On a rare Friday night match to avoid clashing with the ultimately pointless Belgium game it was left to F&O to bring some early blood and thunder football action to the weekend.
With more pull outs then a Catholic couple we were left with just 12 players and a debut for Darren Borozan a friend of Jac Edwards. With the pitch brought in it was a good size for 6 aside although a 7th player would have been ideal. The weather too meant fitness would be a key, especially as the game stretched out in the second half. The first half was a relatively even affair with both teams patient and creating reasonable chances. Southwell and Gil were linking nicely for Skins, whilst Bibs had Bahrami as their focal point. It was the Iranian centre forward who set up the opening goal, crossing for debutant Borozan who finished well. Moments later Darren the debutant hit the post as Bibs looked to go into the break with a two goal lead. It was as good as it got for bibs as Skins dominated much of the second half. Whitey on a run from the right hand side into middle of the pitch seemed to pass the ball towards goal. Fortunately for Neil the ball trickled in past Bahrami as the Iranian keeper claimed he was unsighted. The ball was timed as entering the net at 3.2 MPH. Skins very quickly killed the game off, although Edwards did hit a post and somehow Tom Green missed on the goal line but attacking moments for bibs were few and far between. Curry with 3 goals and Gil with 1 killed the game for 5-1 and the Curry hatrick means he goes clear at the top of the goalscoring charts with 14 for the season. He can find himself as a bit unlucky not to take a MOTM award too, but in truth all of the Skins team played well with Baker in particular impressing the MOTM panel with some good defending and passing. MOTM - Nik Baker - Enjoying a nice run of form of late, let's hope his Saturday team duties don't impact his appearances with F&O.
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On what was the longest day of the year, it would have been the longest 22 minutes of the season for Bibs as first they finally cracked, then finally succumbed to a late Skins onslaught on a hot summers evening.
A combination of heat and setting sun meant the first half was pretty much nondescript for the most part. Hunt hit the top of the bar after a good header from a corner. Virgo had a penalty appeal controversially turned down after a challenge in the area. At the other end Greenwood right on the stroke of half-time curled just wide from 10 yards when well placed. 0-0 at half time and barely a shot on target in the first 44 minutes. With only 3 keeper changes remaining a first ever 0-0 draw was far from out of the equation as both teams kept a good defensive shape, but offered very little going forward. That changed when first young Luis Gil had a glorious chance one on one but his shot was saved very well by Hunt. Lamprell minutes later scored the opening goal and a very good goal it was to as he raced forward from his deep lying midfield position to finish into the bottom corner. The game opened up at this stage but it was Bibs who looked most likely to double their lead. Matt Green having a couple of chances where he elected to shoot first time when he perhaps had an opportunity to take a touch to get closer to the goal. Ridley who was working hard beat Wilson and the onrushing keeper but his right foot hooked volley just missed the back post. Hunt was playing well in midfield as well as goal and a slide rule pass played in Tricker who his return but the attack was snuffed out by some good defending. It looked like a frustrating night for Skins but Luis's perseverance paid off after first looking like the chance had gone and he finished powerfully past Virgo with 20 minutes left. For the first time in the match Bibs looked ragged and several mis or non communication in the back line resulted in further chances as Skins turned the screw. Bahrami had a shot saved and Greenwood on an extraordinary run of wins smashed home the rebound for his 11th of the season to take him joint level for the golden boot. Bibs were now a spent force and Curry tapped home after more confusion. Virgo then made several fine stops in goal to prevent an avalanche of goals. Wilson went forward and his shot went across the goal line only for Luis to net his second and Skins 4th to round of the scoring for 4-1. Bibs were now pleading for the final whistle with the game over. They were finally put out of their misery just before 9pm. MOTM - Greenwood - top of the win percentages, top of the MOTM's and joint top of the goal scorers could this be a season to remember as we near the halfway mark of the season. In other news after much discussion the F&O committee members made the decision to raised the qualifying limit to 30 games. A spokesperson for F&O said afterwards. After 190 great F&O games since records begun we feel the time is right to move the qualifying mark to 30 games which represents 15.78% of matches. We understand our German tv broadcasters RTL & Sat 1 will be disappointed by this news but F&O is a global phenomenon which must preserve it's integrity and ethics. Bibs 2
Neil White Ross Brand Skins 6 John the Hat x2 Greenwood Ridley Chaz Harry Carton Skins 5-3 victory was marred by controversial scenes and ugly crowd violence as F&O poster boy White scored a hotly disputed fifth and final Skins goal to seal the victory.
With Wilson playing as a sweeper keeper I had visions of the infamous clash between Battiston & Schumacher in 82. Thankfully both players slowed down just before the contact but White who let out a high pitch squeal summoned the free kick. He then proceeded to take the free kick quickly before planting the ball in the roof of the net just inside his own half, whilst Wilson was making his way back to the goal. You could imagine a goal like that from Luke Deen but surely not from the squeaky clean White who picked up just the one yellow card in over 200 Sunday League games. His old school pal and opposition for the night Mitchell could barely contain his disgust. Worst still followed on the terraces with Bibs fans throwing missiles into the travelling Skins away terrace. The F&O video panel will review the incident before making a decision if any action will be taken against the midfielder. Before that the game got of to a flurry of early goals. Indeed it was 3-1 to Skins before the first keeper change (11 minutes). First Baker looking to find Virgo instead found the corner of the net as his attempted cross went straight in past Curry. Not long after Green on the right hit a trademark hammer blow which was a shot come cross. Baker deflected the ball onto his own post, before John the Hat gleefully finished the rebound and cue the trademark forward roll. 30 seconds later White crossed for Ridley who headed home at the back post. Beebee then made it 3-1 and Bibs were in disarray. A long throw was headed in by Prosser for 3-2 and Bibs were back in it. Eason hit a first time effort which was saved but Bahrami with his new white boots made it 4-2 with a calm finish off the resulting rebound. A F&O rarity then occurred as Mitchell scored his first goal since Oasis had a number one. His floated lobbed cross managed to go through the tiny fingers of Virgo and keep the game tight at half-time (4-3). 7 first half goals and many more were expected in the second but the surprising thing was despite efforts and chances it took a controversial White goal with 4 minutes left to open the second half account. Curry had a great opportunity to level at the back post mid-way through the half but he didn't get enough on the cross and the F&O top scorer missed his chance to bag his 11th of the season. With two keeper changes remaining Beebee & Bahrami were much the busier keepers. Beebee made a series of decent saves and Bahrami with a rare show of pace managed to get to the ball ahead of Curry just in the knick of time. At the other end Skins had breakaway chances to seal it. Ridley & Chaz having the most presentable. In the end the game was as good as over when White with his Maradonna moment finished the scoring. MOTM - Wes Eason - Just held of Nik Baker with 5 votes to 4 In other news Whitey has been sacked as the lead in the new Cross & Blackwell advert and his boot sponsors are considering dropping the disgraced star. |