Year 2 Foxes v Rockleaze

Oops! Didn't mean to knock the all-conquering girls off the top of the blog! Sorry folks.

With me and half the squad enjoying a fantastic training session on tbe sunny Downs, your match report this week comes courtesy of Mr Dave B. I did warn him not to give the result away, but, hey, excitement gets the better of us all sometimes!

Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, Maggie Thatcher – can you hear me Maggie Thatcher! Your boys took one hell of a beating! Your boys took one hell of a beating!

If you replaced the names above with people from Westbury on Trym and were very selective about the games you focussed on, and it wasn’t said in a competitive way, or in any way that could suggest the score, then this would reflect the mood at Saturday lunchtime.

Although fans of Barcelona and Real Madrid may disagree (and they would be wrong), games really don’t come any bigger than Foxes v Rockleaze. The level of excitement was at fever pitch as we made the long journey to Coombe Dingle to avenge the non-competitive, friendly, fun-for-all, highly inclusive, of course it doesn’t matter, drubbing we received at the Downs. Hopes were high as the squad of 12 started to assemble. Hopes were a little crushed, much like a car door trapping a finger, as the prolific Eden had to make a trip to the physio's table half an hour before kick off.

The first two games were incredibly closely fought, at least until half time. In the first game Ambrose, Elliot, Freddie, Matt and Josh were playing a team including a couple of the Rockleaze stars. At half time, with goals from Josh and Matt, we were 2-1 up with Ambrose performing heroics between the posts. I can’t quite recall what happened in the second half, and I am sure it doesn’t matter. There may have been a goal or two for the opposition but no-one was counting. (Sorry Dave, I can tell you that Rockleaze were counting, I've had it at the Elmlea school gates all week!).

Over on the other pitch there was a titanic tussle taking place with Charlie, Monty, Morgan, Cosmo, Omar and Jacob H. Apparently the cheer when Cosmo scored his second goal was heard as far away as Cardiff. Rockleaze got back into the game but Jacob and Charlie defended magnificently. Even the sight of one of their players turning a bit Alan Pardew at the end could not take the gloss of a stunning performance.

Pete and Clare's terriers bounded into their second game on a wave of enthusiasm and Foxes were off to another fast start. Monty and Morgan were bossing the middle of the park and Cosmo grabbing an early goal. Omar grabbed some playground bragging rights when adding to the Foxes goal tally for the day but Rockleaze fought back with some quality football leaving Foxes to celebrate a (moral) victory.

The final game did not start at all well and by half time the Foxes were three nil down. However with the naivety of youth they still thought they could come back. A cynical middle aged coach started to believe when Matt scored from just inside the half way line within 3 seconds of the restart, and when Josh scored and Matt got another then the dream was on. Freddie was taking his turn in goal and produced one of the greatest performances of the 21st century to keep the goal intact, and some ferocious Elliot sliding tackles (surely not?!) helped to relieve the pressure. One final attack saw the ball break to Josh who was through on the keeper. I am not allowed to tell you what happened next, but I can say that I was very pleased with him. After a couple of last ditch tackles from Ambrose, the ref blew his whistle to end a fantastic morning’s football.

Players of the day: Freddie – peerless between the posts. Jacob H - defended like Terry Butcher in his prime (but with less bandages).