Sometimes you have to just say the better side won...they did. A strange afternoon punctuated by the curious officiating of our ref Mary led to our first defeat in a month though it was wholly the ability of AP rather than any incorrect decisions which cost us.

 

Certainly we missed the guile and drive of Tom and Jason in centre mid but Matt and Marlon are just as good, it was simply our inability to deal with their shape which cost us as we never go to grips with the extra man in midfield. Prior to kick off both sides had to stand around for an age in the cold whilst boots and jewellery were inspected and goalkeepers lectured and when we eventually kicked off AP started much better and we were forced to defend for much of the half. Twice in as many minutes they hit the bar, the skipper from a yard (bless you duncan!) and a scorcher from 25 yards which certainly deserved better. We on the other hand couldn’t repeat our flowing football from previous weeks or indeed keep the ball, reduced to the occasional break and long distance effort.

 

Just when we thought we’d make the half they powered a shot home from 20 yards as again we failed to pick up the extra man. At halfers we talked about changing the system to counter theirs but vowed to give it 10 minutes and see if they would tire and also because andy on the bench had literally frozen to the spot. On numerous occasions throughout the game play was stopped to deal with ‘string’ bands, injured players being forced to leave the field a la the champions league, ball pressure checks etc which whilst i’m sure was all part of a necessary day in the premiership, was a little over the top for div 3 and players got more and more tetchy as it got darker and darker.

 

That said the second half was much better, more even and allowed to flow much more. For twenty minutes we had the better possession without creating too much though Manu went close with a header, Matt’s shot was comfortably saved and a cross zipped across the box when a touch would have done. All the while AP bided their time, breaking with pace and holding it up well. After about 65 mins they went 2-0 up as the centre forward somehow managed to screw the ball over John from  20 yards and then 3 as a blocked shot was swept home from close range.

 

Dan came on for Andy Nic and I went walkabout to try something different. Ben was brought down by a nasty looking challenge but to be fair to the ref she and most of us watched the shot he squeezed away hit the bar. Those of us who saw the challenge called for the pen but what you don’t see you can’t give. Unfortunately this led to five minutes of nonsense with one or two lats unwilling to accept the decision but soon after the handbags were put away we got a pen for handball but chris smashed it against the bar to sum up the afternoon.

 

Eventually though we got our goal as Ben found me on the edge of the box and i neatly skipped round the defender like the hippos from fantasia and drilled home a low shot for my one for the season....definitely goal of the game!

 

So a deserved win for AP and despite my comments about the picky nature of the officiating there are no complaints about the bulk of actual decisions made and Mary was great company in the bar afterwards. As she disappeared into the night with the young lads giving her a lift i wasn’t sure who i feared for most!

 

BB Eagles next week who are playing better than their position suggests and have beaten AP so we are expecting another tough game in this very tight league where everyone seems capable of beating anyone on a given day.

 

MOM- Should be me really but Ben led the line really well again with no joy so well done to him.