Match Report – O35.1 – Game Date: 14 June 2015

BMFC O35.1: 3
vs
Penrith FC: 0

BMFC Goal Scorers: Paulie, Chicken, The Pirate

Player of the Match: Danny (Gordon Banks) Margetts

Match Report: The Blueys boys arrived in a peaceful mood to embrace Knapsack’s annual Harmony Day. Participation was high this year with notable guest Dalai Lama taking his place in the grandstand alongside Richard Gere and Scotty Shields.

Lots of positive energy pre-game as we included a flower in our hair as part of our on field match kit. Dunny, Mick R and The Cobra having to improvise by stapling said flower to the sleeve of their jersey. The Iceman arrived with Connie as predicted, having spent an intimate four days together since Wednesday’s fixture, The Iceman acting on Rhett’s instruction to “stick with Connie”. Connie was apprehensive at first, concerned how this would affect his wedding anniversary on Friday night. But by all accounts things went rather smoothly as the two tall men discovered they had a lot in common and The Iceman proved his worth at the romantic dinner, topping up wine glasses without request.

Into the warm-up and Blueys settled in to their pre-match possession routine which has proved invaluable in the last couple of fixtures. Penrith, learning from past errors decided that they would participate in a pre-match warm up. Paulie, observing from afar was somewhat mollified, and prepared to forgive Wednesday’s transgressions.

The pre-match warm up continued slightly longer than usual due to the absence of off-field substitution manager Andy Cartman, delayed while spectating Leyton Hewitt partaking in an exhibition match in Glenbrook. Fortunately, The Mighty Quinn arrives and steps into the role calmly.

The line-up is announced, Sean desperately scraping at the bottom of the sweeper barrel gives the green light to Pommy with Dave Heyman and The Iceman as markers. Sean went on to explain that the marker role was “a marking role”, Dave and The Iceman were happy to acquiesce, The Iceman in particular keen to spend some more time with his new found friend Connie.

Matty Witjes was once again missing, pursuing options in his fledgling netball career. The engine room consisted of Mick C, Dunny and Joey, Sean on the right and Paulie on the left. Up front, Chicken and Mick R. Subsitutes were the Pirate, The Cobra and Naughty Corey with a cartoon shaped question mark above his head, concerned about aggravating an existing ham string injury.

The game starts, and things started a little shakily. Some rough bounces and scrappy clearances in the opening fifteen minutes led to some anxiety in the Blueys goalmouth. Pommy was fortunate enough to enjoy the permeating atmosphere of Harmony day, combined with his secretly hidden immunity pin and escaped these transgressions with little criticism.

The ship steadies, and the Blueys find their shape. Possession starts to come our way and we were rewarded with a goal, Paulie finishing splendidly after a great lay from the Chicken (Pause). The Blueys, encouraged, continued to exhibit some great team football. The remainder of the half saw Blueys keeping their shape, winning 50/50 challenges, getting behind the ball and keeping control of the game. A spectacular dummy from Pommy with an indulgent celebration kept the fans (and more importantly, himself) entertained. Perhaps the last 5 minutes of the half saw some anxiety creep in, but a welcome half time whistle saw the Blueys go into half time up 1-0.

The Mighty Quinn takes the stage with a Joe McCaffery-esque team talk, calmly pointing out a few areas where we can improve; the big man may have found his niche. Lots of positive talk, complements and hugs leaves Pommy retching in the cubicle. All set for the second half.

We begin much as we left off. Controlled possession and constant plugging saw Chicken as both the villain and the hero in the first 20 minutes. A lovely run and subsequent cross by Paulie saw Chicken with a side-foot miss from point blank range. It was looking like we were going to head into the last 20 minutes playing 1-0 football when Chicken delivered a golden egg. (Pause). Some great acceleration leaving the defence for dead, completed with a slightly fortunate finish. 2-0. Hats off though and just reward for a phenomenal work rate from Chicken who had been proving himself a real nuisance to the Penrith defence. The pressure is easing.

Special mention at this stage for Danny (Gordon Banks) Margetts, who pulled off a spectacular 70 style save against a shot which was destined to disturb the pigeons. Also, a couple of excellent last man challenges from Davy Heyman.

69 minutes in and a master-class in plundering saw the Pirate in front of goal where he converted calmly to put the Blueys up 3-0. A quick tactical substitution from The Mighty Quinn saw Naughty Corey enter the fray, arrive at the centre circle and then leave the fray courtesy of a ham-string injury.4 minutes soaked up, a masterstroke from the Mighty Quinn. Pommy, inspired by Corey goes down with the same ailment in the 75th minute and is helped from the field by the referee (thanks boys). By this time the game clearly belongs to the Blueys, and we proceed to the full time whistle with a deserved 3-0 victory

Lots of positives, special mention to Harmony Day, The Immunity Pin, The Cobra, a 5 hour duty officer shift from Paulie, The Mighty Quinn, The Iceman who had Connie in his pocket, Winns Coonawarra Shiraz and finally our formidable foes and old friends, Penrith FC. Finally, man of the match goes to Danny Margetts (insert attached) who is proving to be a formidable force between the sticks.