Category: Pic of the week

Pic of the week 6/1/19

Every Day’s A School Day

A new year, a new term and two new faces gracing the pitch and achieving Legend status.

A new year, a new term but the same old perennial question of would we have eleven, come 11 am?

McEwan had mis-read the memo – a vague recollection about committing to the vets on Sunday saw him in Wellington getting treatment for his dog Charlie rather than lining up alongside his brothers in arms on the 4G pitch at Strode. No problem, the last minute arrival of new signing Tom Churchill saw us kick off with eleven men.

Playing on a 4G pitch is wonderful. The ball runs true, the bounce is always even, the weather no barrier to play. They are the future of football. Unfortunately, we are the (pre) History of football and lacking the leveler of an un-level pitch we were soon found out by an opposition who play week in, week out, knew where each other was, knew how to string passes together and knew the route to our goal.

Débutante Dave was magnificent in goal, frustrating the opposition on many an occasion but even he could not keep out a thunderous volley and hammered header. We found ourselves four nil down at half time, having been comprehensive schooled in the art of football.

The second half began in a more positive tone, as we began to find and exploit space; ironically, our defence became more fluid, making it more solid, and for some time neither side could break the deadlock. But, inevitably, our fluid solid defence ultimately led to confusion and Ashcott netted a couple more, without reply. When Peabody saw his blistering, dipping, swirling 30 yard free kick tipped athletically over the bar by the keeper at full stretch it looked as if we were destined not to trouble the scorer.

But that would be to dismiss our new signing. Following a magnificent goal saving block from Mo, the ball fell to Paul W deep in our half. He looked up, and pinged an inch perfect 40 yard pass to the waiting feet of Tom Churchill, who gathered calmly, ghosted past a defender, swept into the box and finished with aplomb, drilling the ball low and hard into the bottom corner.

The opposition managed another goal, before the final whistle blew. Every day’s a school day – we had learned our lesson from a well skilled, well drilled opposition. We lost the first half 4-0, the second 3-1: definite, measurable progress has been made.

Ashcott 7 Millfield 1

*The pic is a shot I took in November(?) at Abbey More Stadium, Glastonbury, not Strode Astro, where we played today.

Pic of the week 11/11/18

Geoff Cottell needs a dog.

As a young man, say 35 or 45, I dreamt of playing in front of packed stadium. As one mellows and matures into more advanced years, as I edge (stumble, limp, hobble) towards my half century I am more realistic in my aspirations and now I am happy to play the beautiful game in front of one man and his dog. It was great to see the Legend’s legend that is Geoff Cottell come and support us today – if only he’d had a dog, my day would have been complete.

We call ourselves “Legends” and play in the “Veterans” league but today, of all days, it was humbling to share a minute of remembrance and reflect that it is only because of the sacrifice of so many true legends who never made it to veteran status that we enjoy all that we do.

It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning and we welcomed Middlezoy Rovers to our green, green grass of home at Kingweston. The game began with both sides playing cagey, controlled football, probing, seeking weakness that were not there, both defences proving solid and assured, our back four snuffing out danger at its first hint. At the other end, we looked threatening, but couldn’t quite put together that final precision pass to unlock a well drilled opposition defence. Perhaps against the run of play, a communication cock up at the back let the opposition in to steal a goal. Heads didn’t drop, we continued to pass and play, giving a display of cultured, considered football and we dominated the remainder of the first half, but without bagging an equaliser.

The second half continued in similar vein until, 10 minutes in, we won a free kick ten yards outside the box. The big men stepped up, players jostled for position, runs and feints were made. Not interested in these antics, Andrew C-D simply stepped up and struck the ball sweetly, oh so sweetly, into the top right hand corner. 1-1.

At this point AJW demonstrated why he is SLT material. With the hoi polloi of both sides gasping what they feared may be their last having run around for the best part of an hour, up rocked Whatling, fresh as a daisy, to join us for the last 25 minutes, to show us how its done. But despite the introduction of our impact sub, we still couldn’t convert possession into goals.

And then the unthinkable happened, the opposition snatched another with five minutes to go. 1-2.

Spurred into (even more) action, we pressed, and pressed again. Andrew C-D broke down the right and neared the bye-line. Peabody was hammering into the box, six yards from the goal line. A simple sideways pass and even your aging author couldn’t miss. Andrew looked up, shaped to pass but then he saw, he realised. He knew. Pass it to Peabody and even he couldn’t fail to score. He would then gather the ball from the net, quit whilst he was ahead and retire from football forever, closing down the Legends XI as he left the field of play. So, prioritising the long term over short term gains, Andrew took the shot himself, only to see the ball gathered by the grateful keeper.

And so it looked destined that we would be denied any points. But no. A late free kick swung into the box – white strikers took turns to shoot but fail to score, blue defenders took turns, but failed to clear. After watching this comedy, keystone cops football for what seemed an age, a calm, collected Richard Bradshaw decided enough was enough and stepped up to prod the ball home from 8 yards to secure a deserved draw. 2-2

A great morning’s football, witnessed by one man (minus his dog) (My only concern about getting Geoff a dog is that it would savage our debutante keeper – Jake “The Cat” Mawford.)

First point of the season (which means I can now successfully tick off my PDR target for the year) – next game an away fixture v Aschott, a team still licking their wounds following a 4-0 mauling at the hands (paws?) of Huish Tigers, Sunday 9^th December.

Millfield Legends 2 Middlezoy Rovers 2