time via some unusually sloppy defending on our part. More goals were scored after half-time, including a beautiful touch by Dan on the near post and Kam’s superbly flighted curling ball from the edge of the area. Overall, the potential is definitely there, however, finishing the game with 6 centre forwards…the discipline is clearly not. Man of the match: Ian- a commanding presence in the centre of defence. Lloyd: they don’t call him safe hands for nothing, he can kick alright now too! Ian: Man of the match, very solid and a good bet for first team football before long. Ed: Solid partnership with Ian in the centre, and strong runs into the middle. Tim: A very good performance at left back…not bad for a rugby boy! Stu: A great find, solid right back as long as his lungs hold up, very long throw! Jon: Quality on the left wing and protected Tim very well on defence. Neil: Difficult introduction to seconds football Dave: Solid in midfield and always looking for that goal. Josh: With a license to shoot this could be a promising partnership with Dave in midfield. Dan: Solid Niall Quinn figure, worked well with Kam up front. Kam: Clearly too good for us, and it showed. Subs: Tom: Static, though his passing is second to none. And a special mention to Finnie standing in as ref…you son, were shit! Homerton 3 v 1 Clare (Friendly) by Jack Holland Goals: Sam (3) We started nervously; it was obvious we were
a team consisting of some new players, many of whom had never played together
before. Clare started the brighter
and put us under some early pressure, until Sam got goal side of his marker to
finish well, following a good run by myself.
The goal settled us slightly, enabling us to improve towards half time,
although we still looked hurried and eager to play the long ball.
The second half saw us more composed but lacking spark, it took a Clare
equaliser to motivate us into pushing forward.
Sam, angry at having missed an open-goal minutes earlier, pounced to
slide home his second. He didn’t
have to wait long for his third. Kam’s
excellent through ball (he kicked the floor when shooting!) was met by a
determined tackle with the keeper, leaving the easy job of heading into an
abandoned goal and celebrating a hat-trick.
A fourth should have been added later, but I performed my best Iwan
Roberts impression from 18 yards. We
deserved to win, which is just as well since Clare are a division below us. Despite not playing anywhere near our potential there were
obvious plus points. Notable
performances included Riaz who was lively down the left on his debut, fellow
debutant Laby demonstrated his impressive close control, Finny and Mike were a
solid defensive duo and Tom Cantrell was excellent at right back.
Tommy Hales anchored a midfield faced with the undesirable task of
replacing the departed Al and Bill. Sam
was man of the match with a very encouraging hat-trick.
We won, but we weren’t great… isn’t that what they say makes Man U
and Arsenal so good??!! Sav: relatively untroubled, massive goal kick! TC: excellent, experienced, got forward well too Fin: Solid, linked well at the back Mike: Solid, thought he was guna smack someone Josh: 2 class cross-field balls, he’ll be relieved to find out he’s not a left back Jack: set up first goal well Hales: worked hard, has potential to boss midfield with physical presence Mo: showed potential to open up defences when he gets in ‘the hole’ Andy: we already know he can tackle, this season might see him get forward more often Laby: good close control Sam: Scored a hat-trick - man of the match Subs: Riaz: impressive debut down the left Kam: did well often with his back to goal Dan: did well enough out of position Homerton 1 v 0 Kings (League), by Jack Holland Goals: Sam We entered this match with our captain (Hales), Tom Cantrell, Kam, Mike and Dan all unavailable... even Dave was off playing with the girls. In steps Tom Sav. From the start we looked better than last week, actually managing to knock the ball about a bit, despite a dry, grassless pitch and strong wind. Only a few minutes in Sam knocked the ball in front of me and I hit the post from distance - things were looking good. Labi and Andy were competitive in midfield and our defence were sitting high, preventing much getting past them. Following a throw-in I crossed from the right, Sam managed to get the ball under control and shot left-footed, 1-0. We could have had more before half time, Sam rounded the keeper following a good through ball but couldn't pull his shot back into the net. We were happy to go in leading. The second half saw us with the wind behind us. As the game drew on we became more focused on retaining the lead. The defence continued to play well, mike and Fin were intervening in every attack, whilst Will and in particular Ian were excellent on their first-team debuts. Tom Sav remained largely untroubled and Sam nearly put the game beyond reach as he squeezed the ball just left of the post. All in all it was a very pleasing result, especially considering we weren't at full strength. When the ball was on the ground we passed well, Mo was often involved down the left, linking well with Andy and the strikers. So, still not great - but much better and very effective at times, much less one-dimensional than last week. We won, in fact we're unbeaten. Nice one Sav... I cant decide who was man of the match - but, without Tom Sav's tactics (pushing the defence up high in particular) we might have struggled. So even though he will have busier games Sav gets m-o-t-m this week. Finnie, Mike and Ian were all superb. Will was good on his debut Labi and Andy were competitive in the middle Jack: hit the post and crossed for the goal Mo: linked well, a lot of our passing moves went through him Riaz: excellent (motm contender), chased back and linked well with Sam, his presence in the air was also a big plus point Sam: scored his fourth goal in two games - cant argue with that Sub: Josh: thrown into the middle of the park and put himself about well Homerton II 1 v 5 Corpus II (League) by Jack Holland Goals: Jon Captains comments: 'A mish-mash of shite' (Lloyd Beecham) 'Unfortunate' (Ginger Chris) 2 pens, 1 free kick and the seconds got done over... Homerton 2 v 3 Robinson (League) by Tom Sav Goals: Jack (2) Having beaten Kings the
week previous this game would prove to be a sure test of the newly formed
Homerton side with Robinson likely to be a far stronger outfit.
As with all away games preparation was pisshole but that is something
that we have become accustomed to this indicated by a promising first 10
minutes. We were scrappy, never
really getting the ball under control however lady luck seemed to be on our side
(later to kick us in the balls) with Jack slotting in two to put us 2 – 0 up.
However from this point onward the situation changed drastically and with
sporadic intervals of good play we never looked like a team in charge of the
game. The Robinson midfield pushed
and pressed our defence with quick breaks and incisive runs.
The breakthrough came when a ball was played out to the left hand side
with the left midfielder coming inside and firing a shot on goal.
The ball travelled through two or three bodies shielding Lloyds view who
unfortunately couldn’t hold on, 2-1. Disappointingly
our heads went down immediately and Robinson began to press once more.
We managed to hold them off until half time with some good defending from
Mick and Finny in the middle coupled with Ian and Josh holding off attacks down
the wings. Although the controversy
began with a suspected handball by Finny In the area (more like shoulder)
eagerly contested by several of the Homerton players notably Labi.
Justice prevailed when the donkey who took it hit the crossbar, muppet. The second half proved to
be more controversial in various respects with the ‘qualified’ referee
coming under close and intelligent scrutiny from the players but mostly by the
four strong crowd. The football was
shit with Homerton never bringing the ball down and passing it around in the way
that they are most certainly capable of. Big
holes in the middle gave the Robinson players far too much time to slot balls
behind the hapless defence. The
second breakthrough for Robinson came when a cross was put into the box
seemingly well met by Lloyd. However
the striker conspired to heading Lloyd’s hands (both of which were holding the
ball) resulting in the ball trickling into the back of the net.
Again the referee came under a barrage of abuse not only from the players
(Labi again) but also from a slightly irate crowd.
However, the goal was awarded and the score remained 2-2.
Homerton seemed to lose it with decisions going against them left, right
and centre. They never really
managed to get it back. Labi was
substituted and having jut crossed the sideline ripped the linesman’s flag
from Will’s hands and decided that he would get his revenge by consistently
ruling the Robinson strikers offside (creative linesmanning me thinks). With 10 minutes left Robinson managed to grab the winner with
their influential midfielder slotting one past Lloyd who had previously pulled
of some magnificent saves to keep Homerton in the game.
The final whistle blew and Homerton went home disappointed. Although I wasn’t there
Micky had apparently summed up the performance pretty well, Shit.
The referee was crap but we were worse.
Lets hope that next week the side can pull one out of the bag and give
Downing a scare. Ratings: 1. Lloyd – 7, Unfortunate error with the first goal but showed he is capable at that level with some magnificent combination saves at the end. 2. Josh – 6, Managed to hold off the left wingers well although found himself in the wrong position on occasions. 3. Ian – 7 Had his usual consistent performance putting in good challenges and being in the right place at the right time. 4. Finny – 7 Highlight for me was his picking up of the ball out of the back of the net and sprinting to the half way line with it after the third goal. 5. Mick –8 ROCK 6. T.C – 6 Playing out of position at times showing that he is a natural right-sided player. Battled well. 7. Jack – 8 Never gave up. Ran everywhere and battled hard 8.Halesy – 7 Threw himself around a lot but needed to play higher up the pitch. Good presence on the pitch and never gave up. 9. Labi – 6 ANGRY. 10. Sam – 6 Never really got in the game. Perhaps guilty of not putting enough pressure on the defenders when they were in possession. 11. Mo – 6 Quiet. Pulled together a few good moves down the left but need to play higher up the pitch. Difficult when the midfield is non-exsistent. 12. Kam – 6 Didn’t really have much to do. 13.
