Gorleston Rangers FC

What is Sunday night TV all about?!?!?!?!? Dancing on ice? Antiques Roadshow? Countryfile but you have to hand it too BBC 2.….SKI SUNDAY!!!

Anyway I digress, this weekend we played Pakefield C away at Walmer Road in our first league game since 21st November 2010, as we have been competing heavily in the Ipswich open cup and reaching the final last weekend of the League Cup, we have 3 games in hand on the current league leaders Waveney A. We were required to be at the ground slightly earlier than normal due to someone being superstitious!?! So we start to arrive at 11.30am for a 12.15pm kick off in a now familiar AC Milan away kit.

After yesterdays happenings at training it was nice to see everyone arrived safe and sound at the ground with no-one being pulled over by the Police……even Fabio was ok after recovering from an itchy ear!!! I was having a few beers with Delia and Fergie last night and have to say we are all fine, well, me and Fergie were, Delia was not too good being sick during the night…I did ask for some comments…was it the food? Lack of food and too much drink? The fresh air? A bug? Or something else…he would like to confirm the “air and not enough to eat?” so basically drank too much and cannot handle it!

Well by now we all know the format, 12 boys gather round the two Fs for the important stretching routine whilst having a pre-match chat about the game ahead of them while I went to get the all important hangover cure…bacon roll and a fresh cup of tea and coffee for the 2 F’s and Delia. We knew from our last game against Pakefield C they do try and play football. Fabio again NO clipboard, NO colour co-ordinating with the hat….what’s wrong? Do you need to have a chat? Where is the clip board? Please re-veal?

Delia takes to the flag, probably the best person as he does work (sorry attend) for British Rail as a signalman! Ha ha get it?

The game kicks off with Zak and Matty. In a scrappy first 10 minutes we cannot settle and play flowing football, the passing and final ball just was not there. Spaces were being created but the players were not calling to let fellow team members know you were there. Then we get a free kick about 18 yards out…although Connor will say it was about 25-30 yards out!! Only joking yes Connor it was a little further out than I said………..he takes 4 strides back and again catches it superbly hitting the roof of the net and putting us 1-0 up. Then we step up our play, a quality move involving Ben H, to Spud onto Mitch throw to Matt who makes no mistake 2-0 and some nice one touch play, but we then seem to stop and not play. Zak was unlucky on a couple of occasions, Matt again and Lewis scores but was disallowed for off side.

Halftime comes, both sets of players leave the pitch for a team talk. We needed to take more control of the game, and play as a team. We tried to be too greedy and beat two or three players instead of playing the way we know best and pass the ball to those in space, you do it against the teams like Bungay and Waveney A but think we can beat other teams by playing as individuals, so lets switch on and play as a team, enough said.

Second half kicks off and soon its much of the same as the first, then we attack in numbers but the Pakefield big centre half had a excellent game and rarely put a foot wrong and coped well with our fast attacking play. Spud then picks the ball up on the edge of the box, beats one and hits it on the outside of his boot 3-0 up. Then Fabio changes the formation for the final 15 minutes and we go close on more than one occasion, a right foot drill from Mitch heading towards the top right hand corner only to be denied by the right handed save from the keeper. Then the move of the game, which is how we normally play…… Jordan claims another corner with ease, your handling today was top notch!…realised Ben H just outside the box, plays a one touch ball into Spud who turns and looks for Usain Bolt (Matty) who spins and loses the big number 5, enters the edge of the box on the right, strikes the ball passed the keeper only to see it hit the post but it falls to Ben G and in front of an open goal…….does he score????? Did he miss????….course he scores……..three points on the board and a 4-0 win. As Fergie said at the end it was a shame it took us 58 minutes to play the way we should do!

Well played boys, not a convincing performance like we know you can play, but never the less it’s a win and more points on the board. Pakefield A next week at home the only team to beat you in the league this season, so you all have something to prove…….can you? Will you!!!!!!! Yes we can………………sounds a little like a closing line from Bob the Builder…(think about what he says!?)

Attendance - 41 adults, 12 children but what NO VIP, NO Pushchairs and NO cyclists?!?!?

Once many thanks for reading…..comments are greatly received

Yours truly

Jeff