It's always funny fronting up for a Friday night game, and I still keep thinking I missed OTB this morning. I thought the strange night and the usual meager press coverage during the week might mean we would end up with a small crowd - we did.
It was a very odd game and the BSSA group never seemed to be up for it. I don't think I recall us being so quiet, and I mean from the start. There was no doubt we missed Keith's expertise on the drum. Adam allowed the football to take his attention from playing and I simply can't (anyone disagree with that?). At least I tried - it looks easy enough to hit something that big with a couple of sticks, but avoiding monotony and keeping in time is quite tough. I promise not to do it again.
I say the game was odd and it was. For some reason I don't quite follow we seemed to have no central defenders all night. The two backs were thus quite busy against a rapid and skilled forward line and were often drawn across to leave some big holes on the opposite side and from one such Kerniggets' first goal was scored. We had been doing alright in midfield and there was some threat on their goal. I thought "We'll be right". This was the cue for one of those long range screamers, which 9 times out of 10 would miss, to leave Kearton watching. 0-2, I thought "We'll be right" as we were doing OK still and when Fernando at last took one of the numerous chances we had made (some really almost certs) I knew I was right. It was almost at once 1-3 and there was plenty of time for us to justify our song of "We're going to win 4-3" and just before half time it was 2-3 and the general view firstly in the Gents then the beer queue was that we would do it.
In the second half the Kerniggets made two chances on the left and both were put away beautifully. The first curved around Kearton to the foot of the far post, and the second blasted into the roof of the net at pace from a very tight angle. So, Jason Kearton CAN be beaten.
It must be said that they had I think 7 chances in the match and took 5, three of which were quite remarkably finished, I don't know if they have been doing that all season, but if so how come they are not nearer the top of the league?
To their credit the lads did keep going and we did pull one back, but we never going top win 6-5. Not that we didn't have the chances. I didn't count them, but I think we may have had 10 or 12 opportunities to score, half a dozen of which were in the gold plated variety.
Two things I would like to whinge about again is our silly preference for high balls despite looking obviously shorter than they and my perennial complaint about the total lack of variation in the corner kicks (and throw ins when attacking for that matter). We had a lot, swung them all into pretty well the same spot, watched them cleared usually with ease and had our lot running back against a quick and good counter attacking side. I think the Kerniggets did take a short corner and scored. I think if you have smaller and reasonably skilled players, keeping on the deck might at least be tried.
All is not lost, but we must stop this slide next week which is the official BSSA away trip, BTW. Sadly, I cannot make it.