Will – 6 Again
not a great deal to do, bit late really. My man of the match would have to be Lloyd for putting his abilities to there best use and showing how much of an improvement he has made in the last year. Dick of the day – Me for finding myself 10 yards on the pitch after the shit decision. Not that I’m bitter!! Homerton II 8 v 4 Catz III (Shield) by Josh Jackson Goals: Watsy (4), Dan, Dave, Jon, Monkey The seconds got their season off the ground today after last fortnight’s “mish-mash of shite” (Lloyd, 2003). Watsy opened the scoring very early on and didn’t really stop afterwards. He scored another soon afterwards and would have got his hat-trick sooner if Dave hadn’t dived to poach Watsy’s header. With the hat-trick completed moments later, the passionate supporters showed their gratitude. Catz grabbed one back which prompted cries of “it’s just that easy lads” from their centre back! Clearly it was not that easy. Watsy got one more and never looked like stopping. Catz were awarded a penalty after Lloyd slaughtered one of their players once the ball had already gone off! They scored the penalty and two more goals after the defence had given up: game won. Jon’s goal was a moment of brilliance, cut inside and shot from long range with his left. Monkey scored with his head, the celebrations of his first Homerton goal somewhat muted by Dave's jumping on him. Dan scored his from nothing; out wide on the wing he took on two defenders and slotted it home. In summary…fucking brilliant, and remembering Catz are a division above us, we should walk this one again. Unless, that is, we are “unfortunate” (Ginge, 2003). Man of the Match: Jon (massive work rate and a fantastic goal) Lloyd: Solid as ever, even managed to hurt someone as jack requested. Ritchie: Glad to have him back, shored up the right side nicely. Monkey: Won everything in the air and dominated completely, nice goal. Tim: Great first time performance at centre back, solid and alert. Rob: Great debut, linked up well with Jon. Ginge: A true captain’s performance, led from the front. Dave: The drugs DO work! Great work rate, worked well with Ed. Ed: This season’s Andy (a complement), but don’t expect him to score! Jon: The second’s most reliable player, definitely man of the match. Dan: Physical strength and surgically precise passing to put Watsy through. Watsy: The legend lives on…a pole for how many he will score this season? Subs: Johnny: Very skilful, with full fitness definitely a starter. Neil: Competent performance at right back. Tom: Trademark slick passing, linked up well with Ginge a few times. Adam: Came on, crawled off clutching his nether-regions. Goals: Wattsy (2), Ed, Monkey, Jon The seconds scraped together a win despite never really turning up. We nearly started it perfectly but Jon could only hit the bar 90 seconds in. Apart from this the first half was under par, conceding 2 goals, one a fluke and one a clearance from in front of the line, which the ref (Adam) decided to give so they wouldn’t shout at him later in the game. Just before half-time Watsy scored his trademark. This momentum carried us into the second half where we looked like a new team and proceeded to score two quick goals, one from Watsy (Dave did try and claim it, but he was in defence at the time!), the other a wonder strike from 30 yards from Jon, but just as all was looking good we fell asleep and conceded two goals, one of which from a free kick, which was given for handling in the area but the ref (Adam) didn’t see so he compromised and gave them a free kick on the edge of the area! 90 minutes was up and it looked like the seconds were heading for a second consecutive defeat in the league. BUT deep into injury time Monkey slotted home an awesome volley, followed by a wonder goal by Ed in the last seconds to secure a win that only the seconds could manage! Man of the Match : Ed (in my opinion) Lloyd – Did well considering weak defence Ritchie – Top all round performance Monkey – Didn’t sober up till second half but then gave his all Dave – Steady at centre back Stu – Well played considering dodgy knee Chris – My mum said if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all Ed – Top quality throughout Jon – Once again ran his socks off, worked well with Ed Avril – Didn’t get much of a chance on the wing, but looked good with the ball Dan – Legend Watsy – Bigger Legend Goals: Sam With an injury/absentee list that would do Addenbrokes proud and a reshuffled side, the boys in blue and white made their way to play an in form, First Division Downing side. Without any signs of a referee, another product of the CUAFLs’ inability to orchestrate a piss up in a brewery, some whistle-less Muppet took the reins and got the game underway. Downing poured forward from the start, their pace, movement and tenacity causing problems for Homerton from the start- Mike, playing in goal, making an astounding one handed save in only the first minute. Downing pressure continued, yet just as our lads started to look settled they took the lead. A simple ball over the top found their forward, who despite being a country mile offside, blasted the ball past Mike. The quizzical looks in the direction of the linesman where in vain, as their bloke running the line was conspicuous in his absence- the limp wristed arse. Goals,
they say, are like buses you wait a while for one then two come at a time- and
so it proved here. A slick Homerton move resulted in a half chance for young
Sam, yet they cleared and went right down the other end and scored: 2-0 Downing.
Then followed Homerton best passage of play, Labi’s labouring in midfield
coupled with the impressive work rate of Riaz created a chance for Jack to put a
rare ball into the Downing area, yet the lack of an aerial threat in the
Homerton ranks saw the ball dispatched out by the defense. Downings’ third
goal came from another marginal offside call; with the defense attempting to
step up quickly being thwarted by the disappearing linesman- TC’s shouts
unfortunately falling on deaf ears. Following this Downing scored a fourth just
before half time, I can’t remember the goal, and it was probably shithouse. The second half was much improvement on the first. The defense was solid and the midfield, relieved of their defensive duties in the most part, were freed up to attack, resulting in a more passing game and the brand of football we have come to associate with Homerton FC. The second half was not without incident either. Labi, now to be known as ‘The Enforcer’, decided to have a piece of some unsuspecting midfielder, much to Downings annoyance, while Finnie and Ian both played their part scrapping with some gobshite Number 9. Such an approach seemed to rile the Downing boys and their passing game so influential in the first half went to rat shit, while Homerton began to find their feet. A long ball/precise 30-yard pass found its way to Sam who hit it beautifully resulting in a deserved goal for the Homerton side. What followed was of a similar pattern, the introduction of Mo adding an edge of quality to Homerton’s attacking play that had been missing before. A couple of half chances followed but it was Downing, or to be more precise the referee, that was to have the final say in the match. Their number 9 went down easier than a cheap whore under a challenge from our Fin and the ref after hearing the bleating from various Downing players awarded a suspicious penalty- the silly wanker. Never mind tho’ boys, the old adage is there is still the league and the plate to play for and it is this writers belief that with a bit of tinkering and training this team has a lot of potential. The work rate was excellent at times and once the midfield and defense were not playing in each other’s pockets, we looked dangerous. You are all aware of the weaknesses so we won’t mention those today. So to next week, some league game in another outpost of Cambridge and hopefully three points! The Scores on the
doors: 1/ Mike- not only is the
boy a handy centre half- he ain’t a bad keeper- He is also available for
birthday’s, Bar Mitzvahs and weddings:
8 2/ Ian – good physical
presence and showed effort… he bled for the cause: 7 3/ Finnie- Tried hard and
nearly started a good ol’ fashioned fight! Good vocal presence too 4/ TC- In a war of
attrition in the centre- worked hard and tackled well 6 5/ Josh- Caught out once
or twice but leads the way endeavour wise. Looks better when he gets himself
forward more. 6 6/Kam- A quiet game for
our Kam but put some quality passes around 6 7/ Andy- Put himself
around, but was unable to play his trademark passing game due to Downing
pressure in midfield 6 8/ Labi- Kicked, hassled
and fought for every ball, yet was unable to get forward in the early exchanges-
another example of top class effort 8 9/ Jack- Worked his socks
off coming inside in a bid to make the team play 7 10/ Sam- Had only scraps
to feed on but took his goal well 6 11/Riaz- Strong, quick
and full of running he represented our main threat throughout the game. Was left
isolated tho’ as the midfield was stretched 8 12/ Mo- Quality showed on
his introduction 7 MOTM- Labi gets it this week for his sheer effort to cover the majority of the midfield- kicked and scrapped. Notable performances go to Riaz and Mike. Goals: ? The Seconds juggernaut (or should that be submarine?) rolled into town to give the Kings boys and girl a sound beating despite another extremely generous defensive display resembling Leeds on a good day (Sorry TC!). The Homerton boys arrived in conditions best suited to ducks and throughout the match I kept expecting Noah and his ark to sail over the horizon such was the relentlessness of the rain. Despite this inconvenience we fought on, and where two up inside the first ten minutes courtesy of Wattsy- who like a fine vintage gets better with age and Johnny, who spent most of the game showing off his moves against the female right back- he might of pulled for all we know!! Then in true seconds style and what is becoming a worrying trademark of our side this season- we - or to be more precise the keeper/defense- let them right back in it. The first came when the defense, playing so deep they were almost drowning, failed to cut out a simple through ball and so 2-1. The second came when Lloydy failed to hold a shot and the forward pounced on the rebound, although the defense were poorly positioned to help the self styled ‘King of the Bloopers’ out. 2-2 …and queue Homerton looking quizzically at each other for answers. Finally we sorted it out; the defense suddenly developed the gift of speech having represented a bunch of mutes for the first half hour, while the midfield found the passing and guile we all know they are really capable of. Heck even the strikers even started to score- Dan ‘Rugby’ Roberts showing he ain’t just a big oval ball playing lump but a clinical finisher in the mould of Niall Quinn. So in we went at half time 4-2 up- words were exchanged, tactics discussed and snot removed from one’s face. Lots of goals were scored in the second half in total 9- making it 10-5. I can’t remember any of them apart from a Wattsy effort and a John screamer (????). A number of points were clear from the half though. Ed is a rock in midfield and should remain there, we look handy when we use the wings, we are our own worse enemy in that we give away the ball- they don’t win it, Tim and Monkey are missed and finally I am never a centre back as long as I have a hole in my backside…oh well! In all an ok ish performance in dreadful conditions but if we are to be successful we need to play for ninety minutes not fifty or sixty and also build us some sort of defense as we can’t rely on the Keegan tactics every week! Scores
on ones door: Lloyd…
It wouldn’t be the same without some bloopers now would it ?!?!?: 6 Ritchie…
Quiet as a mouse but effective when he puts his foot on the ball 7 Will…
A competent display. Had their Number 8 in his pocket 7 Dave
O… A performance to forget. 6 Rob…
Lacked guidance but gave his all… but Rob- LOOK UP!!!! 6 Johnny…
A good performance by the lad though wasn’t really tested by the full back!!!!
