U11A v Longstone Primary School Won 4-3

Football is a very strange game. Did North Korea really make the 2010 World Cup Finals? How did Stevenage beat Newcastle in the F.A. Cup? Why would anyone support Ipswich or Leeds? Another mystery was created in the U-11 match at home to Longstone Primary School. A fearsomely strong wind was blowing straight down the pitch, really dominating play far more than either team, yet four of the game’s seven goals were scored by the team playing into the wind. That just doesn’t make sense.

There wasn’t much sense in the way the score oscillated either. The U-11s took a first half lead against the wind. After half-time, with Longstone  playing into the wind, the score went from 1-0 to 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, and finally 4-3. It must have been exciting for the spectators (though I’m with the managers interviewed on Match Of The Day, grumbling about sloppy defending rather than embracing the spectacle of goals galore!).

It’s probably fair to say that we played more as a team while  Longstone had some fine individuals, especially a fast, direct right-winger, the best player on view. Our man-of-the-match was Ali who, playing in centre-midfield, was far more involved than usual and worked hard for the team.

MJS