Give Me a Button and I'll Push IT!!!!

Sunday 29/03/09
Vernon Park 10:30am
Robin Hood v Pheasant Inn

At the start of the season the Pheasant were flying high and when the Robin visited them they sat top of the league. That game ended four all, but time has taken its toll on Pheasant's form and they had steadily slipped into mid table. This was a sixth versus seventh clash and the chance for the Robin to make up some points after two successive defeats. The Gaffer and the Guru had decided to shake things up to counter the pacy striker of the Pheasant, so placed the Terminator in center of defence with Wayne. With Obi-Wan playing the holding midfield role. The sun was shining and I had a pocket full of 'Nice' biscuits it was time for football.

PEEP! and the hare is on the move! Sorry the first half kicks off. The Pheasant's back four were your stereotypical pub footballers, beer bellies galore, if their legs were as fast as their tongues they we without doubt be the best defence in the league. Right from the off it was obvious that this was to be a completely different game to the last meeting. The Robin imposed themselves on game right from the beginning playing the ball around and controlling the pace. Six minutes in and Gattuszola goes on a mini maze up, working his way through Pheasant's defence to slot it home, GOAL!!! a great start for the Robin. Robin 1 - 0 Pheasant. The Robin continued to dominate the game, Pheasant had no real response and early on started to cry foul at every opportunity , questioning the Ref's decisions, and some of their support hurled abuse in the Ref's direction. Lets just say some of the language was colourful. But this did nothing and the Robin carried on dictating the way the game was going. The speed of the Terminator was more than a match for the Pheasant's striker, so the positional changed looked to have paid off. Thirty minutes in and against the run of play the Pheasant peg back the Robin GOAL!!! Robin 1 - 1 Pheasant. This does not faze the Robin heads are still up and they carry on what they had been doing all game so far. Again the Robin see most of the play, but are unable to convert any chances. The half ends with things all square.

A quick rousing team talk from the Gaffer and the second half is under way. It starts in the same way the game had been played up to now with the Robin on top. Some of the Pheasant's players had now resorted to tumbling with the slightest contact from a Robin player, but the Ref did not fall for any of it which resulted in more choice language from the sidelines. Fifty seven minutes and the Skipper goes on a rare run, bulldozing through the opposition to fire home from a tight angle, GOAL!!! Robin 2 - 1 Pheasant. By now the biscuits were half finished and so it seemed were the Pheasant. A controversial free kick is awarded to the Robin right on the edge of Pheasant's area, the Ref explains that the free kick was given as the Pheasant's keeper had left his area whilst still handling the ball. After a few minutes of woe-is-me from the Pheasant it was time to take the free kick. Normally Skip takes the free kicks this time however Kebab had asked for it and Skip stood aside. Kebab puts his foot right through it powering the ball low and hard past the Pheasant's keeper, he had no chance really GOAL!!! Robin 3 - 1 Pheasant. This seem to shake the Pheasant into action and although the moaning and tumbling continued they started to mount pressure upon the Robin. Roughly twenty minutes to go the Robin had their backs against the wall as Pheasant continued to come at them. The eighty seventh minute Pheasant pull one back GOAL!!! nervous defending from the Robin made the last few minutes tense. Robin 3 - 2 Pheasant. In the end it was nothing more than a consolation for the Pheasant and after what seemed to be a never ending period of added on time the Ref finally blew for the end of the game. The Robin were back to winning ways with some kind of style despite the little stumble at the end. But three points in the bag and a good way to start the run to the end of the season.

Player Ratings

Quavers - 8

Welshy - 6.5

Terminator - 8.5

Wayne - 7

Kebab - 7.5

Obi-Wan - 6.5

Skip - 7.25

J-LO - 8

Gattuszola - 8.5

Ali "Mr Magic Pants" - 6.5

Kyle - 8

Subs

Pone (They don't like it up um) - 6

Joint MOM

Gattuszola + Terminator