7 Jon
… Showed his class and never stopped running 8 Ed…
Grafted and fought for everything again… 7 Chris…
Settling into his role as captain and led by example 8 Wattsy…
Keeps scoring but missed a sitter at the end!!! 7 Dan…
Found his touch and got in among the goals 8 MOTM- I thought Dan did well, while Chris set a captains example. Ed was good again but it was his midfield partner Jon that just stole the show- Full of effort and guile. Selwyn 2 v 3 Homerton (League) by Josh Jackson Goals: Sam (2), Labi Turning up yet again without Tom ‘the ent’ Savill, plus Hales and Riaz out also. We started off well, putting the pressure on Selwyn, who were clearly scared as our reputation as the hardest team in Cambridge preceded us. We played most of the opening 30 minutes in their half, the break through came when Jack ran from the right and passed to Sam, who lashed it into the bottom corner. A goal of the season contender next, great teamwork…Andy got the ball at the halfway line, passed to Jack, and threaded it through to Sam who sent the ball across the face of goal for the onrushing Labi who scored his first for Homerton. Numerous shit freekicks were taken, towards the end of the half, Sam was pulled back by the keeper and a penalty was given against the centre forward (standing in the centre circle) for handball. Kam struck it well, but it was impressively saved by their keeper, diving to his left. After halftime, Andy put a ball over the top for Sam to run onto and he scored his second and our third. Shitness ensued, they scored a crap goal, and Mike took out their striker and they scored the penalty. As usual, Homerton can’t win by more than one goal. Man of the Match: Andy Mike: Great sub for Sav between the posts any day Josh: Improving vastly as right back TC: Good game as centre back Finnie: Very reliable, but got sucked out of position, withheld himself from increasing his penalty count. Ian: Played a now typical solid game Jack: Sets up Sam’s goals with alarming consistency Andy: Combative, huge work-rate, passed well- definite MotM Gareth: Looked like he would run the game, but faded in the second half Labi: Played his usual bull in a china shop game well on the left wing Kam: Quiet, couldn’t get involved Sam: Great finishes, apparently “best striker in the league” (Shit Ref, 2003) Subs Will: Found it hard to get into the game when he came on Mo: Ineffectual, needed longer on the pitch Churchill 2 v 0 Homerton (League) by Josh Jackson Goals: none With the same shit compsci ref from the day before we kicked off at Churchill with Hales and Riaz back, Flash came to, but we were without Andy, Gareth and Mo. Tedious first half from both teams, botched chances at both ends with very solid defences. Second half equally tedious until TC kicked off with their four-foot striker, who then proceeded to finish a shit goal, scuffed from the edge of the box and trickling past Mike. Finnie later added to his penalty count, which was converted by the same “scummy little retard” (Lloyd, 2003). Lucky not to go three down when Finnie’s 10 out of 10 swan dive prevented a one-on-one with Mike. In summary, we lost to a team we were easily as good as. Man of the Match: Will; great attitude Mike: Played well, though out of position for the first goal Josh: Took many throw-ins, now has a bad back TC: Very solid, hates short people Finnie: Another game, another penalty Ian: Completely shattered, did well considering Jack: Had a few chances as usual, unable to feed Sam as yesterday Hales: Good work rate, battled hard Flash: Unfit, good passing though Labi: Battled hard, tried a rainbow flick- duuude! Riaz: Won the 90 minute flick-on contest Sam: Unable to get into the game, had chances though Subs: Kam: Came on for Josh in last minutes bid to rescue the game…failed Will: Didn’t come on, didn’t complain- class Fitzwilliam III 5 v 5 Homerton II (league), by Chris K Goals: Jonny, Ade (2), Dan (2) A typical spirited seconds effort saw Homerton II's come back from 3 goals down within the first 20 minutes to within a post of victory. It took 3 goals before we really woke up! Although we had also had our chances, and i don't think anyone ever doubted that we would not get back into it and get something out of the game. Our spirit has been terrific since the first game, and our confidence going forward is superb. This is due to the excellent industrious partnership of Dan and Ade up front as well as the tireless duo of Jon and Ed in centre mid. I think we played well as a team, fought hard and did well to come back. However, i know there is more to come and am waiting for the 'sexy football' to last more than 10 minutes! Great effort this term boys, great spirit but i feel there is allot of potential in this squad waiting to be unleashed next term... Lloyd - 7, some crucial saves, but definately feel there is more to come from the big man, his best game so far, but still some way off the form of last season when it seemed nothing could get past! Ritchie - 7, Good game as always, just needs to push up a little more i feel. Stu - 6, Good strength and effort, needs to maybe take a bit more time on the ball! Dave - 7, Does the hard things brilliantly and the easy things difficultly! Best game this season. Tim - 7, solid reluctant performer, pleasure to have him, his pace and his grin back in the side! Jonny L - 7, incredible goal, best game for seconds this season, put himself about a bit more and worked hard. Still more to come from Jonny though. Jon W - 7, Good game, but come to expect a bit more in recent weeks! Cracking effort as always though. Ed - 9, A typical Ed like performance, tackling everyone for everyone being everywhere, doing everything, man of the match in every sense, superb effort and immense impact. Dan - 8, Getting better and better each game, cracking goal, incredible work rate and top notch effort all round Ade - 8, a typical tireless performance, driving us on and scoring goals for fun, as always. A pleasure to have in the side. Chris - 6, Ineffective. Subs: Rob - 6, crucial goal line clearance but never quite got going Man of the Match - Ed Homerton 9 v 0 Peterhouse (Plate) by Jack Holland Goals: Sam (5), Kam, Jack, Josh, Flash The disorganisation reached unprecedented levels this week. Its gone 2 O'clock - half the team aren't here. Somehow we get eleven players on the pitch, with most of midfield out of position (yes and you Josh, you know you're a right back). Basically, we sucked first half. Sam managed to squeeze in a shot to put us a goal up but apart from that we struggled. Flash and myself were getting caught out, leaving several acres for Peterhouse players to fall over themselves before being wrecked by Finnie. Also, TC was busy overlapping down the right and fired in a few good shots, one of which was parried onto the bar by the shockingly bad keeper. Sav showed how easy it is for him holding absolutely everything. And, Will was quality on the left wing, he ran his socks off. Second half, we were better and Peterhouse were worse. Predictably Sam put the game beyond doubt with some great finishing. Flash began knocking the long balls in and we looked a bit better. You new we were going to win when even Josh managed to score, shouts of "Hallelujah" replaced thoughts of the first half howler. Kam, me and Flash made the score flattering. Dave deservedly came on and hacked the right winger... if you squinted it was reminiscent of last seasons triumphant seconds... nice. Man of the match: Its harsh not to give it to Sam as he continued to show how much we rely on him... but for me, Will was quality today. He's not always been involved but put in 100% throughout. Our defence is our strong point: TC good as always, Fin humorously aggressive (unless your the poor git he massacres), Ian looked like a big tart in his headband, and Mike makes me nervous by insisting on nutmegging the striker four times before clearing it. Josh and Will were quality on the wings: Josh set up one and scored one - he too looks like a tart though. Me and Flash struggled first half but improved: Flash showed some of his quality Kam: quiet, took penalty well Sam: Just doesn't stop scoring... the last one was the best. He's twenty yards out and unfit so he thinks sod running all the way to the goal, I'll just thwack it from here... and he did. Bonus: We won a penalty and Finnie didn't concede one! Homerton 3 v 6 Clare (Plate) by Sam Robertson Goals: Flash, Sam, Kam Having beaten Clare
already this season it was probably justified to enter this match with a fair
amount of confidence. However, with
Sav, Mike and Andy all unavailable and Clare turning up with blues, organisation
and team cuddles, some caution should have been exercised.
I think this was really emphasised after one minute when we found
ourselves 1 – 0 down. I was
explaining my ‘word of beak’ concept to their centre half at the time, and
for the first time I didn’t laugh. Anyway,
after a decidedly shaky start we got a grip on the game, thanks to some hard
tackles in the centre by Halesy, allowing Jack and Flash to find some space to
run at defenders. Half way through
the first half, during a good spell for us, we won a corner. Flash swung it in and, with a little help from the gale, it
hit the top corner, 1 - 1. With the
equaliser came a surge in confidence and again Jack looked dangerous down the
right flank. Close to half time he
managed to beat one defender and raced into the box only to be tripped, the ref
said penalty and we were pleased with that decision, I think he appreciated the
thanks a little too much though and would later dish them out like Lloyd on
heat. I took it and rocketed it as
hard as I could, it hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced behind the keeper
and into the net, I think Jack’s words were ‘you spawny bastard.’
He’d be fairly accurate with that description.
Still, half time came and we were 2 – 1 up.
We’d worked hard and probably deserved the lead.
You know what they say about teachers, never criticise a child or give out false
praise, but always find something positive to say.
