On a glorious sunny Sunday morning, we had our final league game of the season. Both teams had shown late season form and came into the game with a 5 game unbeaten streak but luckily for us, by the end of the game, it was we who marched on triumphantly.
We lost the toss and started the game kicking downhill. From the very start we showed good attacking intent. Lots of movement meant that soon chances were coming. Darren H missed an absolute sitter early doors but it wouldn’t be the last for the team….there were plenty to come. Ron got the away team on his side after 5 minutes by awarding a goal and then not awarding it, with the ball having nearly crossed the line but not quite. It was a close call but certainly no goal. Ron had obviously got the morning jitters having seen that Paul was our goalkeeper for the game. Gavin missed a one-on-one with the keeper (it was well saved) and Andy also had a nicely angled drive gathered in by the keeper. We had quite a few chances in the first 20 minutes and then it went a bit peary. I think it was when John Boyle came on. By half-time it was 0-0 and so in the 2nd half there was everything to play for.
Dave used all his motivational skills at half-time to keep us focused and Chairman Al made the substitutions. Make way Bully, the touchline needs you.
In the 2nd half, Shephall came storming out of the blocks and they had a couple of chances without Paul looking too worried. And then suddenly we were 1-0 down. John Boyle had a Tony ‘chicken’ moment and parried the ball in the penalty area with his elbows. Penalty cried Ron and it was duly dispatched. At that point, no one in the team was taking responsibility. We needed leadership. Someone to get a grip on the game. It didn’t really happen but Darren A did nail one of their players which effectively reduced them to 10 men for the rest of the game. Our way back in to the match was with a penalty. Handball again. Bully came on for the injured Richard and duly dispatched the penalty. More chances went begging…Andy hit the cross bar, Gavin hit the cross bar…as the old man on the side said ‘Rubbish!’ and yes indeed it was until finally, Gavin finally dispatched one into the corner after a lovely through ball by Andy. Our third came from a Bully corner where Andy flicked on and after a mild melee, Gavin pounced and tucked it away like a ‘fox in the box’. By this stage, we had flowered. When people had the ball there was suddenly plenty of options. As Ron remarked to Bully ‘…everybody wants the ball now!’ – highlighting the fact that many went missing during that first 20 minutes of the 2nd half. The final goal came from another bit of fine inter-play from the front men. A one-two in the box saw the keeper eventually save well from Gavin but Andy put away the resulting rebound. What a partnership…up there with Crockett and Tubbs, Shearer and Sheringham, Laurel and Hardy…maybe even Clegg and Cameron. Little bit of politics there. Oh, I should say that Chris Wilson had an excellent game at the back, marshalling quite a strong forward and he showed his usual determination throughout. Tony, Al and Brendan were solid at the back and Dave puffed beautifully throughout. Yet again, Ron had a marvellous match as referee.
A good natured game…not sure what happened at the pub. I’m sure it was all good fun but for some of us, it was the Knebworth House Free Day for all Knebworth citizens…so we had to rush. I managed to bore Darren A’s kids to tears up there. Ho-hum.
Well done all. Let’s look forward to starting our league campaign next year the way we ended it this year.
Goodbye Sir Ronald
Quack quack
Monday 28 March 2011
Monday 21 March 2011
Knobs 3 Harpenden Rovers 1
A friendly was arranged but the availability was poor- John was left floundering and cynical.
Nevertheless we took the field with 11, with Darren due to leave the fray on the hour. Ron ref but no linesmen.
Pitch a tad bumpy and challenged both sides ability to get the ball down and play a bit of passing football. We all welcomed Matty back to the fold, many happy returns, we need him.
They almost scored within five minutes when Tim was clear through but skied his shot into the locked tennis courts. Thereafter we were forced to play with the rather light and flimsy oomegoolie ball. Not an easy task on such a bouncy pitch.
I thought it was an interesting, friendly run out for both sides, though a touch on the slow side and rather too open but most of the players thought it was the shittiest game ever. What do I know?
They took the lead when a punt down the middle was tended by a retreating Tony and an advancing Trevor. Tony shouted keeper but Trevor kept repeating "away" but Tony showing his deafer side took this to mean get out the way and by the time you could say "fucking hell" in Serbo- Croat, they'd both overun the ball to leave our ex player Kelwyn the arduous task of tapping into an empty goal.
