Match Report

Goal scoring managers, a bit like buses

Probably our most important victory of the season came on Saturday. The oppo sat 1 point above us in the table and had had some decent results so far. We decided to add something to our usual warm up routine of 3 widths of the pitch and knocking the ball around in a circle in order to get rid of our slow starts. It sort of worked, even though most people decided not to bother with it.

We were missing 6 players going into this one, including our skipper, which makes the result even better. We bucked recent trends by starting well, long overdue. We went 1 nil up after about 15 minutes. A free kick out on the right was delivered in perfectly by Bill and yours truly was on hand to head (well, face) the ball in from close range. As happy as I am about scoring, I\'m also a little gutted, as it means another 12 months of waiting for my next one.

We continued to be the better side in what was in truth a scrappy, stop start, game. A deserved second arrived on the half hour. Rich Pile, who was outstanding throughout (until his body broke on the hour mark) pushed forward from midfield and fed Joe Slater who drove into the box and was scythed down for a stonewall penalty. Obviously jealous that I had scored, co-manager Matt Ellis stepped up to convert into the bottom left corner.

It was scrappy from then on until the final 20. Elmstead got a way back into the game with a sloppy goal which was harsh on Gibbo and the back 4. As we were imagining a nervy last 15, we went up the other end to pull further away. Matt Ellis crossed for an unmarked Al Barnes at the far post. Al obviously sensed that it was a day for managers past and present and scored his first goal for what seems like about 10 years.

We didn\'t let up and were very rarely tested for the remainder of the game and won comfortably in the end.

A good performance with a depleted squad.

I haven\'t done injury of the week for a while, but today\'s is a personal one. Somehow midway through the first half I managed to kick the ball and pop my elbow out of its socket. It really hurt. Luckily Dr Dave Martin was on hand to rush off and get me some water. He\'s gonna make a fine surgeon.

The lino throwing the flag on the floor and running into the woods is one of the funniest things I\'ve seen in a while.

Gibbo, fresh from his sex tour of Swindon, was sporting a hair band tied up on top of his head. It tops Dave\'s headband in terms of outrageous hair appendages. This needs to stop lads, immediately.

On returning to the clubhouse we found out that Darren had scored one and assisted one for the Firsts. Totally outdoing me, Matt and Al. I\'m not into stats but it must be some kind of management-scoring-treble-record. This weekend will go down in Farnboro folklore, and I am just happy to have played a part!

MOM this week was Gibbo. He did play well, but I genuinely don\'t know what I have to do to win it. For anyone reading who wasn\'t at the game, I was MOM, but people must have forgotten my name when voting.

We did some incredible \"patching up\" of the already broken, broken trophy. It included tape as a stand. I reckon we\'d outlive Bear Grylls in the wild with skills like that.

Great performance from all involved, apologies to those on the bench who wanted to start, right attitude and you\'ll be starting the next one!

Team -
Lee Gibbs; Dave Martin, Lee Cross, Luke Johnson, Rich Tapsfield (Errol Ahmed); Al Barnes, Rich Piles (Lou Hussey), Matt Ellis, Joe Slater; Lloyd Miller, Bill Webb (Russell Nethercot)