This game started out like a World Peace Event and threatened to turn
into World War III. Nonetheless, our quality and superior fitness
provided us with a comfortable victory. Even though only Stu and I
showed up for drinks, we put in a sterling effort which culminated
with me securing our sponsorship for next season and then putting it
in jeopardy by being very sick on the bar room floor at 2am in the
morning. Remind me never to go out drinking with The Caveman again.
Before the kick-off both teams lined up for what seemed like an
endless round of handshakes. At one point, I thought the guy with
the grey stubble and nobly legs was going to hug me and give me a
little tickle. Fortunately he did not and in the absence of both our
captain and vice-captain I strolled up for the toss. At the referees
suggestion, we omitted the toss and I offered our guests the ball for
kick-off and choice of ends. An act of generosity I hoped would set
the tone for a friendly encounter.
And we started well. From the off, we played with a lot of energy
and won a lot of ball in the middle of the park. We created a few
good chances and after about 10 minutes were one up after Adam Scott
lifted the ball over the keeper having been put clean through with a
ball from deep. Our pressure was maintained until the mid point in
the half when SR Rangers began a good spell. Using their 5 man
midfield to good effect they held possession well and kept the ball
from us. We lost our composure and too frequently gifted the ball
back to them. However, despite their pressure they didn't create
many good chances; Ragu and debutant Bunmi holding firm at the back.
We then made it two nil against the run of play. A ball up the left
fell to Stu Cavens who's cross was neatly poked home by Paul
Williams. But just before half-time, we let SR back into the game
after Sugu was caught in possession outside the box. 2-1 at the half
way point.
We talked at half time about holding the football and passing
better. And we did this very well in the early stages of the second
half. And it was a good move down the left which brought our third.
A ball from the back released Mages up the left hand side. He
interchanged passes well with Kisho before putting a good ball into
the box which was met by the shoulder of the on-rushing Andy Johnson
who had a made a great run from midfield. 3-1 with about 35 minutes
to go and we were looking very comfortable. We created several very
good chances to score but a combination of some profligate finishing
and a couple of good saves from their keeper kept them within reach.
SR began to tire and I think they sensed that victory might be
elusive. The game got a little ugly as the sweetness of the pre-
match love fest turned sour. We weren't helped by a set of officials
that were seemingly related by blood to the opposition. We'd been a
little frustrated at the decisions by the refs and linesmen
throughout the game and it was this frustration that resulted in me
being sent off. The linesman took offence to my questioning of one
his decisions and asked the ref to take action. I walked up to the
ref who said to me - and I quote - "who's your captain? i want to
talk to your captain now to take you off the field?". "But, I'm the
captain." was my reply. "Right." said the ref, "then I'm sending
you off." And that was that. Later that evening, I calculated
that since my return from injury, I've taken part in four games,
played a total of around 130 minutes of football, been yellow carded
once and sent off twice. A record that would make Vinnie Jones look
like a saint.
Undeterred by being a man down, our dominance continued and we
created more chances. In an ugly moment, Stu Cavens was nearly
poleaxed by an absolutely awful challenge from their last man. He
was booked for his retaliation but the only funny part of the
incident was that the ref had forgotten that Stu had already been
yellow carded and he was hence allowed to play on despite having
received two yellows. Has this ref been watching too many Graham
Poll referee training videos? The game got a little scrappy and the
opposition continued to tire. They did however grab a late
consolation goal to make the score 3-2.
All in all this was a decent performance in a somewhat feisty
encounter. We played good football for most the match, created a lot
of chances and kept a good atmosphere on the pitch. The level of
positive communication was very good. It was also good to see Dave
Agar and Mages return after lengthy spells away. Bunmi acquitted
himself very well on his debut putting in a very assured performance
at the centre of defence.
So with a record low turnout for drinks, Stu and I decided that we
would visit our old watering hole, The Social, for a few nostalgic
ales. The evening started well. I was introduced to the owner of
The Social, a very lovely young lady by the name of Mei. I proceeded
to lay on the famed Welsh charm and hit her up for a bit of
sponsorship for next season. A few minutes, a nudge and wink later
and all was settled. Mei has confirmed that The Social will sponsor
us for next season. Great result.
I returned to sit with Stu who informed me that he couldn't stay for
long as he was "on a promise" with a bird who'd asked him to come
over to her house at 10pm that night. So we wolfed down our fish and
chips and a couple of Tigers. However, Stu's 10-o-clock promise
mysteriously showed up at The Social, seemingly distracted and
carrying a copy of last week's Sun newspaper. Churning out stories
of the need to attend to a friend in distress, Stu's promise was
looking more like a slim hope at this point. Doing my bit as a
Wingman, I plied her with cognac in an effort to settle her down and
get her back on track for Stu's night call. However, this was to no
avail and she shortly disappeared into the darkness of Jalan Telawi
Tiga. So with no date to go to, Stu was left to drink with me and we
settled down to watch the Premier League.
The rest of the night is a blur but I believe we were still in The
Social at 2 o clock in the morning having downed 16 pints of Tiger
between us, a couple of cognacs and racked up a 650 ringgit bar bill
in the process. I recall suddenly feeling quite nauseous. And I
made it all of 5 paces toward the toilets before exploding and
creating my own version of a Jackson Pollock between two tables in
the dining area. What a night. The funniest thing was the bar man
who walked up after I had finished and said: "How was the fish and
chips, Sir?". Remind me never to go out drinking with The Caveman
again.
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