For example if a young child draws what he claims to be his mother, and
you know for a fact that she doesn’t have nine arms, nor is she a bright shade
of blue, try praising the child on their excellent brush strokes or their
imaginative use of colours. I think
I should do the same with the second half of this game, look for the good
aspects of our play and focus on those. Well,
er … um. Yeah, we were rubbish!
I’m sorry to be negative, I did try.
We managed to get another penalty in the five minutes of the second half,
which I stood up to take again, however this time I managed to rocket it against
the keepers legs. Whilst Clare jumped for joy, the referee decided that the
keeper had come off his line before the ball had been kicked, the penalty was to
be taken again. Whereupon the
keeper lost the plot, so much so his glasses nearly fell off, I kid you not,
they were right on the end of his nose, teetering precariously. Anyway he was given his “special” pills and the penalty
was retaken by Kam, who finished exquisitely.
From this moment on we must have been more worried about the state of the
keeper’s health than on the football, because we went on to concede five goals
in the remainder of that half. Lloyd
damaged his knee, and I can imagine that their centre forward was not filled
with too much fear when Lloyd hobbled out to close him down, he still scuffed
his shot though. Wottsy, Dave and
Will were introduced and made good contributions, but to no avail.
The first half was the epitome of how we can play football, good team
spirit, communication and if all else fails, our trademark violence.
The second half is the epitome of how we should never play football
again. We’re out of the plate,
which is seriously annoying, lets see if we can achieve a top three finish in
the league. If not I shall set up a
complicated system of mirrors and pulleys above your beds.
Aye. Lloyd:
Steady performance, not convinced his knee was right from the start
though. TC:
Work rate was top drawer as ever. Tackled
well despite being out of position. Fin:
If there’s a more committed bloke to the Homerton cause I don’t know
him. Watching him pick the ball up
from his own net and run to put it back on the centre spot says it all.
Great performance. Man of
the Match. Josh:
Defended very well and still found time to get forward. Ian:
Managed not to start a brawl, and had a superb game.
At least he’s partially consistent. Kam:
Had a quiet game, scored a great penalty, but needed to get as stuck in
as we know he can. Hales:
Chased down and tackled all over the pitch.
Kept their bald blue quiet in the first half brilliantly. Flash:
Great set pieces as usual, looked dangerous moving forward and shooting
from range. Jack:
Yet another brilliant performance, I can’t help but think that we have
a chance if he’s on the ball. Riaz:
Solid in the air and worked hard to win the ball.
Was unlucky not to score from a Flash corner. Sam:
I needed to create more space so that it’s easier for the midfield to
pick me out. Essentially, I need to
be fitter. Wottsy:
Created some good chances for me, gave the team some energy, too little
too late. Will:
Ran around like a crazy person, I wish I had his lungs. Dave:
Came on to give us a twelfth man advantage, Clare busted our little
scheme though. Almost scored! Goals: Watts (3) The first game back after the mid-season break saw the seconds crash out of the shield tournament to a Pembroke side placed a division above them and featuring some suspiciously talented substitutes. Matters started brightly for the 2nds, with some well-crafted midfield passing finally releasing Dan within the opposition area. Drawing the keeper, he cut a pinpoint pass across the 6-yard box for Wattsy to poke home. Minutes later, with Pembroke reeling, further industry from Chris, Ed and Jon resulted in a right wing cross that found Wattsy, who coolly side-stepped the defender’s lunge and rifled the ball low past the keeper with a left foot shot. With things seemingly dominant, the time came for the Ghost of Christmas All-Too-Recent to make its untimely appearance and Pembroke began to claw their way back. Despite the 2-goal advantage, the 2nds defence never looked comfortable with the lead, and after numerous corners and uncertain clearances, Pembroke found their way back into the match. Desperate to avoid the ominous shift in possession, the 2nds began resorting to hurried clearances and lumped balls forward. Dave Owen put his foot on one from the back which led to another good passing move (coupled with an inept pair of Pembroke centre backs) and this saw the ball crossed yet again for Wattsy, who applied the same trick with the same result. Yet the smiles of a hat-trick were soon wiped clear by a Pembroke side who refused to lie down. Applying wave after wave of attacks, the shaky Homerton discipline began to collapse and within minutes it was all square. With Homerton hanging on for half-time and gaps appearing, Pembroke grew in strength and applied the lethal touch to go in ahead. The half-time, although not without positives, was probably as good as it got.
The second half started with Homerton desperate to
gain a foothold back into the match, yet it was Pembroke who scored the early
goal which settled the doubts. Using sheer weight in numbers, their three
defenders choked off the supply to the Homerton spearhead and the afternoon just
played out as a succession of Pembroke corners and dominance. Homerton briefly
rallied, but it was from the resulting corner that Ed, and Homerton’s fading
Shield hopes, limped out with cramp. The dying minutes saw a further goal for
Pembroke, leaving the crowd to ponder a score-line that, in typical 2nds
fashion, had at least provided an entertaining and incident-packed afternoon. A
frustrating afternoon, though not a capitulation by any means, with some
impressive passing manoeuvres and link-up play at times, however, when you
concede over 16 corners in a match… All minds were now firmly concentrating on
the league. Lloyd – 6, saw too much of the ball, (and usually not in a good way). Criminally unprotected at times - the unfortunate casualty of defensive uncertainty. Ritchie
– 6, was pressured and attacked from the flanks all afternoon. Unable to beat
off the encroaching waves of attack. Dave
– 6, not his best game by his own admission. Actually, I think “shite” was
the word he used. Tim
– 7, responsible, as ever, for cutting out many chances and keeping the score
down - a vital performer. Monkey
– 6, performance lacked previous strength as corner after corner questioned
the Homerton back-line. Jonny
L – 6, isolated and shut-out on the wing, preventing trademark charges. Jon W
– 7, a more subdued game for ‘The General’™ as midfield became over-run. Ed
– 8, showed his developing confidence and skill to orchestrate the goals, but
post-Xmas cramp finished his afternoon early.
Dan – 8, strong, battling performance but lacked service in the 2nd
half. Ade
– 8, led from the front with an early hat-trick but out-numbered in the second
half as supply was cut-off. Chris
– 7, linked well going forward and provided decent crosses and support for the
goals, but a victim of the forcibly defensive 2nd half. Subs: Tom
Hill – 6, Came on at the death for Ed, tried valiantly but by then the damage
was done. Man
of the Match – Dan. Ably demonstrated his importance in the side by being the
lynchpin for all three goals. Great knock-downs, lay-offs and other unselfish
play, the unsung hero of so many of this season’s goals. Homerton II 3 v 1 Christs II (Plate) by Ol' Man Watts Goals: Ed, Watts (2) Having had two weeks to ponder their cup exit, and with the Midfield General™ Wharton and La Monkeé absent, the 2nds fielded a team featuring a few enforced “guest stars” (perhaps finally taking a leaf out of the book of most of the other cheating bastard teams we seem to play against who suddenly get much better in the 2nd half….grrrr!) and whilst their inclusion broke the previously near-virginal sanctity of the 2nds, the shattered innocence was replaced by a steely, determined grit. The introduction of Finnie at centre-back seemed to settle the nerves of previous weeks, and where errors would previously have been punished, the stability and confidence grew throughout the side to produce some lovely flowing movements all round. Staking his claim for MVP, Ed quickly established himself in midfield and from there on proceeded to boss the park, spraying passes that opened up both flanks. This brought Chris into the match far more and between the two of them they terrorised the opposition down the right-hand side. It was such industry that led to the first opening, with Chris and Ed linking to fire a delightful ball across the face of the goal, that Wattsy somehow managed to fail connect with when scoring would appear to have been the easier option. It was fitting then that after a brief spell of Christ’s pressure, it was Ed who opened the scoring, collecting the ball from a defensive knock-out and advancing into the opposition half. With the wind gusting, a mighty 25-yard spank sent the ball spiralling into the top-right corner past a despairing keeper. Within minutes of the restart, good work down the flanks saw Wattsy wriggle and squirm into the box, only to be thwarted by a final, desperate challenge. However, soon after, in an almost identical piece of play, Wattsy received the ball from a Chris throw-in and proceeded to twist and turn the defence inside out once more before finally slotting home from close range with his left. At 2-0, the mood was jubilant, and the side seemed to lack any hint of the defensive frailties that had been their un-doing in the past. The 2nd half saw
Christ’s introduce a few “special guests” of their own to try to regain a
foothold in the massacre that had once been the midfield battle. Their secret
weapons consisted of a lad with an incredibly long throw and a bow-legged fella
(rickets anyone?) whom Dave proceeded to introduce himself to. Alas for Christs
though, Homerton managed to weather the storm and continued to create chances of
their own, with Dan and Wattsy both going close. With 20 minutes gone, a long
throw and a rare mistake at the back, allowed Christs to cut in from the left
wing, and in the ensuing melee, the ball squirmed across the box for one of
their strikers to finish past an unlucky Lloyd with a well-placed low drive.
Their spirits renewed, and with Homerton beginning to find the Christs keeper
impassable, they pushed on in search of the equaliser. With both teams
exchanging chances, the game became quite open. Homerton suffered first with the
departure of keeper Lloyd, his brave efforts for the 1sts having led to injury.
