Sunday 16th June 2013, Central Park Malvern.
Central Park 3 - Melbourne Uni 3
Point made. Point taken!
Two disastrous results from the last two starts have Central Park staring down the barrel of a certain wooden spoon this season. It was timely then, that the Monarchists of this great land would gift Ranger's a Queens Birthday Holiday flavored week off, and the chance for some genuine soul searching.
The lads pre-game enthusiasm was impressive, the many hands on deck in setting the goals up resembling the crew of a Japanese whaling vessel untangling nets in readiness for a prized catch. Taking down title contender Melbourne Uni would indeed be a big fish for Central Park to bag, and in fishing parlance - like harpooning Jaws.
The FFA continue to throw up all the dices with their revolving door of 'characters' when it comes to match day referees. Today's man of the hour arrived promptly and didn't ask for the stock standard match ball and team sheet (which Rowland had pre-filled 7 weeks in advance! holy shitballs get a hobby or something dude!). The man in black instead rattled off the following list of pre-match 'chores' to be completed:
- a new flag for the corner post (wrong colour?)
- all dog shit to be picked up.
- a stretcher to be placed 'strategically' (his word, not mine) on the half way line on the WESTERN side of the pitch.
- all pools of water to be swept across the grass.
Yet it seemed quite amazing that such an intricate and pedantic fellow didn't bat an eyelid at the obvious blue and white strip clash. Sunday football i tells ya.....
After the fight for the opportunity to scoop up the dog shit finally dissipated, we were good to go. The boys attitude seemed more positive and switched on, maybe it was a rare appearance made by the sun, that Rangers started the more brightly. Ed, with a viking like presence controlled the centre beautifully, and formed a steel like spine with battled hardened George in the middle of the park for forays north.
Against a team who most expected to do the bulk of the attacking, Rangers made their intentions clear early with an aggressive game plan that meant hard tackles were the standard, and a solid shape that allowed the likes of Alex P and George to make attacking inroads of their own up the flanks.
In Central Park's ambition to push forward, Melbourne Uni countered well, catching Ranger's off guard on several occasions. It was clear that this would be an end to end battle, and the defense, led by Rod would need to be on alert, as Tim in goals guarded the space between himself and the back four.
Ian tangled well with a feisty fleet of foot Melbourne Uni winger in an entertaining tussle, as the away side tried to wrestle their way into the Central Park red zone. This was a different Ranger's side though, and the support play and willingness to have one another's back was something that's been sorely lacking this season.
Unable to pass their way into goal, an impatient Melbourne Uni began firing off long range efforts - some barely reaching Tim in goals, others barely staying under 20ft in the air.
Then, like clockwork a goal kick targeting the melon of Alex P found it's mark who beautifully flicked it on towards Hendy and Gaz, the play eventually ending with a corner for Rangers. Rowland lumbered up in Richard Owen's absence to give the freshmen the jitters in and around the 6 yard box, as wave after wave of corners were flicked in by George. Melbourne Uni somehow survived the barrage of fire aimed their way, and gained some respite with calm passing out of defense of their own.
There's an old saying (i believe coined by a disgruntled Paul Gascoigne) that goes something like: "Steve McManaman, floats like a butterfly - shoots like one too". Steve could very easily have been playing for Melbourne Uni, in the form of their whippet like centre forward. Run he could, shoot, he could not. Proving it wasn't just the more lengthy efforts that were ineffective, a nice pass across goal left the Melbourne Uni talisman with the easiest of point blank finishes ever offered. Choosing not to drill the shit out of it, and needing only a bootlace to make the required connection, he instead placed his shot delicate enough for a scrambling Tim in goals to tumble into a timely save and get paw onto the ball as it began to creep across the line. It was quickly retrieved into the safe clutches of the Rangers no. 1 and be registered as miss of the day, quite possibly the year.
The contest rolled on at it's break-neck speed, Central Park this time were caught napping down the right. Rowland, have a solid game, put the muscle on the Melbourne Uni winger who wilted like steamed lettuce under the wrath of a bone crunching tackle worth conceding a penalty for. A Vialli-esque Melbourne Uni midfielder sent Tim in goals the wrong way from the spot for the opener.
