Knobs 3 Old Accies 5

Not outplayed, far from hammered, Knobs suffered their first defeat of 2012 at the feet and lungs of not so old Old Accies. A bright, sunny morning probably enjoyed by all apart from the result.
Neat football by both sides promised a proper footballing occasion and so it proved but they had that little bit more energy to roll out over the 90 minutes. An early change in midfield took place when Chris Cox succumbed to a calf strain. This probably led to too open a game without Chris's buzzing presence. Still Knobs took the lead when a free kick was given after a thrusting run by Ali was illegally stopped. Phil's free kick rocketed off the bar and was neatly tucked away by Darren new boots. They equalised softly when a penalty was given for a possibly harsh handball against Jamie. End to end stuff then they took the lead when a break was converted by their hairy winger. The most hair seen on a Vet for many a year and not a gray one among them- suspicious! Immediately from the kick off Knobs equalised with the goal of the season for cheek and execution. Kick off to Ali who it rolled back to Phil who scored from his own half with a phemenal punt over the keeper languishing near the edge of his area.
They scored a third on a break from our right touchline when a quick throw left three of our players ahead of the ball. First an excellent head off the line by Chris, I think, stalled them but they quickly netted when unchallenged. Half time 3-2.
Second half we threatened frequently and ill fortune denied us. A John cross shot hit the post and other shots were scuffed or larruped wide. An unfortunate keeping error led to their fourth. Sufficient to say it will enter the annals of Knob's part time goalkeeper howlers. Yet still we threatened but seemed to be running out of steam. Dave came out of goal to beef things up and Joel cracked one in to make it 4-3. Near the end they broke and from a resulting cross their man lashed in an unstoppable fifth. John had a neat snap header just wide from a fierce Joel cross and Dave might have headed in near the end but seemed to lose his bearings.
The pub was quiet. People raced home to watch the footy, Spurs were 2-0 up and some Knobs were purring. What was the final score by the way?
Taraa!

Ware Strollers 0 Knobs 4 - report by Dandy Dave

Now that there's no snow to be seen i would have expected a pitch that was sodden and full of mud. In fact i was surprised because the pitch we played on was sodden and full of mud! I was also surprised to find that we turned up at the ground with no kit. It took us all 10 minutes to realise that the kit hadn't made it's way to the ground as Jamie forgot to pass it on to the nearest consenting adult (there's not many of them in the team) That said we were offered an oversized kit which was originally set aside for the Bengeo fat fighters club. Well played Ware Strollers for the offer. Little did they know we were going to beat them comprehensively in their own shirts. The game kicked off with us playing against a low lying sun on a very muddy surface which we coped with better than we have in the past. From the off our back 4 were resolute and strong with lots of encouragement and positive talking .Chris G and Brendan played like a pair of seasoned pros snuffling any chances that came Ware's way.Ware's lone centre forward who had a low centre of gravity wasn't given any chance of turning to make space for himself to shoot. If he did have any opportunity he was promptly closed down by Ally, Chris, Brendan or Darren. Well done,solid to the final whistle. Once we found our rhythm we began to play some attractive football especially in the middle where we had 4 players supporting Bully who was stroking the ball to our wingers or wing backs. In saying that it was master craftsman Bully who played a wide ball out to Darren who found himself in acres of farmland before unleashing a thunder bolt of a shot which ripped the top corner of the net. To say Darren was ecstatic would be an understatement. His new boots have already paid dividends. It's what the game was asking for and it put us in the ascendancy 30 minutes gone and a Bully corner found the head of John B who dispatched a nice little flick on to make it 2 nil. Some say it was an OG im not so sure can anyone clarify? The second half started as usual with us taking our foot off the gas and letting the oppo play football. We put ourselves under alot of unnecessary pressure. Lucky for us Ware didn't have decent enough players to give our keeper any problems. Please feel free to make your comments on our keepers performance. Trevor seems a distant memory at the moment! We weathered any storm that was put in front of us and after 20 minutes Vinny found himself in a position where he could have made it 3 nil. Instead he found the tallest tree in Bengeo to kick the ball at and it nestled in the branches approximately 120 feet above sea level. Not to be down beat he found himself in a one on one with the keeper 3 minutes later which some how ended up with the ball being smacked at him and rebounding in to the net. Vinny's second and 12th of the season was a sumptuous placed shot using the defender as a foil and curling it in the bottom corner of the net from 18 yards. Lots of chips bread and pizza at the White Hart afterwards which saw a pretty good turn out.The 451 formation is working well at present although some say it depends on your personnel or who you play. I think its about getting the right blend of character and who's up for the fight! I couldn't fault our back 4 plus subs. The midfield were tight and did not shirk from their responsibility's, eg-: Steve Bull slide tackling in our penalty box and taking out Chris G. Un heard of!! Both wingers making a nuisance of them selves and central midfield being the engine of the team, whilst our lone striker whether it be Vinny or Andy was a hand full to say the least. I wouldn't hesitate to pick this team for next week. Talking of next week we are playing UCL Accies minus John B who only plays on certain Sundays iv' e been told. Get a fucking grip man, at your age you should appreciate playing every game.
A quick foot note:- Did our keeper have a good game? Answers on a post card.

Tutty Bye!

Sandy /Blunham v Knobs cancelled

Cancelled due to winter. We have a full fixture list so I do not know who we should scrub in order to fit in a rescheduled Blunham game. Suggestions?
Of course we could suggest May 29th, a Saturday date or a midweek evening date, they must have lights at Biggleswade.
Next week away v Ware, in the league, winter permitting.
Nothing much to say now except I see Newcastle won again and are above Arsenal in the league.
Cisse and Ba, cor blimey, wait till we get Tiotti and Cabaye back!
Bye Bye.
Cocky Pike.