Match Report, Phoenix vs Tufnell Park Wangers

Sunday league football has somewhat developed a reputation for casual violence, and the classic image of hapless tackles, hastily draw accusations of offside, and crying in the rain, is as truer representation of any. Luckily, the predominantly middle class Gower Phoenix are above such acts of skulduggery, but the same cannot be said for TPR.

Kick off started late as usual. Miles offered to ref the match until the actual ref arrived, but his offer fell upon deaf ears, as the elders of TPR deemed him untrustworthy. Luckily for football, a Virgin player helped out, but not wanting to make any waves, he allowed play to go on in the first minute of the match after Jules was hacked down in the area. With a similar team to last week, bar the exceptions of Lucas and Miles, Phoenix responded well to the injustice wrought down upon them by the virgin ref, an apt name given his inexperience. Looking for their fifth consecutive victory, Phoenix started the brighter of the two teams, and with more synergy to the side, good football seemed to come easily.

However, TPR were also going into the match on a (legal) high, as they remained the only team in the league to stay unbeaten. You only have to look at their defence to wonder why, as their two centre defenders were massive, and were clearly no strangers to the game. Yet the age old question of what happens when a unstoppable force meets an immovable object springs to mind, as facing that defence were the tricky duo of Jules ‘the speedster’ Slazenger and Fernando Denselow. It only took fifteen minutes before the deadlock was broken, Fernando Denselow managed to rob one of the behemoth defenders of the ball before running into the box and finishing in the bottom right hand corner, his seventh goal in five games!

The goal seemed to give Phoenix confidence, and Ben and Lucas started to dominate the centre of the park. Pat in particular was having a blinder from the off, and despite playing against TPR’s chaviest player, found himself constantly getting past him on the left. With most of the possession in Phoenix hands, a second goal looked extremely likely. Predictably, our second goal came from a Balesque cross from Pat, who after a one-two with Jules found Lucas at the far post, who finished well. The goal proved to be a double-edged sword as Lucas came off straight away after colliding with the keeper. Miles replaced him, yet the injury had jarred the team, and TPR took advantage with a vengeance, scoring two in the dying minutes of the half.

The second half saw few chances from Phoenix, and as TPR looked for the winner, Phoenix pulled together to pull off a fantastic defensive display, repelling attack after attack from a strong TPR side. A draw seemed to be the most realistic result, but suddenly in the last minute of the match Pat intercepted a cross field pass and galloped into the oppo’s half. With a small crowd of spectators lining the side of the pitch, volleys of support were ladled on to the onrushing Pat, who had only the keeper to beat. However, the champagne finish was stopped short as the keeper managed to pull off a fine safe, deflecting the ball out for a corner and subsequently the end of the match.

Man of the Match= Pat. A versatile player who can play anywhere on the left, he has cemented himself as a key member of the team after only a handful of appearances. By far our strongest player on the day, his strong running and intelligent passing kept us in the game.