Before the red blushes had cooled from faces, we were level. Darren advanced, disdainfully ignoring entreaties for a pass from Steve, before finding Matt on the right of goal. Matt steadied himself before unleashing an unstoppable rocket from the narrowest of angles. How good did that look!
We bumped on till half time 1-1.
Second half we sort of came out, kicking uphill, but they were nowhere to be seen (metaphorically speaking). Advantage of our plentiful possession led to two further goals. Our second a scrimmage - a poke from Steve, a swish from Chris Cox and a squeeze from the goalie saw the ball arrive on the goal line into the hands of the full back. Penalty! No they sportingly acceded a goal , the ball was over the line when caught.
Shortly afterwards, Phil enjoying more playable possession from left back hoisted over a high cross which floated into the top corner.
Darren went home and we played to the end with players injured and hobbling all over the place, John with a gluteus max. strain, Matt tight hamstring, Chris Cox dead leg and Phil knackered.
Matt had a terrific cross tipped onto and over the bar by the keeper and Trevor saved expertly from a long lob from Kelwyn. Chris Wilson played well. Tommy never got on but his day will come.
The number of throw ins in that game , ball out of play must have accounted for half an hour! We must invest in a ball that returns itself.
Pleasant pop in pub. See you home to Shephall, last league game, next Sunday.
Nevertheless we took the field with 11, with Darren due to leave the fray on the hour. Ron ref but no linesmen.
Pitch a tad bumpy and challenged both sides ability to get the ball down and play a bit of passing football. We all welcomed Matty back to the fold, many happy returns, we need him.
They almost scored within five minutes when Tim was clear through but skied his shot into the locked tennis courts. Thereafter we were forced to play with the rather light and flimsy oomegoolie ball. Not an easy task on such a bouncy pitch.
I thought it was an interesting, friendly run out for both sides, though a touch on the slow side and rather too open but most of the players thought it was the shittiest game ever. What do I know?
They took the lead when a punt down the middle was tended by a retreating Tony and an advancing Trevor. Tony shouted keeper but Trevor kept repeating "away" but Tony showing his deafer side took this to mean get out the way and by the time you could say "fucking hell" in Serbo- Croat, they'd both overun the ball to leave our ex player Kelwyn the arduous task of tapping into an empty goal.
Before the red blushes had cooled from faces, we were level. Darren advanced, disdainfully ignoring entreaties for a pass from Steve, before finding Matt on the right of goal. Matt steadied himself before unleashing an unstoppable rocket from the narrowest of angles. How good did that look!
We bumped on till half time 1-1.
Second half we sort of came out, kicking uphill, but they were nowhere to be seen (metaphorically speaking). Advantage of our plentiful possession led to two further goals. Our second a scrimmage - a poke from Steve, a swish from Chris Cox and a squeeze from the goalie saw the ball arrive on the goal line into the hands of the full back. Penalty! No they sportingly acceded a goal , the ball was over the line when caught.
Shortly afterwards, Phil enjoying more playable possession from left back hoisted over a high cross which floated into the top corner.
Darren went home and we played to the end with players injured and hobbling all over the place, John with a gluteus max. strain, Matt tight hamstring, Chris Cox dead leg and Phil knackered.
Matt had a terrific cross tipped onto and over the bar by the keeper and Trevor saved expertly from a long lob from Kelwyn. Chris Wilson played well. Tommy never got on but his day will come.
The number of throw ins in that game , ball out of play must have accounted for half an hour! We must invest in a ball that returns itself.
Pleasant pop in pub. See you home to Shephall, last league game, next Sunday.
Monday 14 March 2011
Knobs 2 Goldings Grandads and young ‘uns 1
What a feisty encounter! And it had all started so well. Nets and goals were up before we even got in to the changing room. This new management team…it’s a different gravy. Even the shirts were hanging on the wall!
The game kicked off (after a discussion about league rules) in what can only be described as miserable conditions. We had a new goalie in the first half. Step forward Dave Jordan. He knows how to give. And take based on a tackle in the second half. Doggy is his favourite. Anyway, it was a competitive game with a few chances at both ends. On a tricky pitch, there was some nice inter-linking play between Mike, Andy and Gavin but unfortunately no outcome. Richard battled hard in the 1st half in the centre of midfield but for some reason they seemed to have the edge. They were just bigger and stronger in that first half. Their goal came from a corner, where the ball managed to squeeze past Alistair at the near post and their striker chested it in. Dave at some point tipped a shot on to the post but before half time we were level thanks to a wonderful strike from Andy on an angle. It nearly burst the net. Like ‘Hot Shot’ Hamish.
