Therfield 1 Knobs 2

A balmy morning- nay a barmy morning. I didn't want to do it, but I did.
John and I + Tommy set off to Therfield cross country- the scenic route. I pictured Therfield just beyond Walkern, but approaching it realised I was picturing Weston. Oh well Therfield is somewhere around here, over to the left somewhere. No map, no sat-nav just instinct, helped by the solar position on this glorious morning and we proceeded. Round in a huge, magnificient circle, Clothall, Cottered, Throcking (redundant church), Buntingford, Sandon then Therfield. many phonecalls- where the fuck are you? In my head, it's great in here! Taught Tommy about the validity of the white lie- the tyre went and you and I had to change it with the magic wand. We arrived. Sorry! Alistair wondered why we didna give the kit to someone else. Well there's hindsight for you, if we knew we would take so long we would have- please drop it sorry!
I felt bad. John and I became subs anyway, the practical punishment, well at least for John, yet it wasn't his fault. John was in high spirits, he normally is, it's a great day.
The match commenced with a heavy dew on the surface which slowed ground passes appreciably. Yet we didn't cotton on. How many flicks and fanny passes went astray for the first hour. Those who are guilty know!
Minutes into the game their full back lurched forward, only to collide with an invisible blanket of dark matter which propelled him off his feet- fuck me how I laughed, had to stuff the flag doon me gullet, nae guid, a shat meslf instead. Surreal. This is gonna be some game.
No disrepect to Therfield, they can beat us IF WE LET THEM, but this was a game where if we played properly we'd slaughter them or if came down to their level of athleticism and know how we would achieve a result too close to call. The latter obtained. Players look at an opposition, start doing individual, personal things and before you can say mine's a pint of shite, find themselves struggling to do owt right. Hey a wiz just watching, that's worra saw in that's worra think. Object if you will!
Teamwork gans oot thi winda as people start ti express themselves individually.
This will probably be the worst opposition we face all season, and we won, despite local factors and whinges, 2-1. Last week against Saints, a hugely different proposition, we nearly battered them! Moral? Return game let's play together, play to our strengths and give them a lesson. Winning yesterday was a pyrrhic victory.
The game. The ref was crap, but he was a canny lad.
We hit woodwork or was that aluminium?
They never threatened in the first half, except from a couple of nicely flighted corners, we dealt with competently. How's your head Dave?
We took the lead when Dave made a run and glanced a neat header into the corner- it must have been a Bully cross ? Was it?
Second half they brought on the infant messiah. I'd already emphasised that Therfield are a village team NOT a vets team. In this context we should never bleat about age. But boys will be boys and a certain amount of niggle set in around this precocious youth. I actually liked him cos he knew I used to be a teacher- before becoming a geriatric paper boy and kept calling me Sir. As it happened our youngest vet Chris Wilson was more than his master. An altercation, which I only partly perceived, in Arsene fashion, saw John and the referee practising F-words at each other from 5 paces. Fuck off- no you fuck off- no you fucking fuck off, fucking hell geroff. John was taken off for the safety of Tommy's upbringing. A second goal came after an incredible ping pong session in their six yard box was ended by Gerry lashing home emphatically. 2-0. We were comfortably playing out the game when we gave them one. Well we gave them the ball and dared them to score one. They did.
We never felt or looked like losing but 2-1's a funny old score line Saint!
The showers were freezing. The pub was fine, the St Edmunds Ale was great, why can't the Station get that- it's Green King and we all went yem for Sunday lunch- mine were toast and marmalade- eeh the high life.