With the threat of snow looming large over the picturesque sea pitch at Fisherrow I arrived with the thought of a pitch in hellish condition lurking at the back of my mind. With the council giving us the rare green light, pending an ‘early’ inspection by the club, I got down there just after 6 for my ‘early’ inspection. I was pleasantly surprised, the past couple bitterly cold, but most importantly dry days had done wonders for the surface. No longer waterlogged the surface was a wee bit more conducive to good play, although the cold had made it a bit hard and I could tell there would be bobble issues. However it was more than playable and with a grin from ear to ear I set about sorting us out with nets truly relishing the prospect of a full on clash with Teuchters. As I said in an earlier post Richie managed to pull together a squad with little more than 48 hours notice, and even better than that he managed to book Mr ‘Stenhouse’ Muir to oversee proceedings for his usual fee and a lift back to Bonnyrigg.
With this encounter changing from a training match against our second 11 to a proper match at short notice the squad was subject to a bit of re-jigging. Due to personal problems Clarky was given permission by the club to travel to Stoneybank and sort things out with his Mrs. Alwyn Flaws was unavailable for selection due to some kind of availability issue that I didn’t pick up the details of. Calum Day was unavailable due to a band practice that he had already postponed twice and couldn’t afford to miss. Ken ‘Last 10′ Dick was once again unavailable due to work commitments, but once again turned up for the best part of the second half to make up a quarter of our 12th man.
These issues saw us call upon the services of another one of Gordon’s mates, Granty, who apparently had played Highland League football a few years back and was raring for a run out. Paddy Gauson saw his first start for the team, being absolutely delighted not having to stand on the sidelines in the utterly Arctic weather at Fisherrow. Once again there were timing issues and we found ourselves standing there at 7pm with 10 men, and no idea where each one was playing. Espie running late due to a career threatening toilet break as he left the house, did manage to show up within a few minutes and we eventually had 11 men for kick off. Due to the dropouts and availability issues I was forced to tinker with things a little bit, without Calum Day utility man Espie was put up front, leaving a gap in the middle of defence that I was happy to fill. With myself and Declan Kinsella supposed to be switching wings for this game Paddy Gauson had to deputise as a Left Back, a position he has literally never ever played. With Owen looking for a more creative role than striker I opted to stick him on the Left Wing, and gifted Supitha Dematagoda with his first start at Right Wing. With Jamie and debutante Granty in Centre Mid we were guaranteed to be playing some creative football in the middle of the park servicing Ciaran Mulgrew and Espie up front with some slick through balls. Of course, manager and height defying keeper Mike Kinsella was guaranteed a start with a welcomed break from the night shift.
Teuchters looked a strong side with Richie calling upon a couple boys from Highlanders FC, a reputable side from the Lothian and Edinburgh Amateur FA. However this was one of the strongest VAFC sides available and I was more than happy with the set up. Sticking with the 4-4-2 system that has served us so well of late we were ready for Mr Community to get the match underway. It was clear from the outset that we were dealing with a pacy team and tight man marking would be utterly essential. Paddy took around 20 minutes to fully settle into his alien role, and this proved costly with an array of attacks coming down his flank it wasn’t long before we conceded, despite Mike’s best efforts. This wasn’t the start we were looking for, but it proved the boot to the proverbial that was required to kick start our performance. With some slick build up play from the very back through the wings and the centre of the midfield a Teuchters clearance fell to Jamie Stevenson who fired a looping shot from near enough 30 yards that dipped at the perfect moment to beat Richie and elevate the boys spirits giving us the impetus to try and steal the lead. Unfortunately it didn’t take long for Teuchters to pull one back with a long ball going an inch over my head and being found by the spritely number 10 who cooly finished off the move. Another goal was conceded before the break and we ended the first half 3-1 down. With a firey and inspirational team talk from Mike that focused on returning to the kind of movement that lead to our first goal, and also giving a couple of the lads a cuffing for a bit of back chat with the ref. With fresh spirit and fire in our bellies we got the second half underway with intense pace and a desire to control the pace of the game. After a high tempo attack rife with slick passing and picture perfect movement off the ball seeing the ball moved from wing to wing with the kind of ease displayed by 70s era Brazil Richie was teased far to the edge of his box the square ball was played and a dazzling save was pulled off…..by one of Teuchters centre backs. Owen slotted it away straight down the middle, with Richie opting to gamble and diving to the left. With the score now at 4-2 and 20 minutes remaining we knew we could pull this one back for a draw at least. Keeping the rhythm up we pushed for our third which eventually came after a brilliant move that saw Granty break and fire one home to open his account on his debut. 4-3! 10 Minutes to go. A true battle of attrition ensued, with Teuchter looking to put the match to bed with a fifth goal and us pushing the other way to tie the game. With a couple interceptions in the middle of the park I managed to play 2 good balls through to Mulgrew that lead to some tense goalmouth moments. With this constant pressure at both ends somebody had to crack and the break eventually went Teuchters way with a stunning finish that even at full stretch Mike couldn’t stop flying in to the Top Right corner. On the stroke of full time, such a terrible time to concede in such a battle for an equaliser.
A very good encounter again that proved us as a competitive side, and were it not for a couple missed open goals, and an unfortunate incident that saw the ball slip from Mike’s safe grasp the score could have very easily gone the other way. A couple issues were raised by the match, primarily the need for stability in the line up. However it was evident that many of the boys were now communicating well, particularly at the back with a dynamic set up that saw excellent cover, if anyone was ever out of position. With the team starting to pick up momentum stability will come, as will the goals. Personally I was delighted by the performance, and was particularly happy with debutante Granty, and also surprisngly happy with Paddy Gauson who eventually slotted into his role well.
A great game was had by all, and once again my thanks go out to Richie for his brilliant job in getting a team together at such incredibly short notice. A good head of steam is now building up on the VAFC machine and its only a matter of time until the results star pouring in. With another performance of incredible graft and fitness Gordon Mackenzie remained ever solid at the back. Another name that impressed was Mike Kinsella, who puts Andy Mcneill to shame, being of roughly the same build yet Mike can actually reach the top corner. However, man of the match has to go to Jamie Stevenson, mainly for his intense grafting in the middle of the park, but the real icing on his performance cake was his goal that is a surefire contender for goal of the season.
Cheers, JD
