Match Report
Match Report - 24 Sep 2011, Old Modernians Football Club 5ths lost to East Ardsley Wanderers Reserves
East Ardsley Wanderers 4 Old ModerniansV 2 (HT 1-1)
Scorer’s Mods: Jamie Phelan (Tank!!) 30mins Andy Morris 86mins (pen)
First of all, before any nonsense that springs forth, congratulations to BK and his wife Jane on the arrival on Saturday afternoon, of their son, Henry James.
Brilliant BK. Hope all are well.
I thought of rolling back the years and putting in a match report from a football flaneur, as I have done so in previous guises.
I aim to do so throughout the season, and I hope everyone is as excited by this prospect as I am (!), however, on this occasion I believe a sober report will be more constructive for the ModsV’s season ahead.
I’ve looked on from afar this season at teams 1-4 at the Club, and have been excited by the strength in depth that the Club has now in its ranks.
To think I managed, only 4 years ago, a Mods third team of rag tag, bob tail and bibs and bebs and bobs to ensure the Club didn’t receive any fines or curtailments in it’s membership of YOBL, and then compare that with a quick look at the quality of the Mods 3rd team this season, and there is no comparison.
This has a knock on effect and the ModsIV team is extremely strong this season (and now they have their first win, the team can now kick on).
As a consequence there will be a few young player’s, some new, some stalwarts, who will find themselves not in Mods teams 1-4.
Myself, looking at the abyss of my 40th year, am ok to be in the 5th team (I’m just happy to be still fit enough to play and justify a slot in a football team). At 18 or 22 or 25 (or whatever it is), with my mates in another, higher team at the Mods, I can be forgiven into thinking ‘oh no, not the old man’s team, for god’s sake’.
I might be way off the mark with this, and if so, great. However, I know from my own self it would have crossed my mind 15/20 years ago.
I’d like to state here, right now, that I for one think it’s fantastic what is taking place at the Club right now (after the last 4 years of hard work by many people), and that when I look at the team sheet for the 5th team and see a few young lads names in the mix, I truly look forward to meeting up and playing alongside. I want to have the strength of the Club to filter into the ModsV team, and the rest of the lads (O.K. we'r not really lads anymore, more like old fogies) in the team all welcome this.
We’ve got the skills to pay the bills in the 5th team, but lack that bit of pace that age cannot hold. Mixing old heads with the new lads has great potential.
What I am trying to say (and I’m sure I speak for all the other old fogies in the team) is any young player who finds themselves on the 5th team sheet this season, I’d like to make it clear that you will be welcome with open arms and will be amongst a group of experienced player’s who will be really keen to have you onboard and together can help each other win football matches.
Right, ‘nuff said, to the game.
Going to East Ardsley at any time of the season is always a tough ask of Mods teams. East Ardsley have always been 6 inches taller to a man and play their game 7 foot off the ground.
So it proved to be yesterday.
Fair play to East Ardsley, they have a system, and a few half decent player’s to go along with this (Sparrow, up front, in midfield one of the two brother’s, their centre back, Butch) and when they play with the slope of the East Ardsley pitch in their favour (more of this later), the system of long ball, win the ball in the air, flick it on to Sparrow and his pace will create half a chance, is a challenge for many teams.
In the first half, ModsV played down the slope. For the first 20 mins both teams struggled to get a hold of the game, with a couple of half chances by East Ardsley, followed by a couple by ModsV the highlights.
Then on 22mins a break by Howie from right back, looked to be about to create an opportunity for Benno (that’ll be me), when an excellent challenge came in on Howie by one of the Rennison brother’s, and Mods V were exposed on their right flank, East Ardsley capitalised on this and the other Rennison brother slotted home from 12yards out.
ModsV were soon back in the game though and on 30 mins Tank pounced, o.k. He bounded, upon a mistake between their keeper and defender and put in a header that looped into the back of the net.
Tank’s goal gave us a foothold, and the rest of the half was a tight affair.
Both team’s keeper’s made a couple of good saves and defender’s made last ditch clearances. The half ended as it began, all square.
At half time Gary spoke about what we needed to do, get the ball down and force the opposition into mistakes. We also had to be aware of East Ardsley’s game plan on their home pitch (long ball, flick etc) and talked about first and second ball challenges.
For the first 15 mins, ModsV defended resolutely, Howie, especially, was outstanding at right back, but then came unstuck on 60mins from a corner. A short corner was taken and even though all of us shouted ‘SHORT CORNER’, we didn’t defend this as a unit, their player had time for a pint and cigar before taking a shot from the edge of the area, and unfortunately this shot hit Prof Jimack, defending the goal line, in the nads and rolled over the line.
Not an O.G. but if Prof Jimack was so inclined (and thank-fully he isn’t) he would put on Facebook, ‘Got hit in the nads today…O.m.G!’
The next 10 mins saw the ModsV team on the back foot and we didn’t, collectively, deal with East Ardsley’s direct style.
It was 3-1 in no time, and then a soft penalty (and even though soft, the ref didn’t have a choice but to award a penalty) on 70mins made it 4-1.
As a team (and I am as guilty of this as the next man) our heads dropped, we crawled into our Mods hole and, given what had just happened and that it was the most important time in the game to be vocal and lead, we disgracefully fell quiet as mice for the next 10 mins.
With 10mins to go we got our act together and put some sustained pressure on the East Ardsley defence, by guess what, yes you guessed, by getting the ball down and playing our football, that we know we excel at, that is, on the deck.
A few chances created, and with a bit of luck and a tad more composure with the final ball, the score line could have been 4-3 with time still to get a result from the game.
As it was, a well-taken Andy Morris penalty was the scant consolation we gained from an overall extremely frustrating game of football (the second half especially).
We received a rollicking from supremo Lovelace after the game, initially, and rightly so, for the fact that our heads dropped and how disappointing it was that we collectively did not pick ourselves up and take our game to East Ardsley after going 4-1 down with 20 mins left (we did, eventually, but it was too late) and then Gary said something about cars and the meet place (I don’t really remember!), to which as Gary was making his points, each player looked at the ground, the sky, the two flies humping on the 33rd blade of grass, on the left of the discarded crisp packet, and clearly the information was taken on board by one and all.
Lessons for us all!
No-one individual stood out in the game, but Andy Morris and Howie played well, and so my m.o.m (we didn't do this after the game, or at least i'm not aware we did) is a joint affair this week betwen these two. Great tackling Howie, and some quality passing Andy, when on the deck, with a well taken penalty thrown in for good measure.
A defeat does not define a season; a quick dust down and ModsV will come back stronger next week.
What will define our season, if we continue to crumble when the game swings away, are defeats unless we impose our game on the opposition. We undoubtedly have the skills to pay the bills to do this, and when the game ebbs in the opposition’s favour we dig in, stay controlled and once the storm contained, re-impose ourselves.
Victories will then define our season.
The young lads who may see themselves missing out on a slot in a higher team will then come into the 5th team knowing that we’re a strong team, with leader’s not just off the pitch, but on it too.
All of us can then enjoy the craic together.
East Ardsley Wanderers Reserves 4 - 2 Old Modernians Football Club 5ths