Sat
10th Dec won 4-3 vs Edge
Sun 11th dec 2-2 vs Stourport (a)
Sat
3rd Dec: L Students 5 Nottm 1
3rds
come away from Loughborough with no points but heads held high
It
was an inauspicious start to what is generally perceived as the toughest
test of the season - Loughborough Uni away. By the 10am meet time there
were only 7 players on show, Studley was of course walking to the pitch
as he lives in Loughborough, but Dirty had gone to the wrong meeting
point and the Skipper and Student Pete were nowhere to be seen. Oh,
and a number of the team looked like they’d been drinking heavily
the night before. Quite what former 2nd team captain Steve “A-doo-ron-ron-ron
A-doo-ron-ron” Rendu, on only his second came back after a hernia
op, made of it is anyone’s guess. Perhaps this was why the 3rds
kept losing?
In fact this was deliberate chaos designed by the Skipper as an alternative
game strategy. The forethought and planning route had got nowhere, so
he decided to spend Friday night getting shedded, then drive 100 miles
before breakfast to pick up an equally hungover Student Pete before
arriving late to the game! He also decided it would be more of a challenge
to play without Sellsy, The Legend, Justin and Olly. We also had no
water as the skipper had drunk it all on the way to the game! So all
the signs were that we were in for a tonking!
Still the game was 0-0 when the Skipper finally sauntered onto the pitch.
Loughborough were attacking, as usual and sure enough Nottingham spent
almost the entire half defending. There was only one real attack of
note, which produced a short corner. The skipper misdirected his injection,
“Wee Man” Ben decided to take a shot himself, against all
instructions given in training and in the game. Student Pete staggered
in on the far post, where no-one had told him to run to, and somehow
deflected the ball into the goal! 1-0 Nottingham. Loughborough couldn’t
believe it, the dazed 3rds just ran back for the push back laughing
at their own audacity.
Back Loughborough came with a vengeance, determined to re-establish
their superiority. Pooley and “Doo-ron” Rendu were valiant
at the back, showing that forced inactivity (Rendu) and lack of skill
(Pooley) were no match for sheer bloody-minded determination! Ahead
of them Dirty was raising his game to match the Loughborough midfield,
, Jonesy, Crazy Frog and Pete fought hard to try and retain possession
up front whilst The Pimp fought hard to shake off his hangover. On the
right it was soon apparent that the real Steve Yallop had turned up.
The 3rds equivalent of Ronnie O’Sullivan had an appetite for the
battle, and more than held his own against the Loughborough players
both physically and with sublime skill.
The stand out performances were at the very back though. Foggy was having
the game of his season, blocking every shot, hurling himself across
to cover every move. In front of him Studley was enhancing his own reputation
as a phenomenal tackler. Sadly he was also enhancing his reputation
as a terrible passer. This only served up more opportunities to demonstrate
his tackling however, as every Loughborough attack foundered on these
two defensive rocks.
In the end, Loughborough needed some help to break Foggy’s heroic
resistance, the hapless Skipper, in probably his only touch of the half,
deflecting a Loughborough short corner between Foggy’s pads. 1-1.
Arse.
Still 1-1 at half time, a scoreline that probably surprised everyone.
With no water, dehydration was rampant, but belief surged amongst the
team, the half time talk was about keeping it tight, not giving Loughborough
easy possession and minimising their scoring chances.
The second half push back was Nottingham’s, Jonesy to Dirty, Dirty
played a nice 1-2 with the Skipper, Dirty played a lovely weighted pass
right onto the stick of the Loughborough forward, a couple of passes
and about 10 seconds later and the ball was in the back of Foggy’s
goal. 1-2. Double Arse. The Skipper realised he hadn’t mentioned
plan B.
It is to the credit of the team that heads did not go down, and the
3rds fought valiantly on, not least team elder Rendu and team youngster
Stevie down the right, showing off their dribbling abilities as they
rounded Loughborough players with seeming ease. As usual though, possession
was turned over too cheaply all across the park and bodies (notably
Foggy’s and Pooley’s) had to be put on the line to keep
Loughborough out. At 1-2 down the 3rds were still in with a chance,
and did earn a handful of short corners, but were unable to replicate
the magic of the 1st half.
The real game winner, when it came was an excellent solo goal. The Loughborough
centre half received the ball, but was instantly tackled by the Skipper
(fluke). As both players went for the loose ball the dirty student kicked
the Skipper’s stick away, took possession, and set off. Despite
this blatant foul play both umpires decided to let the matter go, and
were rewarded with a delightful solo run and spectacular reverse stick
finish from the edge of the D, flying just inside Foggy’s post.
Thereafter the 3rds appreciated the game was up, and in the last 10
minutes scored twice more. The final score, a far from humbling 1-5.
The 3rds reflected on a fantastic rearguard action, but once more poor
ball retention. Dirty suggested that things would have been better if
certain players hadn’t been out drinking the night before, but
then had to admit that staying in drinking wasn’t much better.
Overall, it was a hard and thoroughly enjoyable game, against an excellent
oppo who, personal hygiene aside, are never nasty to play against.
Man-of-the-match: Studley’s tackling was awe-inspiring, but his
distribution made the Skipper look good! Foggy played better than anyone
can remember, a worthy man of the match!
Muppet-of-the-match: Was it Student Pete, for trying to get out of the
game on Friday by remembering a party in Birmingham he was attending?
Or was it the Skipper and Dirty Bon, for their vital contributions to
Loughborough’s 1st and 2nd goals?
Report
JS
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