Knobs v Goldings

Game off due to Dave going missing in San Marino with no phone! Season abandoned.

Old Minchendenians 1 Knobs 2

Wrote something earlier but it's obviously nicked off into the ether.
Successful game that defied a personnel issue, a weather issue, a pitch issue and then played at Knebworth, in a good spirit yet very competitively, we emerged the winners. Justifiably? Probably.
Several new faces and a couple of old ones sorry Twiggy!
The refeee  was bit of a throwback! Our team was huddled in the centre circle pre match. No it wasn't an unprecedented team talk, it was the referee checking their studs and jewellry! Alistair had to tape over his ring which made shitting difficult but there you are, rules is rules... or is they?
At last we got started. This ref didn't like a tackle, still he played his part and most of his decisions were correct. He did hold up play for an eternity in the arctic chill to practice tying up his bootlaces, then he committed the unforgiveable at half time by pissing 'gainst one of our hallowed trees but then he broke with precedent by showing up at the pub afterwards.
I say, well done that man, representative of a class of beings without whose turning out no games would be possible.
CLAP CLAP CLAP- for he's a jolly good fellow..
Debutant Brian found himself hamstrung after 5 minutes to be replaced by his mate and fellow debutant Darran, a Kev Jones lookalike , right down to hairstyle, huge punt and long throw. And possessor of a nifty little dragback which he employed 6 times and was never robbed!
We fully deserved our half time lead with goals from Vinnie, a thumping close range header from a Bully corner and from a shot by Sean making his home debut. Sean also  had a lovely shot ricochet from the cross bar. A scything  move initiated by a lively Gavin slalom only failed with the final shot on goal when the hard work had been done.
They threatened intermittently with two tip overs from Dave. The first a genuine save and a praiseworthy effort, the second a little bit of exaggeration on his part, finger tip to it, my arse nae where near.
Second half teams were running out of puff in the cloying mud but they had the advantage of kicking downhill so held a bit of an edge. As we defended increasingly deeper there were danger signs. We were far too deep for their goal. That close in, a ball hits anyone and it can trickle in. So it proved bouncing off their man's hump for a crappy parody of a header. 2-1 and so it remained.
We held on and deservedly won.
I thought everyone tried hard. Twiggy had a fine game after a long absence. Sean is very promising and reads the game well. Craig put in a courageous shift in his bi annual game for us. Gavin could and perhaps should have  scored a couple prior to his early departure to a chess tournament in Grantham but at least he was a lively, involved presence today. Ian fell in some dog shit late on which was quite amusing but he played well alongside the crafty Tony. In the middle until late on the defensive midfield pairing of Steve and Richard were rarely overrun. Vinnie put the effort in and was frequently seen in his knackered posture, doubled over hands on knees, but he was a  threat throughout.
Quite a few in the Station celebrating something called St Patrick's day where it was compulsory to drink lots of the black nectar. Great!
Went home to see Newcastle crapped on at Wigan. The tackle, the corner not given and the ridiculous piece of Maradona handling. Fergy wouldn't have stood for it but hey we're just a little club.

Blunham v Knobs

Cancelled, points lost. Mothers in the way day.

Knobs1 Ware 2

A poor result at the end of a less than enjoyable game. Folk did not seem to be on the same wavelengths in face of an opposition which tried hard, tackled well and always managed to get a toe or a boot in throughout. We can do better and undoubtedly we will. Scored 11 against them at their place!
They scythed through us after 30 seconds probably their best move of the season! Aye aye! They did it again with their next best move of the season and this time finished emphatically. We huffed and puffed but missed the couple of chances we 'created'. There were chances. Their keeper, diminutive he may have been, a pushover he was not. Then we scored from a genuine move. Phil inside to Bully, a raking pass put Gavin through, where he checked before putting it on a plate for Gerry. 1-1 half time. Second half  was sure to be different, yet it wasn't. They scored midway through with a rocket free kick that evaded the wall. Action replay please?
Not much more to say today.
Lytton for chicken and chips. Tony and Chris sat next to each other. Next week away v Blunham, personnel permitting.