Magic Pants & The Never Ending Ball Bag

Sunday 15/03/09
Vernon Park 10:30am
Robin Hood v Station Hotel

Bare bones, add together injuries, work commitments and a rush back from Amsterdam and the choices for the Gaffer and Guru were at best limited. Quavers' hand injury enforced positional adjustments with Quavers slotting in the back four and Shaggy bravely taking up the mantle between the sticks. The rest of the team was assembled with even the gaffer having to don the fabled Green and Black of the Robin Hood and stick himself up front with the promise of free beer for the rest of the day ringing in his ears (Phew! said the Guru when the goal never came).

Things were not looking good for the Robin as they wanted a return to winning ways after last weeks defeat to Westdale Tavern. Station are second in the league and now only two points behind leaders Westdale. The previous encounter between these two ended in a emphatic Robin Hood victory was that on the cards again this week?

The weather was nice, really nice like a spring day which made standing on the side watching a little more enjoyable. The game was three minutes old as I arrived and the scope of the task at hand was there for all to see. The Robin hand no subs milling around the bags as normal, the Gaffer was on the pitch and the Guru was running the line. The team looked like strangers out there and were making things very very easy for Station who must have been wondering is this really the same team that took us apart on our own manor? Station dominated the game from start to finish. Frustrations were beginning to bubble to the surface early in the game and some dodgy looking decisions from the ref did not help things. Half way through the first half Kyle and Pone arrived, straight off the ferry from Amsterdam looking surprisingly fresh for two young lads back from the hedonistic capital of Europe. Well at least the Robin finally had a couple of subs. Pretty much as soon as Kyle was ready the first Robin substitution came, the Gaffer replacing himself with Kyle, by this point the Robin were already one nil down, would Kyle's introduction freshen things up any. Not really the Robin continued on a course toward (without doubt) the worst performance of the season. The Gaffer's annoyance with the Ref's inability to spot high feet against the Robin but punishing any Robin player that lifted his leg more than half a foot off the ground, was getting more and more audible. The first half finished and the Gaffer delivered a half time team talk which would have made Gordon Ramsey blush.

The lads started the second half with the Gaffer's talk in there heads but no improvement was to be seen as Station ran riot over them. Players had opportunities to show what they could do to oust regular first teamers who were absent for one reason or another did not take those chances and performances all round were at best poor. The second half continued and the Robin made another sub bringing on Pone for Welshy, again this did not have anything like a galvanising effect and the Robin now looked like they just wanted the game to come to as swift a conclusion as possible. The Ref finally had enough of the Gaffer's gob and sent him back to the changing rooms for the remainder of the game. The Gaffer was not speedy at leaving but trudged off like a opening batsman out for a duck with the first bowl of the game. The game came to its end with Station running out four nil winners, it was a gift of three points from a self destructive Robin Hood side.

Robin Hood 0 - 4 Station Hotel

Back at the Robin and some post match analysis from the side concluded that no one was good enough today simple as that, everyone had let themselves and the team down in one way or another.

The sign of quality however is how you deal with something like this. Its time to pick yourselves up dust yourselves down and take revenge by going out an claiming three points off top of the league Calverton Cherry Tree next week in a manner befitting the football that saw you get six victories on the bounce.

Player Ratings

Shaggy - 7 MOM
Kebab - 4
Obi-Wan - 4
Wayne - 6
Quavers - 5
Welshy - 4
Skip - 4
Ali "Mr Magic Pants" - 4
Gattuszola - 4
Chrissy - 4
The Gaffer - 4

Subs
Pone - 4
Kyle - 4

Ref - Minus 3