At half-time, a discussion was had about tactics and soon Dave was out on pitch and Gavin was put in goal. A clean sheet was to come. Chris Cox had also come on to the field for the unlucky Mike. We seemed to be stronger in the second half. Got more in to them and harassed them somewhat. John Boyle showed his battling qualities and the right side combo of him and Darren looked particularly solid. Chris and Tony were also playing a much higher line which seemed to help enormously with defensive stability. Bully was also coming into his own with some nice turns and touches and it was from his curling free-kick that saw us get the 2nd goal. The keeper could only parry it out to Andy who happily tucked it away like the fox in the box that he is. That was his eighth goal in the league. Impressive stuff considering the number of games he has played.
After that, it all got a bit tense. Ron managed a difficult 2nd half very well. There was a bit of time wasting going on, a few tough tackles, some foul language…it was as if we were playing Sandy! With around 10 minutes to go, Grandad finally lost it and shoved Dave in the back. Fisticuffs looked on the cards with Tony having a Usain Bolt moment in supporting Dave…clearly he is trying to impress the new management team so he won’t get locked in the changing rooms again. A sending off occurred. A rare moment in a Vet’s game but afterwards in the pub it was all hunky dory. Ooo…I nearly forgot to mention Alistair’s rugby tackle with the young lad. A marvellous sight to behold. That’s what you want to see from your leaders. Grit, determination and some suspected broken ribs. It is obvious that we should all be thankful for our week off before we play our last league game.
Well done everyone. A tight game but as Brad Gilbert says, sometimes you have to win ugly and yesterday, we did that.
The game kicked off (after a discussion about league rules) in what can only be described as miserable conditions. We had a new goalie in the first half. Step forward Dave Jordan. He knows how to give. And take based on a tackle in the second half. Doggy is his favourite. Anyway, it was a competitive game with a few chances at both ends. On a tricky pitch, there was some nice inter-linking play between Mike, Andy and Gavin but unfortunately no outcome. Richard battled hard in the 1st half in the centre of midfield but for some reason they seemed to have the edge. They were just bigger and stronger in that first half. Their goal came from a corner, where the ball managed to squeeze past Alistair at the near post and their striker chested it in. Dave at some point tipped a shot on to the post but before half time we were level thanks to a wonderful strike from Andy on an angle. It nearly burst the net. Like ‘Hot Shot’ Hamish.
At half-time, a discussion was had about tactics and soon Dave was out on pitch and Gavin was put in goal. A clean sheet was to come. Chris Cox had also come on to the field for the unlucky Mike. We seemed to be stronger in the second half. Got more in to them and harassed them somewhat. John Boyle showed his battling qualities and the right side combo of him and Darren looked particularly solid. Chris and Tony were also playing a much higher line which seemed to help enormously with defensive stability. Bully was also coming into his own with some nice turns and touches and it was from his curling free-kick that saw us get the 2nd goal. The keeper could only parry it out to Andy who happily tucked it away like the fox in the box that he is. That was his eighth goal in the league. Impressive stuff considering the number of games he has played.
After that, it all got a bit tense. Ron managed a difficult 2nd half very well. There was a bit of time wasting going on, a few tough tackles, some foul language…it was as if we were playing Sandy! With around 10 minutes to go, Grandad finally lost it and shoved Dave in the back. Fisticuffs looked on the cards with Tony having a Usain Bolt moment in supporting Dave…clearly he is trying to impress the new management team so he won’t get locked in the changing rooms again. A sending off occurred. A rare moment in a Vet’s game but afterwards in the pub it was all hunky dory. Ooo…I nearly forgot to mention Alistair’s rugby tackle with the young lad. A marvellous sight to behold. That’s what you want to see from your leaders. Grit, determination and some suspected broken ribs. It is obvious that we should all be thankful for our week off before we play our last league game.
Well done everyone. A tight game but as Brad Gilbert says, sometimes you have to win ugly and yesterday, we did that.
Tuesday 8 March 2011
Knobs 3 Old Minchendenians 1 - Report by Gavin Simpson
If the league season had started in January, we would be top of the league by now. What a run we are on. 3 more points in the bag and a beautiful game to watch. I say that with all seriousness. All those who were substituted couldn’t believe the standard of play on the pitch!
