Old Owens 4 Knobs 3

Flat, slick pitch , lovely grass, dew covered and a competitive, trouble free game.
We defended well and in numbers, we had to because they were playing some inventive, on the deck football. Despite our getting stuck in they were still able to breach us on several occasions first half when without the courage and sheer speed of reactions of keeper Tony they would have been out of sight by the break. As it was they briefly led from a comical, pinball routine that drifted over the line. But after a Vinnie drive crashed the bar we equalised through Woody, a busy, bustling presence up front. He looked a tad offside but a good referee played on and he rounded their keeper before netting under pressure. 1-1 half time.
They were still purring forward and looked dangerous at all times, yet resolute defence in numbers saw us holding our own until they took the lead from an exquisite, individual goal clipped in from an angle. There followed a penalty from which they scored, after Chris W wiped out their man in a penalty area which seemed marked out to cover half the pitch! Minutes later their chance to make it 4 was postponed when a subtle barge in the back by John prevented their bloke heading in. The subsequent penalty, same player, same place made it 4.
A fight back ensued. Woody chested down a ball on half way and burst clear, again rounding their giant keeper to repeat his first. A Vinnie bicycle kick was blocked and he volleyed the rebound home from a prone position. 4-3. Perhaps we should all emulate the Vinnie style we could be world champs at playing from the flat on the back position.
We looked more threatening for the last 10 minutes but the reward for effort was nothing.
They were a good side and we contained them pretty well but the downside was that we could not summon the extra energy to get forward and support the forwards Woody and Vinnie who were always too isolated and reliant on their own individual efforts. Get fitter chaps, this is the Premier League. Cough, splutter!