Foosballing Lesson Part 2

D'OH! 3 Foosballers 8

They said it couldn't be done.
They said that we would be out of the finals at the first hurdle.
They said that our battling team would be washed away on a tide of foosballing genius.
They said that we would not be able to score enough goals.
They said we were too old and too slow.

They were right on all counts.

We struggled against this outfit and over a beer in the pub afterwards (with apologies to our sponsors it was not our sponsors' pub) we were able to agree that they were the best opposition we had ever played against, probably.

Bright spots were Kev's goal from a corner kick which went skidding into the bottom corner and a late consolation penalty for the same player. In the second half we did produce the move that led (in our modest opinion) to the best goal of the match as all players had a hand (or rather foot) in it. The move saw the ball swept briskly out of defence from Neil to Giles to Trev who surged forward and found Lobby on the left. Lobby's finish was just what was needed and there was exhilaration all around as we congratulated each other on such a great piece of play. From the kick off they immediately struck an unstoppable shot straight into the top corner for a goal which was not only stunning of itself, but completely deflated our team as we appeared to have been punished for enjoying our own effort so much. We never got it together again after that.

So that's it. Our hope being that Foosballers go and play in Division One and leave us to play teams with standard levels of talent in them. The scary thing was that they appeared to have other gears that were not required when playing against us.

This week the new season starts with an 8.40pm kick off. With Kev having injured his ankle and Plaino not available either, there is space in the team for anyone sho is interested. Please let me know if you are playing. Sadds do you fancy a run tonight?

(13-OCT-2008)

Lucky You're With AAMI

D'OH! 3 AAMI 7

A final round defeat and 4th spot secured for the upcoming finals series. In fact we will need to do well to make it a 'series' as we have to get past Foosballers to play more than one game. They await us on Monday night at 7.20pm in our latest bid for some plasticware.

We were a better side this week and we let a few late ones in as we pressed forward in a desperate attempt to get back on terms after we had fallen behind 3-0 in the first half. We made some good chances and their keeper had made some excellent saves - especially an early one off Lobby who worried the defence and one at point blank range from Trev. Then the post and the side netting got involved as Kev and Trev had further efforts that should have surely led to something better.

We had made some stuff ups in defence though that had been costly and for the second game in a row we were punished severely for our lapses. They did not tackle particularly enthusiastically and this gave us hope but still we could not score. In the second half the skipper went on a mazy run but then poked the wrong side of the post and it appeared it would end badly for us. Then things improved as Trev harried their defence into a terrible blunder resulting in a back pass own goal and at least we had something to show for our efforts.

Then Lobby got some space on the left side and the previously excellent keeper could not hold onto the shot and ended up spilling the effort into the net for our second. In our last unlikely hurrah, Plaino had a hopeful shot that was surely heading wide before the keeper managed to bundle the fairly innocuous looking effort into the net as well for our third. Euge had a good game and thank goodness he did, showing us the trademark one handed reflex save that continues to delight us. Despite his efforts we conceded too many and our ageing and slow defensive line was found out again.

On a brighter note one of their players was sin-binned for a couple of minutes in the first half, for answering back and then for answering back again after being booked for answering back the first time. He cooled his heels even after the 2 minutes ran out as his mates decided he would benefit from an extended break from the fray.

Congratulations to Kev who passed the 50 game milestone this week in very good time. Kev has certainly been a regular and welcome fixture since his debut in May 2007 having missed only 7 games since then.

(06-OCT-2008)

A Foosball Lesson

D'OH! 4 Foosballers 10

These guys knew how to play and it is hard to remember a better display of clinical finishing. We held our own for much of the first half although we worked really hard for our goals and they just strung some passes together and Bang! Bang! They had a couple of goals. Lobby opened the scoring for us with a crisp finish, then got the next as well as he got the better of the defence in a goal mouth scramble. After the skipper scored from the penalty spot and then again shortly after with a shot off the left, it looked good for us. We didn't score after that. They stood off us and then as we advanced, they won the ball by being quicker to intercept the ball or because our passing was not inch perfect. It seemed that each time they attacked they scored and even Euge had little to offer as their shots found their way past him. These guys would surely dominate in Division One and the sooner they go there the better. Characteristically we continued to work hard even in the face of inevitable defeat. Kev and Lobby had some pot-shots and Neil tackled back manfully to snuff out at least some of their attacks. Plaino rumbled around looking for a spot to make a decisive impression on the game but like the rest of us struggled in the face of superior pace and skill.

This week's game is at 6.40pm against AAMI. After the bye , this is our last game of the regular season and barring some stuff-up with the computer we should have a finals game the week after that. Hopefully it is not against Foosballers!

(22-SEP-2008)