After a delayed start, it was clear that we were going to be the dominant team throughout this contest. They had a couple of decent players but overall, we looked fitter, stronger and more skilful. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t have been 1-0 down, after Ron had denied the Old Minchendians what looked like a clear penalty as Tony parried away a shot/cross with his hands. As the lino Brendan said ‘He does it so often now, it’s not worth flagging.’ – I’m sure they would agree.
It was a game of bobbly balls and missed chances and at half-time it was 0-0. A stirring speech by Chris meant that we came out in the 2nd half with renewed vigour. Alistair (acting manager) was using his roll-on/roll-off subs system as a motivational tool. You were told that you had 15 minutes to do something before you were hauled off. This inspired the players on the pitch. And Dave Jordan on the sidelines.
The first goal was controversial. After Bully crossed in a corner, a shot came in and one of their defenders parried the shot much like Tony had done in the first half. Ron called penalty. They were up in arms. And that was the problem in the first place. Ho! Ho! Bully stepped up and rattled it home. The second was a nice-ish goal. Richard held the ball up well and played it off to Bully who played a lovely ball through for Gavin to chase. It was 50/50 with the keeper and as the ball bounced up, Gavin hooked it back in to the box for Darren A to score from close range. His first goal in the league. A lovely moment. The third goal was another through ball by Bully (I think or it might have been Richard or Chris W.) and Gavin raced on to it and slotted it through the keepers legs. 3-0. Game over. Or so we thought.
We looked quite solid throughout the game. Chris Wilson was having an excellent game in midfield and Tony and Chris looked yet again very stable at the back. I have to admit, after the third goal I didn’t see much more of the game but I was reliably informed that Old Minchendians could have easily come back in to it, by Chris Wilson, who by that time had been rolled off. Was it no surprise that they scored with Chris and Tony off the pitch? Maybe but maybe not. We might have thought the game was won. I think we created a couple more chances. Mike was unlucky, just putting one past the post. And that was it. Oh…RON HAD A MARVELLOUS GAME AS REFEREE.
As the league games are about to end, here is some information:
Top League goal scorers – Andy Castle (6), Gavin Simpson (4), Steve Bull (3) and John Boyle (3)
After a delayed start, it was clear that we were going to be the dominant team throughout this contest. They had a couple of decent players but overall, we looked fitter, stronger and more skilful. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t have been 1-0 down, after Ron had denied the Old Minchendians what looked like a clear penalty as Tony parried away a shot/cross with his hands. As the lino Brendan said ‘He does it so often now, it’s not worth flagging.’ – I’m sure they would agree.
It was a game of bobbly balls and missed chances and at half-time it was 0-0. A stirring speech by Chris meant that we came out in the 2nd half with renewed vigour. Alistair (acting manager) was using his roll-on/roll-off subs system as a motivational tool. You were told that you had 15 minutes to do something before you were hauled off. This inspired the players on the pitch. And Dave Jordan on the sidelines.
The first goal was controversial. After Bully crossed in a corner, a shot came in and one of their defenders parried the shot much like Tony had done in the first half. Ron called penalty. They were up in arms. And that was the problem in the first place. Ho! Ho! Bully stepped up and rattled it home. The second was a nice-ish goal. Richard held the ball up well and played it off to Bully who played a lovely ball through for Gavin to chase. It was 50/50 with the keeper and as the ball bounced up, Gavin hooked it back in to the box for Darren A to score from close range. His first goal in the league. A lovely moment. The third goal was another through ball by Bully (I think or it might have been Richard or Chris W.) and Gavin raced on to it and slotted it through the keepers legs. 3-0. Game over. Or so we thought.
We looked quite solid throughout the game. Chris Wilson was having an excellent game in midfield and Tony and Chris looked yet again very stable at the back. I have to admit, after the third goal I didn’t see much more of the game but I was reliably informed that Old Minchendians could have easily come back in to it, by Chris Wilson, who by that time had been rolled off. Was it no surprise that they scored with Chris and Tony off the pitch? Maybe but maybe not. We might have thought the game was won. I think we created a couple more chances. Mike was unlucky, just putting one past the post. And that was it. Oh…RON HAD A MARVELLOUS GAME AS REFEREE.
As the league games are about to end, here is some information:
Top League goal scorers – Andy Castle (6), Gavin Simpson (4), Steve Bull (3) and John Boyle (3)
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