Knowing full well this could game could easily have a ton of goals in it, Rangers pressed even harder for an equalizer, and continued to do the things that had been working so well. Our lonely sub, Brian came on to link up with little brother Ian, and things were suddenly reminiscent of the Denmark's own 80's duo the Laudrup brothers.
It was a game full of tactical surprises, but i don't think even Melbourne Uni anticipated the next piece of wizardry from Hendy. As a sweet lob hoofed into the direction of the Celtic man bounced up in a way we all know Hendy absolutely hates (i.e. a ball he has to chase down as opposed to one played at his feet). Nowhere to be seen was the Hendy tokenistic: control the ball - brush past an opponent or three - then lay a pass off to a support player to finish. Instead, Hendy spied an out of position goalkeeper and greedily lobbed a delightfully placed half volley over the top of the no. 1 from 40 out. The keeper watched on helplessly as Hendy's march toward another Golden Croc slowly bounced into an unguarded net. 1 all, just as it should be.
A frantic final 10 minutes of the first half played out, with a tiring Central Park hanging on as the shell shocked Melbourne Uni hunted back the lead. It must've been the 45th minute as the cruelest of defensive mix ups between Colin and Rod gifted the better of Melbourne Uni's strikers a free passage to goal. 2 - 1
Buoyant, the lads tucked into Jeremy's famous orange slithers and regrouped in readiness for battle to recommence. The mood felt as high as it has all season, the belief of a win genuine, and for the first time in a long time, seemingly all enjoying giving up their Sunday and looking forward to a second dig.
In a carbon copy of the first half, Central Park jumped out at a cracking pace and even higher level of intensity than the first half. Jeremy slotted in perfectly at right back and offered a fantastic attacking option from the back, linking up with Ed and the Lau-drup brothers.
The talk was good, great actually, Alex and George quickly building an unstoppable rapport. As a Masters watched on in support, they didn't have to wait long for the next moment of magic, as Alex broke free down the left hand side, tiptoeing along the bi-line before the most perfect of passes across the face of goal was iced by a charging Gaz to courageously slide in and finish magnificently on his backside. 2 all.
George was a man on a mission, playing inspired football as he ate endless amounts of dirt in his quest to win every contest. It was at times painful watching the poor bastard get hacked down, and clawing his way in front of opponents for a vital team possession - stirring stuff.
Hendy again (i think yet another George power play), this time found himself in the clear and running at goal. As the lads prepared to wander back to the kickoff in readiness to defend their lead, a desperate, clumsy and blatant check on Hendy robbed Central Park of a third. A penalty was given, and Hendy selflessly gave Jeremy the opportunity to get on the score sheet. After a jittery dress rehearsal of Jeremy accused of being a bit gung ho and putting into keepers guts, the referee asked Jeremy to have another go. In like Flynn! Central Park stole the lead.
Much like the way the first half ended, the Rangers boys were again running out of gas. In a rare occurrence (the first this season), Central Park were left trying to get their head around how to defend a lead. Melbourne Uni had replaced McManaman with a younger, small, faster, hard shooting - basically bloody good, forward and his fresh legs would stretch Central to their utmost. A switched on Rowland held him well, but his impact was still devastating. George, Alex and co continued with the 'take-no-prisoners' tackling, and free kicks began hemorrhaging Melbourne Uni's way. The defense held firm, Tim's hands in goal safe (this week anyway!) couple with a few critical touches to deny Melbourne Uni.
The away side pushed an extra man forward (at least it bloody felt like it!) and the Central Park fortress couldn't hang on. An unfortunate turnover at precisely the wrong time, presented two Melbourne Uni players with the chance to raffle it off, outnumbering Tim, the first of them put the equalizer away.
Melbourne Uni lifted, and as Rangers kept peppering the flanks in search of more goals themselves, the momentum had well and truly shifted Melbourne's way who now had a sniff of snatching the winner from a tiring Central Park. The lads fought to the end, literally, as the yellow cards began to get flashed around at the likes of George.
The highly fancied Melbourne boys would have to settle for a 3 all draw, a result seen as a victory of sorts for Central Park, who are finally on the scoreboard, and beginning to realise what they're capable of.
Best: Jungle George
The Rest: Alex P, Rod, Gaz, Hendy, Jeremy, Rowland
Christy Brown: Rowland - for, as they say "staying ahead of the curve" in the team sheet stakes.....
