|
Hachioji Park, Saturday 23rd January.
3 times we have done battle with the ‘basement’ team of the 2nd division and 3 times we have come out victorious but far from comfortable. It is a very good division.
Vags started very positively and were 2 up within 10 minutes or so – Muzzy hitting a deflected shot which spun high into the net after a great aerial challenge by Nao. He then got a second after a sublime ball through by Steve – pounced, struck, rifled it home.......however you want to put it (although the majority reading this weren’t there so it is all a bit meaningless). Easy street? Not exactly....welcome to Vagdom. We reached halftime still 2 to the good but, mindful of being 3 up only to scrape it 3-2 in the first league encounter, the halftime talk was all about dispelling complacency.
This didn’t work.
The second half started and Muzzy duly completed his first hat-trick for the Vags with a long range effort that squirmed under the keeper to his left post. So now being 3-0 up we proceeded to squander, get panicky and concede 2 goals.
Maybe it was due to the fact that people were already thinking about birds ‘fit as a butcher’s dog’, maybe it was because people wanted to get back and see that Rangers were only going to get a measly point at Ibrox, maybe it was because constant white noise from the sidelines just began to get so annoying, maybe it was because some chaps had oysters for lunch, read the Japan Times ‘editorial’, split up with their girlfriends or just got down right pissed off at the quality of Fish and Chips in Tokyo...if I could get to the bottom of this then we could win the league but in the meantime.......
The upside is that nowadays, when the Vags get in a ‘hole’, (Graham don’t go there!.......oh....he’s already been...sorry) they can actually fight their way out of it. In the last 10, Vags took control again and pushed on – not sitting back and not doing my heart any good whatsoever. Lyndsey was clear through and hit a strong shot – the keeper, who isn’t a keeper really, (I informed everyone before the game to take pot shots..and they did...and he dealt with everything with an irritating sense of ease.) saved well but it bounced around a bit and then Lyndsey ‘shot’.........i.e. hit a looping, speculative ball which amazingly bounced on the line and upwards into the net.
Barbarians were good.....didn’t lie down, competed throughout and remind me of the Clash last season.......too good to go down but might anyway.
If we do a roll call, Steve was back to his best (almost...beware ye opposition when the almost disappears) – Ian was spraying balls North, South, East and West at will – particularly in the first half, Amos, in the second, left their left back wishing he was sitting in Dunkin Donuts with a nubile young.....anyway
Muzzy got the hat-trick and obviously that should be enough but chasing back at 3-2 with 2 minutes left having given their defender 15yards – sticking the boot in and getting it out for a throw is what Muzzy is really about (though hat-trick per week could help). Matt was granted the justified title of ‘man who attempted the first piece of Scottish Flair since Gemmell waltzed those Dutch’ and this was for a mere back heel. Actually an intelligent flick into nowhere.
Bottom line is frustration that we can’t kill off games like this but at the same time some brilliant stuff was played early on and the last ten minutes ‘digging in’ was exceptionally good. Next up is El Diego...bets accepted against us at evens (my book).
Report by Richard Straughan
|