Faced with a difficult decision, Chris elected to keep Wattsy out on pitch, with
Finnie donning the gloves and sweaty vest. Fortunately, in came Ian, who
immediately established with his own Gandalf impression - “They shall not
pass!”. With legs tiring and Finnie going kamikaze, Homerton needed the
magic to work just one last time,…and it did. The ball broke from the back and
was punted up to Wattsy, who laid it off to Chris. The move swept on up the
pitch, and ended with a shot fired towards goal. Dan blocked off the defender
nicely, but could only watch as the ball spiralled off a shin, looping up in the
air. First to react was Wattsy who, having started to take on a shot-miss ratio
of almost Andy Cole-like proportions, managed to get a right foot to it to
volley it past the advancing keeper and continue his love-affair with the back
of the net. At 3-1, the Christs heads dropped and the game was effectively over.
The win secures three valuable points and leaves us currently in 4th ,
only 2 points from 2nd and with a game in hand. Let’s hope that the
fixture vs CFTC comes around soon. With the team in this current vein of form,
against a side which is leaking goals for fun, we could take a real advantage.
Come on the lads! Lloyd – 7, no doubt buoyed by his experiences with the 1sts,
provided a much-improved display. Took a well-controlled shot to beat him - a
shame since the defence deserved a clean-sheet today perhaps more than ever. Neil – 7, his best game so far. Grew in confidence and
decisiveness as the 1st half progressed. Tim – 8, found the perfect partner at centre-back in Finnie.
Between the two they kept out the Christs ventures forward. Finnie – 9, trialist, promising. Provided much needed
stability at the back – heck, cheeky sod even went in goal and managed to get
away with some Grobellaar-esque excursions without being punished. Rivaling Dave
as the 2nds “hatchet man”. Dave O – 8, re-took his “lunge King” crown in style!
Sheer, brute aggression. Lov’d it! Ed – 9, dominated the midfield encounters in the first half,
showing exceptional strength and deft touches as he waltzed through the
challenges. Deservedly bagged one of the goals of the season to set the tide in
motion. Without doubt, his finest hour. Jonny (Avril) L – 7, looked lively as always, taking on
defenders at pace. Part of a burgeoning midfield. Chris – 8, caused Christ’s problems down the right-wing
all afternoon, providing some lovely crosses and supported the front two well. Will Saab – 7, linked well with Jonny / Avril, on the left
hand side. Instrumental in causing opposition problems in the first half. Dan – 8, goes from strength to strength. A tireless
work-horse from whose knock-downs and through-balls Homerton constantly
threatened. Ade – 8, as ever, ran himself into the ground. A few
uncustomary misses but lethal when it mattered. Golden boot fore-runner? Subs – Jon White - 8, thrust into the fray at half-time, showed a much-needed no-mess attitude sadly lacking from previous games. Ian – 8. A rock! Bolstered a tiring defence and made some
vital clearances and interceptions when things were looking messy. Abiding
image, 2-1, Homerton with 10 men back defending a corner, Ian rises like a
salmon above all others. Bang! The result’s going our way this week! Josh – 7, mesmerized the opposition with his (dubious)
barnet. Footy skills weren’t bad either! Slotted competently into the fray and
helped steady the ship. Man of the Match : Ed. Caius 1 v 2 Homerton (League) by Jack Holland Goals: Sam, Jack At last. Homerton take to the pitch and put in a top-draw performance. Caius, sitting pretty near the top of the table, were previously undefeated. Their warm up showed us the level of preparation that we should regard as normal. From kick off it was clear we were up for it. Ian was involved in everything for the first ten minutes, continuously hacking the ball away from the left flank. The two hopeful attacks Caius put together were laughed at by Homerton Ent-cum-keeper, 'seven-foot' Sav, whose presence gave confidence to the entire defence. The wind was behind us and halfway through the first half we made it count. Flash delivered a trade mark in-swinging corner, which I jabbed at the keeper. The ball bounced up about two feet off the goal line at Sam's feet. A hint of handball was dismissed by the ref and we went one nil up. Flash tried a few more long shots and things looked pretty good. Andy and Labi in particular were superb at centre mid, they both put in 100% in a combative display and arguably it was the first time all season our midfield had some shape. Towards the end of the half, Flash got his head up and spotted me scurrying along the Caius defence. Another inch perfect (Beckham eat your heart out) pass put me through on goal and I slotted it into the bottom left corner, 2-0. Second half we new we were going to have to defend, the wind was against us and Caius were getting frustrated. I spoke to the Caius thirds captain after the game and he summed it up: we aren't pretty, but we have a dam good defence. For forty minutes Ian, Fin, Mike and TC were great as per usual. However, Caius managed to pull one back as TC embarked on a cash-winning run down the right only to be hacked to shreds. The ginger nob in the black waved play on and Polly's brother executed an excellent finish passed the unsighted Sav. Backs to the wall, trench warfare began. Mike was the main victim, pulling up with cramp. He was replaced by the most enthusiastic footballer I've ever seen, Dave O - the man, the legend, was released up front and he proceeded to scare the crap out of the Caius defence. Imagine a daddy-long-legs on speed and you get the picture. Josh slotted back into defence and made a crucial header at the back post as Caius pushed and lactic acid accumulated. Eventually the final whistle went and you would have thought we'd won the dam cup - Ian hugged everything in blue and white, and even apologised to the ref he nearly beat up in Fifth Av last week. I'm not going to scrutinise the whole team: no-one had a bad game, it was a good team performance, where everyone stepped it up a gear from previous weeks. Nonetheless, MOTM must be chosen and at the threat of an angry Andy coming to 'sort me out' it goes to Ian who had another great game. More of the same against Emma. Emmanuel 2 v 1 Homerton (League) by Josh Jackson Goal: Jack Having driven half way around Cambridge, we finally found Emma’s pitches but we only had 11 players to start. Things got off to a good start with a few promising Homerton attacks. After the first quarter of an hour or so the game swung in Emma’s favour and with our defence looking decidedly shaky it seemed only a matter of time before Emma scored. And score they did, after a breakdown following an Emma corner, they swung the ball from the right and nobody picked up this little short dude at the back post who headed past Mike, 1-0. We hung on bravely until half time, and Will and Dan finally arrived giving us some subs.
Second half was a big improvement. The defence looked slightly more
solid, and we actually looked like scoring. Jack got the breakthrough with a 6
yard chip over the keeper, and subsequently proceeded to rub his nipple. The
game opened up after our goal and both teams looked like scoring; Watts missing
a good chance. Will came on for me, and Dan came on for Kam as Emma stepped up
the pressure. We were hanging on for a draw until the 89th minute as
their cocky midfielder was ‘brought down’ by ‘Will’, in our ‘penalty
area’ (too many inverted comma, but you get the point). What actually happened
is Will may have accidentally breathed on him, and he dropped to his knees, then
on to his side, and finally came to rest in a foetal position having collapsed
downwards with no hint of pushing: “cheating bastard” (Finnie, 2004).
Anyway, they scored the penalty and we lost 2-1. Unlucky being the most used
word for some days afterwards. Man of the Match: Jack- ran around everywhere, got the goal, always a threat Mike: 8 Very solid despite having the shakes, saved 2 certain goals Josh: 6 Worst game for Homerton, gobshite, improved second half to become merely shite Hales: 6 Nice to see him back at centre half, but clearly hasn’t played there for a while Finnie: 7 Relatively solid, always gives 110% Ian: 7 Rock, stops most things coming down our left hand side Jack: 8 Great goal, what would this team be without him? Labi: 7 Worked his arse off, despite his knee going after only 10 minutes Andy: 7 Works very well with Labi, unable to form the key partnership as in the Cauis game Kam: 6 Got stuck in more, still quite quiet Watts: 7.5 Ran his arse off, all over, even covering defence at one point! Sam: 7
Worked well with Watts and Jack on the right, just unable to get the
right position to finish Subs: Will: 6 Attacked well, but a bit lost at the back- definitely a winger Dan: 6 Had only 10 minutes, but put in his all Fitzwilliam II 1 v 1 Homerton (League) by Josh Jackson Goals: Billy
Our first and only mid-week game got off to a good start: fielding a team
with 6 strikers; myself and Ed being as pissed as farts the day before and
myself, Ed; Wattsy having played 90 minutes for the seconds the day before also;
having only one sub- the lovable legend Mr Billy Overton. The game started well
with Hales’ suggestion of getting into them hard taken to new extremes as Jack
shoulder barged their centre midfielder into Ed’s crunching tackle within two
minutes. We played well for the most part of the first half with a few sporadic
counterattacks by Fitz. Jack and Wattsy should have scored at the other end
whilst Sav made a great save to deny their Hanson reject of a striker. 0-0 at
half time we should maybe have scored…
The second half started appallingly as a defensive miscommunication (as I
shall call it, others may label it a fuck up) between Finnie and Hales resulted
in Mr MmmBopp having a one on one with Sav, which he scored. The remainder of
the half was spent attacking Fitz’s goal with large sweeping attacks which
fizzled out in their area. The introduction of Billy for the still pissed,
knackered but impressive Ed lifted the whole team and we began passing the ball
again. Jack almost came in his pants after a series of one-twos with Billy down
the right, but to no avail. A comical moment found both fullbacks, me and Ian,
exchanging the ball on the edge of Fitz’s 18 yard box. It took a moment of
brilliance from Billy to level the score as Jack chipped the ball into the air
for a 25 yard volley into the top corner- goal of the season. The whole team
surrounded Billy… “I could have shagged him” (Jack, 2004). We closed out
the remaining 10 minutes looking the more likely to score, but we did not. All
in all a reasonably good all-round performance, but should have won. Man of the Match: Riaz- first outing in centre mid, why has he not been there before? Sav: 7.5 We take him for granted, but we really shouldn’t- pure quality Josh: 7 Solid enough game despite being pissed and knackered Hales: 7 An improvement from the Emma game, looking more complete Finnie: 7 No penalties recently and all the better for it Ian: 7 Attacked well down the left, solid as usual in defence Jack: 8 Played right wing first half, went one-man total football second half- class Riaz: 9 First time our midfield has won headers, plus some crunching tackles Ed: 7.5 Did not look out of place on a firsts pitch at all Kam: 6.5 Got stuck in attacked more than any other game this season, keep it up Sam: 6 The effort was undoubtedly there, but it didn’t really fall for him Wattsy: 6
Again top effort, maybe suffering a bit from the game a day before Subs: Billy: 10 Lifts the team, goal of the season and has finally won the affection of Jack! Homerton II 6 v 1 CFTC (League) by Ol' Man Watts Goals: ?