Central Park 3 - Melbourne Uni 3
Point made. Point taken!
Two disastrous results from the last two starts have Central Park staring down the barrel of a certain wooden spoon this season. It was timely then, that the Monarchists of this great land would gift Ranger's a Queens Birthday Holiday flavored week off, and the chance for some genuine soul searching.
The lads pre-game enthusiasm was impressive, the many hands on deck in setting the goals up resembling the crew of a Japanese whaling vessel untangling nets in readiness for a prized catch. Taking down title contender Melbourne Uni would indeed be a big fish for Central Park to bag, and in fishing parlance - like harpooning Jaws.
The FFA continue to throw up all the dices with their revolving door of 'characters' when it comes to match day referees. Today's man of the hour arrived promptly and didn't ask for the stock standard match ball and team sheet (which Rowland had pre-filled 7 weeks in advance! holy shitballs get a hobby or something dude!). The man in black instead rattled off the following list of pre-match 'chores' to be completed:
- a new flag for the corner post (wrong colour?)
- all dog shit to be picked up.
- a stretcher to be placed 'strategically' (his word, not mine) on the half way line on the WESTERN side of the pitch.
- all pools of water to be swept across the grass.
Yet it seemed quite amazing that such an intricate and pedantic fellow didn't bat an eyelid at the obvious blue and white strip clash. Sunday football i tells ya.....
After the fight for the opportunity to scoop up the dog shit finally dissipated, we were good to go. The boys attitude seemed more positive and switched on, maybe it was a rare appearance made by the sun, that Rangers started the more brightly. Ed, with a viking like presence controlled the centre beautifully, and formed a steel like spine with battled hardened George in the middle of the park for forays north.
Against a team who most expected to do the bulk of the attacking, Rangers made their intentions clear early with an aggressive game plan that meant hard tackles were the standard, and a solid shape that allowed the likes of Alex P and George to make attacking inroads of their own up the flanks.
In Central Park's ambition to push forward, Melbourne Uni countered well, catching Ranger's off guard on several occasions. It was clear that this would be an end to end battle, and the defense, led by Rod would need to be on alert, as Tim in goals guarded the space between himself and the back four.
Ian tangled well with a feisty fleet of foot Melbourne Uni winger in an entertaining tussle, as the away side tried to wrestle their way into the Central Park red zone. This was a different Ranger's side though, and the support play and willingness to have one another's back was something that's been sorely lacking this season.
Unable to pass their way into goal, an impatient Melbourne Uni began firing off long range efforts - some barely reaching Tim in goals, others barely staying under 20ft in the air.
Then, like clockwork a goal kick targeting the melon of Alex P found it's mark who beautifully flicked it on towards Hendy and Gaz, the play eventually ending with a corner for Rangers. Rowland lumbered up in Richard Owen's absence to give the freshmen the jitters in and around the 6 yard box, as wave after wave of corners were flicked in by George. Melbourne Uni somehow survived the barrage of fire aimed their way, and gained some respite with calm passing out of defense of their own.
There's an old saying (i believe coined by a disgruntled Paul Gascoigne) that goes something like: "Steve McManaman, floats like a butterfly - shoots like one too". Steve could very easily have been playing for Melbourne Uni, in the form of their whippet like centre forward. Run he could, shoot, he could not. Proving it wasn't just the more lengthy efforts that were ineffective, a nice pass across goal left the Melbourne Uni talisman with the easiest of point blank finishes ever offered. Choosing not to drill the shit out of it, and needing only a bootlace to make the required connection, he instead placed his shot delicate enough for a scrambling Tim in goals to tumble into a timely save and get paw onto the ball as it began to creep across the line. It was quickly retrieved into the safe clutches of the Rangers no. 1 and be registered as miss of the day, quite possibly the year.
The contest rolled on at it's break-neck speed, Central Park this time were caught napping down the right. Rowland, have a solid game, put the muscle on the Melbourne Uni winger who wilted like steamed lettuce under the wrath of a bone crunching tackle worth conceding a penalty for. A Vialli-esque Melbourne Uni midfielder sent Tim in goals the wrong way from the spot for the opener.
