Astaka 1 - 1 Asterix Reds (SSLKL Cup)

In the second of our 5 SSLKL Cup qualifying group matches, we 
travelled up to Saujana to take on Astaka on the large expanses of 
the Japanese School football pitch. We were perhaps not at our best, 
but to their credit, a much improved Astaka battled well for a 1-1 draw.

We were fielding a strong outfit. Your scribe successfully managed 
to wangle his way back into the starting eleven, even if it was only 
for his ability to lose the other 2 central midfielders en route to 
the ground. We departed Esso at Maarof sharply at 3:50pm leaving Ian 
Quirk (who still contends he arrived at 3:47pm) somewhat stranded and 
out of the starting line up. One down. Next was Dave Jones who I 
managed to lose on the second toll on the NKVE. With the centre 
midfield wide open I was more than happy to step back into the team! 
I love it when a plan comes together.

Both teams started brightly, with Astaka showing a great deal of 
endeavour. They were sharp, committed, held the ball well and closed 
us down quickly when we had the ball. We created some chances early 
on and Stuart Cavens came closest with a futsal styled toe poke that 
went just wide of the far post. Astaka turned our defence once or 
twice with well placed balls from deep. And it was a long ball from 
the left flank which put their striker through on goal. He beat our 
defence and netted a superb volley for the opener. In response, Ian 
Quirk came with a coat of paint of leveling with a nice volley of his 
own which hit the underside of the bar. And despite continued 
pressure from Asterix, we didn't force the equaliser and went in at 
half time a goal to the bad.

We talked at half time about remaining patient and duly dominated the 
game after the restart. We kept the ball well and used the full 
width of the park. Mark Jones came close to scoring with a header 
from a corner. Being camped in the Astaka half, a good opening was 
inevitable and it eventually fell to Terry Harris who produced an 
assured finish to level the match. We felt we could go on to win and 
continued to play the game in the Astaka half. But despite our 
pressure we didn't create any great opportunities to win it. Astaka 
showed some endeavour and also came close to scoring after a couple 
of breaks down the right. (For the record, your scribe was by now 
playing at right back. Ahem.) But one each is how it ended; a 
result neither team can reasonably complain about.

Drinks were poorly attended; only four people showed up. We were 
however, duly entertained by Tom Sarginson's claims that a lacrosse 
is the only sport where the playing field has no touchlines (a loose 
comparison to the pitch at the Japanese School). Honestly, it was 
worth the trip to JnR just to hear that little pearl! Special credit 
goes to Andy. Despite having his girlfriend in town from Australia 
for a short visit, he still made the trip to JnR and enjoyed a few 
beers with Stu, Tom and me. It puts to shame those lads that don't 
show up for post-match drinks citing the woes of wives and 
girlfiends! At the end of the day we all play football for the 
social scene, hence I'd like to ask for a greater effort in attending 
the post-match drinks. Having a few beers, sharing a few stories and 
partaking in some banter with your team mates is what football - dare 
I say it, sport - is all about!

Next week we travel to Linatex to play BMFC in the league. The match 
takes place on Saturday and I have been informed by our newly elected 
social secretary that the match will be followed by our proven method 
of social entertainment: an Asterix Reds Big Night Out. Look for 
emails from Stuart with the details. I'll send the evites for 
training and next week match tonight. Please - as you did last week 
- reply promptly.