It was perhaps fitting that a match more hyped than a Don King title
card (cheers Dave & co!) should go the self same way and peter out to a
gentle trot on a fair afternoon, but the “grudge match” that was CFTC
probably won’t last long in the memory of either side. Buoyed by last year’s
match that constantly threatened to spill over, the repeat fixture saw the
sidelines bolstered by loving 1sts support, eager to see the (post-)
St Valentine’s Day massacre. What they saw was a bunch of 30-something
crusties marking time before God’s waiting room.
With the Lord on the field, it was perhaps inevitable that the sins of
the past would come home to roost, and it was CFTC who took a shock early lead
from the penalty spot. With a corner gently floating over everyone’s head to
the far post, the ball reared up off the surface towards Dave’s groin area.
His hand already there, what started as a matter of protecting one’s own
interests, soon became a spot kick, which was rifled into the corner. It was
from here that the Lord’s attention was probably diverted towards other more
pressing issues, and his disciples rapidly began falter. From a corner that was
never cleared by a defence that never looked likely, the ball reared up just
long enough for their left-back to play handball and the resultant cries alerted
the Ref to his subsequent attempts - Penalty given. Surprisingly, up stepped Mo,
without a Homerton match for some time, who restored parity by way of the
left-hand post. From here the onslaught of the CFTC goal began in earnest, with
Wattsy, Dan, Mo, Ed and in fact anyone who fancied piling on shot after shot.
Their pressure told, and it wasn’t long before the centre-back finally rolled
off the field with injury. Down to 10 men, it was going to take more than a
blessed keeper to save the vicars. As Homerton constantly swarmed forward, it
wasn’t long before good work down the right from Josh saw the ball driven
across the box, and Dan pounced with a left foot finish to take the fight away.
Soon after, following yet another competent display of midfield mastery, Wattsy
and Mo exchanged passes, with the latter sending the ol’ pro through with a
perfectly measured pass, which was firmly poked past the advancing keeper. With
the party now taking full swing, half-time saw a sidelined captain Chris give
perhaps his easiest team-talk ever. The three points were already assured. Perhaps with this in mind, the 2nd half became too relaxed an affair, with Homerton seemingly playing down to the level of CFTC. With the threat extinguished and space all over the park, the mighty blue and white army put together one of the most beautiful displays of cross-field spray-age ever to grace the ‘Stadium of Shite’ ™. Jon Wharton and Josh combined well on numerous occasions to scamper down the wing, Monkey began to advance to all areas of the pitch, and Dave O regained his composure to sin once more with delight. All in all, the crowd were being entertained, if not blown away by the score line. Wattsy soon added a 4th, a precise ball from Dan doing the damage, and it wasn’t long before the persistent hustle from the front 6 saw Ed teed up on the edge of the box to roast it home into the bottom corner past a bewildered keeper. Chances to make it an England cricket score were spurned with Wharton continuing his love affair with the post, Monkey rampaging forward only to get a nose bleed and lose his bearings and Mo’s beautifully flighted free-kick saw Wattsy’s header bounce off a clueless keeper. With the game winding up, it seemed everybody was trying perhaps a little too hard. It was therefore entirely suitable that the 6th, and finest of the goals, came from what we do best : The Simple Ball ™. Defence cleared the ball up to midfield, and Ed switched play to Mo’s flank. Mo returned the ball inside to Ed who spotted Wattsy on the edge of the box. With time (and by now 2 extra men following the departure of the CFTC centre-forward having to “work” – hmm….funny church that keeps those hours…..Maybe he’s Islamic?) on his side, Wattsy floated a peach of a cross over the three defenders to pick out Dan at the back post, whose thumping header sealed a by-now somewhat flaccid encounter. It was disappointing that matters petered out at that stage, but the bonus of not conceding from open play, plus the welcome addition of 3 points, leaves us in 2nd place in the league with a top-of-the-table clash to look forward to. The vicars won’t be there on Sunday morning, but Caius III’s will…. Lloyd – 7. Another solid performance, spoilt by a few David
James-esque ‘air’ pounces. Jon White – 8. Creditable full debut. Did the job without
messing. Fast becoming vital to the line-up. Tim – 7. Lacked a bossing presence, but kept the CFTC
strikers in his pocket all afternoon Monkey – 7. Stunned by sobriety. Effective without
dominating. Dave O – 8. Jekyll & Hyde rages on – well, it is a
game of two halves! Got his head back well from the early penalty decision to
finish with one of his best ever displays. Josh – 8. Enjoyed the luxury of the wing, venturing forward
regularly. Could of / should have ended on the scoresheet. Jon Wharton – 7. Recently MIA, but returned with solid
display, slotting into the midfield manoeuvres with ease. Ed – 7. A more subdued game than recent, but again,
instrumental in so much good across the park. Mo – 8. The comeback kid. At his best playing the simple
ball. A useful and welcome addition to any squad. Wattsy – 8. Rapidly becoming the ‘flick’ target for the
long throw. Finished the day as on-field Captain. Aw! Dan – 8. Fed off an abundance of riches today, with service
coming from all angles, rightly bagged himself a brace. Subs : Finnie – 7. Replaced Dave, but came on against 9 men with little chance of giving a penalty away. Still, made sure he got muddy. Good lad! Man of the Match : Hard to say based on such a solid team performance. With many playing much improved matches, the nominees are Dave O, Mo, Jon White, Dan and Josh. Take your pick!Homerton II 1 v 3 Caius III (League) by Ol' Man Watts Goal: Watts
With Captain Chris again reduced to croaking from the sidelines, the 2nds
took to the field for the top-of-the-table clash with Caius, the winners of
which would almost certainly be guaranteed one of the coveted promotion spots,
and with only games against Churchill and a tricky Pembroke side to go after
this, Homerton’s season lay in their own hands.
The first half was an untidy affair, with neither side really creating
much, but with Caius certainly having the better of the possession. With the
developing partnership of Tim and Monkey at centre-back beginning to mature
nicely, the Caius forwards were restricted to shooting from range. Despite being
top of the table, Caius’ strength lay in a tight defence rather than their
scoring prowess, having conceded only 6 goals in their previous 6 encounters,
and it was such a statistic that got the better of the mighty blue and white
today. With Wattsy and the midfield off-form, it was left to Dan to bustle and
to try and create openings from ever-deeper positions. The introduction of Will
Saab at left mid opened matters up, and indeed, he was responsible for the most
threatening of the 1st half chances, yet too often we sat off in the
centre of the park and allowed Caius to mop up and reset their attacks. With
neither side looking really likely it was down to the gentle sloping camber (aka
Stadium of Shite ™) of the Homerton pitch to decide the tie. With the wind
wreaking havoc with the aerial ball, a defensive slash on the left-hand side saw
the ball presented to the Caius striker who, with the on-rushing Lloyd caught in
no-man’s land, lobbed the ball exquisitely over the unfortunate keepers head.
With no one back on the line to cover it was a cruel blow.
The second half saw a re-energised Homerton at their most inventive.
Finally stringing some passes together and recalling previous form, the midfield
set to and almost immediately Wattsy released Dan who tested the dubious-looking
keeper. Minutes later, and driven on by this encouragement, good work down the
left-hand side from Saab saw Dan release Wattsy on the edge of the box who
turned his marker before advancing upon goal. With the keeper routed to the
spot, Wattsy had all the time in the world to place the ball just inside the
near post : 1-1. The game was back on. For the first time, Caius looked rattled
and Homerton fed off this with an insurgence of form. Yet the frailties of the 1st
half prevailed and once more a lack of closing down, together with an
unflattering surface saw Homerton scuff several chances to clear and end up
conceding a corner cheaply. From this, the ball was whipped into the area, and
with neither side really taking charge, confusion and panic saw the ball bounce
just over the line. With Homerton refusing to lie down, a hefted goal kick saw
Dan flick on to put Wattsy through as their centre-back mis-kicked. With their
defence exposed, the left-back attempted to cut Wattsy off, but succeeded only
in chopping him down in the box. The penalty that ensued was fiercely contested
by some of the most unreasonable protests and language ever to grace the
hallowed turf (and that even includes Dave) and it was a lenient referee who
brandished no cards. Perhaps Wattsy should have taken more time to pick himself
up, but with emotions running high, Homerton’s leading scorer blazed the ball
uncharacteristically over, and the impetus was returned to a baying Caius pack.
