Walkern 2 Knobs 0

Ron is back, albeit temporarily. Had a game yesterday, bit rusty, but felt there was life in the old dog yet- just! Coincided with the end of our unbeaten run. Yet all those there will admit we missed a netful of chances to their couple. We were incompetent, unlucky, defeated by a commanding keeper and at times the woodwork, but the opportunities were there. Thought it was just a matter of time! It was a fairly hot morning, hence the match was played at a slothful pace, which perhaps suited them more than us. The pitch was very hard and bumpy which mitigated against those on our side who can run a bit with the ball. Other excuses/reasons? Well they had 5 subs, we had one. Does that count as an asset? Gavin kept goal in first half and was beaten only by a penalty, clumsily given away by Darren- Eboue later on v Liverpool? Ron kept goal second half. They scored a header late on, Tony would have handled it but it was left to Chris to try and head it out from under the bar, lacking the necessary giraffe anatomical parts, he failed- just. Nowt much more to say. They had an amusing two man wall in the second a six foot defender linking arms with a four foot winger -you don't often see that. Mind you don't often see Del Boy's Uncle Albert doing his shopping in Stevenage. But those of us who bothered to show at the pub (excellent Guinness) were treated to just such a sight! Much ageist mirth ensued- it depressed me a bit, don't think I'll be showing me face in public in the coming years. My chauffeur drove me home. No game next Sunday- Happy Easter and have a terrific wedding day on the 29th. Love Ron x

Knobs 2 Standon & Puckeridge 2

A beautiful sunny morning and the last game on our main home pitch for a while. This was the first game where our potential new management team, those bad boys Dave Jordan and Twiggy, took charge. Looking around the changing room it was clear some hard decisions were needed as we had six full-backs, four centre-backs and not much else. We needed someone to play all over the park and there was only one person saying ‘I’m your man’ and that was Darren A. What a sterling performance he put in throughout the match in at least four different positions. I even hear he cooked Trevor’s bacon sandwich!

From the kick-off, it was clear that it was going to be hard fought game. Their guys were big and strong but on the whole very fair as well. It was an enjoyable game to play in. The first chance of the game came with a ball over the top that Gavin ran on to but the keeper tipped it passed the post. From the following corner, Bully whipped in a lovely cross (as he did all afternoon) and their centre defender nearly scored but the keeper saved well. They went ahead from a free kick. The ball was punted in and Trevor (distracted by the fried bacon smells coming from the pavilion) failed to hold it and one of their forwards pounced and stuck it home. 1-0. It wasn’t long before the substitutions kicked in. Wise given the weather and soon Mark Mills (who hadn’t been since last Christmas) was making his way back home to prepare for his afternoon’s round of golf. John Boyle shed a tear as the £2.50 disappeared into the distance. After battling away, we were soon level. It started after John had cleared off the line. Then there was a lovely ball over the top from Darren A, which saw Gavin streak past their left back. Alistair cried out ‘Come on young gun, go for it’ and he duly did as he dispatched it with aplomb. 1-1. Soon though Standon got their noses in front again after an excellent finish from their centre forward. Top corner stuff. There was some dispute whether it had gone in but Ron (who again refereed with great distinction) was in no doubt. The goal stood. 2-1 and that is how it would end at half-time. Chris G gave us a team talk and we all agreed that we were playing quite well but we just had to press a bit more despite the searing heat.

In the second half, for some reason Standon seemed to drop off a bit deeper. This gave us the initiative, despite them bringing on their man mountain up front. When we play football on the ground, we show we can play really well. It’s just those odd sixty minutes in a game where we forget that, that lets us down. And it was the same in this game. There were spells when we strung some beautiful passes together and we advanced. Having said that, we rarely troubled their keeper, despite some shots by Chris Wilson and the odd goal mouth scramble coming from corners where Dave dominated in the end. John Boyle was unlucky not to connect with a diving header from a left wing cross. We finally got the equaliser though, again from a different corner. Apparently Darren and Dave were on hand from a cross by John to assist the ball in to the area, where Gavin found himself with the freedom of the penalty area and volleyed the ball home. 2-2. For a while it did look like we weren’t going to get the equaliser but sometimes you just need a little bit of faith.

And that was it really. We all had a good run out. Brendan, Paul and Twiggy all had a good go down the left flank and it was interesting to see Bully play the last ten minutes up front. There is a potential strategy for the future there as he has the skills to hold it up, flick it on and turn the ball round the corners for the other centre forward to run on to. Just a thought. One for the AGM maybe. Both Chris’ were very good as always, showing excellent energy and enthusiasm throughout and there you go. All team players mentioned in the blog as always.

Down the pub we enjoyed a swift pint before heading off into the glorious sunshine. Our good run continues and hopefully we can beat Walkern next week. Always a tough fixture but remember - ‘winners never quit and quitters never win!’