Knowing full well this could game could easily have a ton of goals in it, Rangers pressed even harder for an equalizer, and continued to do the things that had been working so well. Our lonely sub, Brian came on to link up with little brother Ian, and things were suddenly reminiscent of the Denmark's own 80's duo the Laudrup brothers.
It was a game full of tactical surprises, but i don't think even Melbourne Uni anticipated the next piece of wizardry from Hendy. As a sweet lob hoofed into the direction of the Celtic man bounced up in a way we all know Hendy absolutely hates (i.e. a ball he has to chase down as opposed to one played at his feet). Nowhere to be seen was the Hendy tokenistic: control the ball - brush past an opponent or three - then lay a pass off to a support player to finish. Instead, Hendy spied an out of position goalkeeper and greedily lobbed a delightfully placed half volley over the top of the no. 1 from 40 out. The keeper watched on helplessly as Hendy's march toward another Golden Croc slowly bounced into an unguarded net. 1 all, just as it should be.
A frantic final 10 minutes of the first half played out, with a tiring Central Park hanging on as the shell shocked Melbourne Uni hunted back the lead. It must've been the 45th minute as the cruelest of defensive mix ups between Colin and Rod gifted the better of Melbourne Uni's strikers a free passage to goal. 2 - 1
Buoyant, the lads tucked into Jeremy's famous orange slithers and regrouped in readiness for battle to recommence. The mood felt as high as it has all season, the belief of a win genuine, and for the first time in a long time, seemingly all enjoying giving up their Sunday and looking forward to a second dig.
In a carbon copy of the first half, Central Park jumped out at a cracking pace and even higher level of intensity than the first half. Jeremy slotted in perfectly at right back and offered a fantastic attacking option from the back, linking up with Ed and the Lau-drup brothers.
The talk was good, great actually, Alex and George quickly building an unstoppable rapport. As a Masters watched on in support, they didn't have to wait long for the next moment of magic, as Alex broke free down the left hand side, tiptoeing along the bi-line before the most perfect of passes across the face of goal was iced by a charging Gaz to courageously slide in and finish magnificently on his backside. 2 all.
George was a man on a mission, playing inspired football as he ate endless amounts of dirt in his quest to win every contest. It was at times painful watching the poor bastard get hacked down, and clawing his way in front of opponents for a vital team possession - stirring stuff.
Hendy again (i think yet another George power play), this time found himself in the clear and running at goal. As the lads prepared to wander back to the kickoff in readiness to defend their lead, a desperate, clumsy and blatant check on Hendy robbed Central Park of a third. A penalty was given, and Hendy selflessly gave Jeremy the opportunity to get on the score sheet. After a jittery dress rehearsal of Jeremy accused of being a bit gung ho and putting into keepers guts, the referee asked Jeremy to have another go. In like Flynn! Central Park stole the lead.
Much like the way the first half ended, the Rangers boys were again running out of gas. In a rare occurrence (the first this season), Central Park were left trying to get their head around how to defend a lead. Melbourne Uni had replaced McManaman with a younger, small, faster, hard shooting - basically bloody good, forward and his fresh legs would stretch Central to their utmost. A switched on Rowland held him well, but his impact was still devastating. George, Alex and co continued with the 'take-no-prisoners' tackling, and free kicks began hemorrhaging Melbourne Uni's way. The defense held firm, Tim's hands in goal safe (this week anyway!) couple with a few critical touches to deny Melbourne Uni.
The away side pushed an extra man forward (at least it bloody felt like it!) and the Central Park fortress couldn't hang on. An unfortunate turnover at precisely the wrong time, presented two Melbourne Uni players with the chance to raffle it off, outnumbering Tim, the first of them put the equalizer away.
Melbourne Uni lifted, and as Rangers kept peppering the flanks in search of more goals themselves, the momentum had well and truly shifted Melbourne's way who now had a sniff of snatching the winner from a tiring Central Park. The lads fought to the end, literally, as the yellow cards began to get flashed around at the likes of George.
The highly fancied Melbourne boys would have to settle for a 3 all draw, a result seen as a victory of sorts for Central Park, who are finally on the scoreboard, and beginning to realise what they're capable of.
Best: Jungle George
The Rest: Alex P, Rod, Gaz, Hendy, Jeremy, Rowland
Christy Brown: Rowland - for, as they say "staying ahead of the curve" in the team sheet stakes.....
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