Surging forward, they regained the initiative when their own version of the
Magic Roundabout’s Dylan (the stoned one) bobbled his way through our back
line to arrive at the ball just in front of Lloyd. The sight of the ball
squeezing under Lloyd was enough to break hearts, turn stomachs, and send Dave
on a rant. With the fiery defender raging, the discipline and positive start of
the 2nd half flickered and died and defensive uncertainty began to
seep into the Homerton play as the front pair were consistently frustrated by
the Caius back two. The wind in their sails, Caius relaxed and took the game to
Homerton, finding themselves awarded their own penalty for a foul in the box. On
such things are some games won and lost. Up stepped Stoner boy, who, as befitted
his nature, struck the ball in slow motion low to Lloyd’s right. Collapsing
like a sniper victim, Lloyd pulled off what can only be described as the finest
one-hand save since Gordon Banks vs Brazil in 1970. Suddenly, the
tide had turned. There was still time. The game was back on. Heads were raised
and hearts were fired, and Homerton scrapped and grappled to get a foothold back
into the match. Josh began to surge up the right hand side, Finnie came on for
Dave and Homerton switched to gamble on an enterprising back three. The gambit
so nearly worked. Perhaps with half an hour the match would have been saved, but
Caius are not league leaders by chance. Always managing to keep one man back and
just get enough on their clearances, they weathered the storm to the final
whistle protecting their frail keeper well, and even some last ditch acrobatics
from Finnie with a spectacular volley couldn’t salvage the point. To a certain degree, the result, whilst disappointing, actually changes little. Although it would have made the last two games perhaps a little more comfortable, results are still needed against Churchill and (perhaps the real crunch fixture) Pembroke. At the moment the table says that 5 could go up, in reality though it will probably only be 2 from 3. Today we met the league leaders and were certainly never outplayed, and there was evidence here at times (and from earlier in the season) to suggest that we are more than capable of competing at a higher level in the division above. On our day, we have the spirit and fight to see us through : it’s there for the taking. We have two matches to get it right. Lloyd – 8. Probably his finest performance
between the sticks. Saved a penalty one-handed – what more can you say? Jon White – 7˝. Unfortunate to be sub’d
at half-time. Solid performer. Monkey – 7. A better display and an
improving partnership with Tim at centre-back, but was pulled across the field
perhaps too much. Tim – 7˝. Thankless task from a reliable
performer. Quite often lumbered with clearing up duties, but bought much needed
breathing space time and again. Dave O – 6˝. Disappointed with his own
performance. Never really settled into the flow of the game or the bounce of the
pitch. Jonny L – 7. Returning from MIA, a quiet
performance lacking those surging runs. Ed – 7. By his own admission a muted
display, never really seizing the park or dominating. Jon W – 7. A quiet display. Covered lots
of ground but lack of a cutting edge was symptomatic of the majority of the
squad. Will Saab – 8. Lively and promising.
Caused real problems first half and had the right back for pace every time, just
needs to work on final ball. 2nd half saw cramp seize the motor up
though. Dan – 8. Another excellent display of
unselfish running and chasing. Despite challenging Josh for the Technicolor
Dream-Hair™ award, was relegated to playing much deeper and having to fill
midfield. Wattsy – 7. A rare and disappointing off-day. Presented with few clear chances, injury took the edge off his movement. The ball from the spot kick is still travelling somewhere. Subs : Josh – 7˝. Came on for Jon White.
Although at right back, took the game to Caius down the wing and always looked
threatening. Finnie – 8. Finally replaced Dave to form
a back 3 as Homerton pushed forward searching for a way back. Almost scored with
the most spectacular volley at the death. Tom Hill – 7. Came on for the cramping
Saab, but influence was cruelly cut short by the Ref’s whistle. Man of the Match : First half, for me, Will Saab – always looked lively and brought much needed width and variety to the forward motion, faded in the latter stages though. Lloyd, for not only producing a fine stop, but was unfortunate on all 3 goals, or Dan, battled and chased the whole game from start to finish. Homerton 5 v 0 Johns II (League) by Sam Robertson Goals: Jack (2), Sam (2), Labi
It was a good day.
A Homerton side that featured not one, not two but all three of our
captains from this season.
Wonderful.
Even Dave got a full ninety!
‘How is this possible?’ I hear you cry.
Well, to be honest I’m not entirely sure, but it did and boy were we
going to take advantage of it.
The first half began during a blizzard, out came the gloves, and due to
the nature of our shirts it was just possible to make out the presence of
phantom blue stripes drifting across the pitch.
We were told that we were to play a 5 – 3 – 1 – 1 formation, but
from where I stood it looked more like 3 – 6 – 1.
When the snow ceased I noticed that certain members of the two teams had
paired off, Fin and Emma most notably, but also Ian and their No. 5.
It was a scrappy first forty-five, which was spent on the whole in our
half. That’s not to say that das fuhrer was put under too much pressure.
It was thoroughly congested in the middle of the park, and playing
straight down the middle meant that Heskey wasn’t too concerned either.
Not having much luck in front of goal Emma vented his frustrations by
head butting Finny.
Dave seemed oblivious, and Finny was probably just shocked he’d managed
to get that far.
Being Homerton things kicked off, and it wasn’t long before Ian was at
the scene. That
incident aside the first half was fairly quiet, John’s had played better, but
it was still 0 – 0, although I think they were ahead on corners.
At half time the Homerton tacticians put their heads together and came up with a
4 – 4 – 2 formation.
Jack leapt for joy, for he was up front at last.
Labi the daddy came on for Josh and the sun came out, I didn’t want to
be presumptuous but…
Huge quantities of space appeared in the midfield and Gareth and Riaz
took complete control.
Jack and I found acres to run in, and Labi somehow got the ball stuck to
one of his boots, and couldn’t get it off.
We were all over them, it wasn’t long before the ball was fed into my
feet from midfield I flicked it, dare I say deftly, with the outside of a boot
into Jack’s path who raced into the box and rocketed a shot into the net at
Heskey’s near post.
1 – 0, prepare the sand bags!
Moments later an enormous kick from das fuhrer bounced uncomfortably for
their American left back, hit his shoulder, and I raced past him and stabbed it
over the on rushing keeper and defender into the net, and ended up sandwiched
between the two on the floor.
Unfortunately the defender, beneath us all, had to depart thoroughly
winded. Nevermind,
2 – 0. We
looked marvellous, our central midfield won just about everything, failing that
our back five was nothing short of a titanium wall.
After some great interplay by Finny, honorary right back, and Labi, we
won a corner. The
resultant cross caused a mad scramble in the box, Labi finally connected with it
and it seemed to be scooped out over the line by their defence.
Dave said ‘I wouldn’t have given it’.
But the scoop somehow caught the keeper on the back of the head and went
it anyway. Labi
raced off in celebration (the goal and its consequences no doubt), 3 – 0.
Soon after, and with their centre forward saying ‘for pride now
John’s’, I won the ball and slotted it through their defence to Jack, who
once again finished exquisitely, 4 – 0.
We continued to bombard their goal, and the game was rounded off nicely
when Gareth sent another through ball past their defence, which I bounded after
and slid past the keeper into the bottom left corner, 5 – 0, and at last
Homerton 1sts had done themselves justice.
A team performance, tope drawer in nature, and thoroughly deserved.
One game to go, our aim, to play that quality of football for the full
ninety… no problem. Das
fuhrer – 7. Not
a lot to do, don’t half feel confident when he’s in goal though. Ian
– 8. Kicked
their No.5 up and down the left wing, another good performance. Micky
– 8. Solid
all game, nothing was going to get past him, despite the previous night. Hales
– 8. Scrapped,
scrambled and chased for ninety minutes, can’t argue with that. Finny
– 8. Huge
performance. Played with Emma in his pocket and had his third shot this season. Josh
– 7. Played
well enough in the first half, got caught up in the midfield congestion. Gareth
– 9. Along
with Riaz, completely dominated the midfield with some big tackles.
Superb performance, and managed an assist too. Riaz
– 9. Along
with Gareth, completely dominated the midfield with some big tackles.
Superb performance. Kam
– 7. Quiet
for a lot of the match, made some good contributions in the second half. Labi
– 8. Added
some great skill to the second half, sort of scored and created some good
attacking options. Jack
– 8. Two
great goals today, may wonder why he hasn’t been playing up front all season. Sam
– 8. Two
goals, two assists.
I answered my own email it seems. Dave.
Refereed the game, and I quote ‘as I saw it’, and sometimes how he
didn’t. A
man who loves Homerton so much he can’t resist celebrating our goals, despite
his assumed impartiality.
Also, prayed a lot whenever Jack and Finny were in the boxes… different
ones though.
