Match Report – AM.4 – Game Date: 05/07/2020

BMFC AM.4: 1
vs
Wentworth Falls FC: 0

BMFC Goal Scorers: Marty

Player of the Match: Knapsack Park grass cover

Match Report: The smell of freshly cut grass and Dencorub, the sound of strapping tape being vigorously applied, the sight of bloodshot eyes from the previous night’s bender – football was back!

Twas a glorious winter’s afternoon that greeted the lads at Knapsack – arguably the only winner from COVID with a cover of grass not seen since… ever. And now almost 100% asbestos-free after the removal of the old clubhouse, the air was electric.

The off-season transfer window was a busy time for the AA4s (nee 35.1 Whites) – with only 8 incumbents remaining and some youthful up and coming talent recruited, only one question remained unanswered – Did the gaffer get the mix of old and new right, or would this season be as fruitless as Spurs trying to win Europe?

Still short of a full-time keeper after the loss of Stevie Buffon to El Presidente’s David Smith’s squad (pending investigation into reports of brown paper bag payments), Lachy found an old pair of gloves last used to keep a clean sheet in 1987, and coupled with his debilitating shagger’s back injury from mid-week, he nominated to stand between the sticks.
And only missing Kris as his medical didn’t pass cut-off in time and Slash (I missed 90% of last season on a 14 week holiday) away on holiday, 4 on the bench gave us plenty of legs.

Wenty Falls were happy to knock the ball around and play out from the back, and we absorbed some early pressure, Kyle more than once clearing out danger in the box and Lachy making a couple of nice stops. We began getting the upper hand, Rod making plenty of probing runs from deep causing problems and a few testing shots from the forwards from outside the box as we tried to find our range.

The best chance of the half came when Matty whipped in a quick free-kick of his left boot and found Ads on the far post where he went for the dramatic swan-dive header when a simple tap-in volley would have probably done the job, the ball sailing harmlessly over the crossbar. Ghost stepped up for another free-kick just outside the box, but decided he would rather see just how high he could kick the Mitre, rather than attempt a shot on target, all and sundry agreeing that he can indeed kick the ball very, very high.

Half time, nil all.

Disregarding the numerous complaints from last season, Dre held the halftime sermon outside the women’s toilet block again, and was positively glowing over the first half performance while clearly starting to develop a few man-crushes over some of the new recruits.

And in true leadership fashion just to remind us to keep the intensity up, Dre received the back pass off the kick-off and gifted it straight to the oncoming striker, keeping the entire backline on their toes for the rest of the half. Crisis averted.

We picked up where we left off and arguably had all the running, creating plenty of chances and stifling the opposition when they had the ball, or catching them offside on plenty of occasions. The breakthrough finally came when Rod found space on the flank and picked out Marty with his cross, whose pre-season routine of beer and pizza paid dividends, controlling the ball with his magnificent guts before sticking his toe out and lobbing into the far post netting. Marty’s first goal since 2018 saw his management immediately start negotiating a goal bonus amendment to his contract.

Tails were up and we were moving the ball freely, and everyone wanted to get on the scoresheet – Rusty, Felts and Matty happy to shoot at will, Zac coming closest with a bolt that crashed into the crossbar, and Joe hitting a pure speculator form 35 yards out, stamping his arrival as a challenger to Dre’s cultured lobs.

Felts stepped up for a free-kick outside of the box that favoured his left hoof, but his ego wouldn’t allow Ghost to win the highest kick of the day award, sending it into the stratosphere and would have landed on the clubhouse roof if it was still standing. Golf claps all-round.

Niall found himself with room on the edge in the dying stages, and with the entire team, opposition, supporters and officials yelling “Shoot” the ball got more lost between his legs than an Irishman in hiding with an expired Visa, he became a bit overwhelmed and decided to have a bit of a lie down instead.

1-0 final score, 3 points in the bag and the fan base believing that this could be a season to remember.