After a slight stinging in our first ever game against the boys from Teuchters it seemed only right to select them for another game after our match against The Witchery Tours was called off by the nanny state due to an ‘unplayable pitch’. This was a factor to rear its ugly head on Wednesday of last week when Musselburgh’s Mystic Meg gazed into her crystal ball as murky as the Esk and decided that a whopping 129 hours from her phonecall that the pitch would be deemed unplayable. Short notice like this made it an impossibility to get a floodlit grasspitch anywhere in East or Midlothian, or Edinburgh for the same slot. Unfortunately we would have to settle for an astroturf pitch and the high quality surface at the Dalkeith Community School Campus was the best option available. As this new venue proved a return to the glory days and the birthplace of their 11-a-side career for some of the lads we were fired up to grab a win and prove any Kev Shandleyesque doubters in Dalkeith wrong.
Sadly the short notice meant I wouldnt be able to give my old pal Kev a ring to come and watch (bearing in mind that he took credit for the discovery of Darren Fletcher). On a night that threatened a blizzard we were fairly thankful to arrive in Dalkeith to gales and horizontal rain blowing across the top standard pitch we were to ply our trade on. As could be expected astroturf is never the preferred choice for a surface and many of the lads werent able to get astroboots in time for the game and were forced to play in normal studded football boots. However tonight saw the introduction of a few new additions to the team, at the expense of inexperienced youth.
-Gordon Mackenzie, a man always destined to feature in VAFC’s plans but unfortunately was unable to feature in our previous games due to a clash with the Challenge Cup final, the strapping lad from Plockton a defensive stalwart with dedication and superhuman fitness
-Alwyn Flaws, one of Gordon’s flatmates, a pacy creative player from the Shetlands, a certainty to cause problematic problems bombing up and down the wing
-Kaz, one of Owen’s mates from his days at Luca’s (unfortunately i don’t know his surname), guaranteed to be able to do us a job in the midfield with creative flair and drive
-Gordon (not of the Mackenzie clan), a last minute introduction, the lineage of whom i am unsure of, however he came on great recommendations for being a defensive central midfielder
-Derek, a similar story to Gordon the 2nd, both in lineage, position and ability
-Supitha Dematagoda, an old pal from school and a technically gifted player, with beautiful orange boots
After running through the tactical approach to this game in my head, during some quiet shifts at Teuchters, messing around with diamonds, sweepers, 1-2-1-3-1-2 formations we opted to go ahead with a nice flat 4-4-2. With Mike Kinsella our first choice goalkeeper unavailable due to a nightshift, we had to opt for full time midfielder and part time goalkeeper Ciaran Mulgrew. In defence (left to right) Declan Kinsella (one of 3 Kinsellas to grace our team) Gordon Mackenzie, Gordon, and Myself Joe Dick (captain). In Midfield (l-r) Jamie, Clarky, Derek ,Alwyn. Up front we went for the Musselburgh duo of Calum Day and Owen Kinsella.
Chris Muir, the excellent veteran referee called for the toss, and myself and Richie the teuchters captain shook hands and Teuchters won the toss, opting to play with the wind behind them for the first half. The VAFC boys started well with slick passing and a solid defensive performance. However the show was truly stolen by Owen Kinsella and his supporting cast of top grade link up play from defence to midfield, and the service to him and Calum up front. It was this combination that saw Owen fire in a hat trick that helped us take the half time whistle with a 5-0 lead.
After banging in the goals Owen, far from peak fitness, selected himself for subsitution for Kaz, who by this point was close to death from hypothermia. Seeking to finish off Teuchters I decided to go 3-5-2, a decision that did not backfire dramatically but cause widespread confusion and after about 20 minutes of sustained pressure from Teuchters we changed back to 4-4-2. Again a decision that did not backfire but caused utter confusion. At this point we seemed to be coasting and more goals and a clean sheet seemed likely, but sadly the complacency went to our head and a few of the lads were looking for goals, that blatantly wouldnt come to a right back (i myself was particularly guilty of this). This problem left us fairly exposed at the back and cause the haemorraging of 3 goals that should have been avoided (one of which a penalty, and the other coming from a poorly defended corner). However despite this the Volunteers were able to press ahead and bag another pair of goals, one coming from an unfortunate own goal that was the product of a deflection from an excellent low cross from the Sri Lankan wonderkid Supi D.
As the final whistle blew the Volleys were able to celebrate the first victory in the club’s history and the seal was set on an excellent team performance that proved extremely promising for the 2 games on the bounce ahead. Absolutely spoilt for choice as far as man of the match is concerned. With a performance characterised with crisp finishing Owen Kinsella would normally be a surefire shout for man of the match, as would debutante Alwyn Flaws with a brace truly typical of the clinical finishing of the Volleys, but with a performance that saw Gordon Mackenzie play as a back four for the period where a few of the lads went on outrageous runs from the back, and a truly solid game at Centre Back cemented the award for Gordon ‘Rickshaw’ Mackenzie.
Now we look to build on this performance and continue winning ways in our fixture on Sunday the 28th of January against the Witchery Tours at our adopted homeground at the Links Park (hopefully) with a 7pm kick off. Another game seems likely for precisely a week after same time, same place, against a team from The Meadows Bar.