Man
of the match – take your pick, Gareth or Riaz. Homerton II 1 v 6 Churchill III (League) by Dave Owen Goals: Watts Following the inability of the opposition captains to dodge the fixture, Homerton II’s decisive fixture against Churchill got underway on a pitch that Hippo’s in Africa could have inhabited. Following a rousing team talk from the captaincy, Homerton came out of the blocks sprinting. The passing looked good, the forward two looked sprightly and most importantly there was solidity in the defense that rarely looked like conceding the six that it was eventually to leak. However the keen start began to give way to frustration as Homerton’s dominance failed to convert itself into goals- misplaced passes, way ward finishing and mistimed tackles all crept into the Homerton game. Then five minutes before half time, Churchill scored. Their now customary six man attack force ran at the Homerton defense in a one sided move that resulted in the Churchill man lashing it in, despite attempted last gasp heroics by Tim. Now having played next to Tim for the majority of the season, I have to say he is one of the nicest blokes I have ever met, very polite etc, and it appears it takes a lot to rile him but this goal pissed him right off. He summed up the mood of the hard working defense when he said something along the lines of ‘how can three people stop six?’. He had a very valid point. With two minutes till half time though, Wattsy knocked one in, only to be cruelly denied by an offside ruling. To be fair to Jon White, the sub turned lino, he gave the offside. At least we have some sort of a sportsmanship!!!!!! So 1-0 at half time. Game very much winnable. The attitude of the lads seems good. Positivity throughout the team. There was seemingly little indication of the disastrous 45 minutes to follow. What followed, unfortunately, was the worst 45 minutes played by a second’s team in two years (well in my humble opinion anyway). The usually prolific Wattsy, despite his running, was having a bad day at the races and following a narrowly missed chance, the Churchill swarms descended on the Homerton goal like flies around poo. Once again they loaded the left hand side with four players and one of them escaped a last ditch challenge from Will to unleash a bullet into the bottom corner. At 2-0, game still very winnable. The chances were till coming. However hope abandoned Homerton. Heads were going down all over the place. Monkey was attempting to impersonate the Dave Owen school of ‘Losing one’s head’ quite successfully, while all over the pitch the simple ball was eluding even the best seconds players. This lack of playing a simple ball was evident in Churchill’s third goal. A defensive error (i.e. failure to just boot it up field) led to Monkey being robbed by their pacy forward who finished with aplomb- 3-0. The game was now over really. Heads down, in fighting and the resignation that promotion was slipping away all contributed to the general lethargy. On came Neil and John showing some good touches and a spot on attitude, while Wattsy after three down the other end, stuck one home to make it 6-1. On the final whistle, the realization that promotion was nearly impossible (mathematically it seems its not it has since been proved) led to a tense quiet team talk. One
thing though lads: While it’s still possible to get up we go out on Sunday and
we play for the 90 minutes. No surrendering space, no dropping out of the
tackle, chase, run and work for every ball, talk and fight. Lets finish this on
a high note. Remember one shirt, one love. Onwards and Upwards. Scores on the door: It’s not fair to analyze what was essentially a poor team performance. Special mentions however go to Tim- look at this mans attitude and copy. John White and Neil- as with Tim. Their attitude was spot on and they showed us what we should have been doing from the start of the second half i.e. work rate combined with simplicity!!! And f**K it…. I played the best I have done for a while!!!!!!!Homerton II 6 v 3 Pembroke III (League) by Watts Goals: ? Never has a season been so totally summed up
in one game. With promotion now a dwindling mathematical concept that even
Stephen Hawking would find hard to reconcile, the 2nds took to the field for the
final time this season, seeking to end their campaign with pride in tact. They
faced a Pembroke side already denied a place in the division above by virtue of
their 2nds team only being marginally less shit than their 3rds, but one whose
league position and form contrasted wildly from the bleary-eyed bunch who
arrived at the hallowed hovel of Homerton’s Stadium of Shite™. In the
absence of the pivotal Ed and feisty Levine, Homerton hung its head in shame and
adopted tactics befitting most other colleges by employing an unknown foreign
import in the form of Aki. The home side began in sprightly fashion,
looking by far the quickest side out of the blocks. With a rejuvenated Chris
snapping and harrying and a rampant Saab marauding down the flanks it wasn’t
long before the first real opportunity of the match was carved out with Dan
flicking it through to Wattsy who forced a good save from the agile keeper.
Exposing a weak, sluggish defence and a less than forceful midfield, Homerton
genuinely looked up for the craic, and with but minutes on the clock,
good work from the midfield saw Saab link with Dan on the left-hand side. This
time the striker’s intended through-ball to Wattsy was just cut out with an
out-stretched defensive toe, but this was just enough to divert it wide of the
on-rushing keeper. With the keeper stranded, Watts gleefully rounded him to pick
up the pieces and tap in with his left from the tight-angle. Faced with a defence as dubious, crumbly and
uncertain as week-old Gouda, Homerton’s worst enemy, as in keeping with much
of the season up until this point, would only be themselves and their own
complacency, and it was from this that the visitors were gifted a curious
way-back into the match. With a Pembroke assault on the right flank seemingly
coming to nothing, none was perhaps more surprised than Dave when a hopeful ball
was driven into the area. Perhaps with half a mind on his beloved Tranmere’s
FA Cup exploits later that afternoon, somehow what started as a clearance turned
into an uncontrolled stab, leaving Lloyd with nothing to do but watch as Owen
pounced with Van Nistelrooy-esque agility to divert the ball straight into his
own net from six yards. For once though, the opposition failed to
capitalise on Homerton’s mistake, choosing instead to mirror it with some
woefully indecisive defending of their own. A fired-up Kellaway released Watts
who in turn set up Dan, and although the striker’s effort was parried by the
keeper, the resulting confusion saw an inept defence consumed by an unerring
sense of generosity, and rather than clear their lines, the three defenders took
it in turn to watch as Watts snatched a right foot shot into the top-left corner
of the net: 2-1. Seemingly in disarray, Pembroke chose to
self-destruct, allowing Homerton yet another of this season’s joyous
‘purple-patches’, and but for a display of cat-like agility by their keeper,
who writhed, sprawled and jerked like a man a’fire, Homerton could have gone
into the break in double figures. With open season declared on the opposition
goal, efforts from Dan, Chris and Josh whistled perilously close to posts on
numerous occasions. It was from one of these excursions into the Pembroke half
that Homerton earned itself a series of corners. With Will and Chris both taking
it in turns to swing in some beauties, it was only a matter of time before
Homerton made their advantage pay. They say, cometh the hour, cometh the man,
and in the 20th minute, Dave Owen came. Not content with his previous
net-burster, Dave leapt like a horny salmon at the height of its mating season
to meet a Kellaway curler, and despite the men on the posts, they could do
little to prevent the thumping header which crashed satisfyingly into the
far-left stanchion MoTD-1970s-stylee. The resulting jubilance resembled a
cross-between Captain Caveman and a Scouse on parole day as the young man
proceeded to disrobe and sprint the length of the field swinging his beloved
blue-and-white around his head. Indeed, half-time would have been devoted to a
vigorous re-enactment of said goal, had it not been perhaps bettered only
minutes later by Homerton’s fourth. With Watts twice put through for his
hat-trick by Dan, only to see him fail to chip the keeper and side-foot against
his legs with the majority of the goal begging, Wharton took it upon himself to
offer the crowd a resounding reminder of the form that won him so many plaudits
earlier in the season. Advancing menacingly from the middle of the park, The
Midfield General™ took matters into his own hands, and with the defence
backing off and appearing to invite the shot, Wharton duly obliged, sending a
left-foot screamer into the top-right corner. With 4-1 on the scoreboard and
only 25 minutes played, suddenly the mathematicians were being roused and put on
stand-by… Somehow however, despite a rampant dominance, Homerton failed to
capitalise further, and resorted to going in at the break with just the
three-goal cushion. As was par for the course by now, the
opposition chose to use the break to lift some of the fog in their game and
introduced some new, more co-ordinated players. The effect was immediate. With
Homerton looking to push on for further goals, it came as a shock to see
Pembroke claw back some ground within seconds of the re-start. With the ball
from the centre to Saab’s wing cut-out, Pembroke advanced up the field, and
what looked like a comfortable cross for Lloyd, turned into a defensive
nightmare as the ball slipped through to land behind him, and despite Dave’s
efforts, which only succeeded in tangling both players up, the ball was poked
into the open net. There then followed a touch of the defensive “willies” as
yet again Homerton sought to invite pressure onto themselves through rash
clearances and indecision. With Tim departing at half-time, Jon White filled in
the hole at centre-back, but the usually solid right-back looked uncomfortable
in this new position, and it was from some sustained Pembroke “ring-ing”
that the defensive frailties were exposed once more. A straight ball through saw
Lloyd hesitate fatally on his line for a few seconds, and in the ensuing melee,
defenders and keeper contrived to present the ball at the feet of the on-coming
striker who calmly passed it into the open net. To Homerton’s credit though, Pembroke
never really looked like snatching it, nor did the home side ever seriously look
like throwing it away, and once the defensive roles had been re-assigned, and
with the crowd on fine form, the forward momentum once again returned to the
Blue and White. Homerton always looked better on the break, and it was from a
half-hearted Pembroke corner that play advanced up-field with Josh and Will.
Will found Wattsy, whose early cross flicked off the retreating defenders into
the path of Dan, who with the ball now dropping behind him, skilfully managed to
adjust his feet in time to hook a left-foot shot high over the stranded keeper
from outside the box for his 10th of the season. With dominance
restored and any chance of a comeback truly quashed, it was left to Homerton to
run down the clock and add the icing to the end-of-season cake. On came Neil
into defence, which allowed Jon Wharton to push forward more, and it was a
defensive clearance that sent him scampering down the right-hand touchline one
final time. With acres of space and time to look up, he floated an inch-perfect
cross over the head of the last defender into the path of Wattsy, and the
striker wrapped up his hat-trick, the afternoon and Homerton’s season with a
right-foot drive past a despairing keeper. All that remained was for Referee Sav to flash his cards at a Pembroke midfielder for scything down the gazelle-like run of Saab, and for the loyal home fans to raucously chant “you couldn’t score in a gang rape” as Pembroke’s lack of finishing summarised their lack-lustre afternoon. All in all a surprising result given the teams’ league standings prior to the match, but one that nevertheless showcased the very best and worst of Homerton II’s this season. By the end of the day, and with Fitz III winning over Sidney by a ridiculous 11-3 scoreline so as to claim the 2nd auto |
