Volunteer Arms Football Club

With two different groups to prove a point to we were massively fired up for the big rematch we had all been waiting for. Primarily we were out to settle the score from the last match where we were drubbed 8-0 on the astroturf at St Daves. Secondly after some intense and seething criticism from the Mulgrew family it was essential to prove that the expulsion of Ciaran Mulgrew from the side would prove fruitful.

Fisherrow was in peculiarly good nick after some promising weather, but some particularly inclement weather was forecast for during the game, including wintery showers. It was really good to see pitch 1 back in action too with an earlier kick off fully underway upon my arrival to Fisherrow, the true home for any Musselburgh based team.

After our truly dreadful result against The God Squad the decision had been made to ring in the changes. A few new faces were brought in to assess if they were going to be able to fill in gaps in the squad and do us a job. With Mike Kinsella ruled out due to work commitments we brought in the first of two new Polish signings Jacob, a goalkeeper of particularly good repute who played despite an injury, albeit completely off his nut on painkillers. The other of these was a tall physical central defender called Andy, like Jacob Andy is one of Marcin’s mates that had been drafted in to fill in for unavailable players. With all of our centre-halves ruled out due to injury and sickness Owen called upon the first of two brother to make their debuts against the Witchery. An experienced player at under-21 level Joey was willing to slot in at centre half and we were fully confident he would be a suitable player to fill the shoes of Plockton’s favourite son Gordon Mackenzie. Joey’s brother Yorkie was drafted in at left-mid with promise of industry, creative play, and the ability to track back.

Sticking to what we know we went again with the flat 4-4-2 that looked set to reap success due to a far stronger midfield contingent. In goal as I have already mentioned was Jacob, in defence (from left to right) J. Dick (captain), Joey, Marcin, D. Kinsella, in midfield (l-r); Yorkie, Clarky, R. Mckenna, O. Kinsella, and finally starting up front were Val and Tulloch. Starting on the bench were; Calum Day, Ken Dick, and Andy. With our new Polish contingent came a small following consisting mainly of Marcin’s sisters, and Damo Scott and Dougie Todman, good chums of mine from St Daves had made the epic journey from Morningside and Loanhead respectively to watch the game. Big Gordon also managed to fire down, but purely as a spectator (or did he…).

The game soon got underway with man in the middle Chris Muir conducting the pleasantries. 1811 Witchery kicked off the match but posession was soon regained by VAFC. From this point we got straight into a positive start making some brilliant flowing play in the middle of park inevitably leading to some smart through balls and a couple threatening attempts. With some clever early pressure it didn’t take long for Staggs to open the account for the evening with an attack that began as many did with Tulloch winning the ball in the middle of the park from a goal kick. Some deft movement in midfield eventually lead to Ryan “Georgey Best” Mckenna jinking his way past a couple of blue shirts and eventually playing a superb through ball to Yorkie that was chased into the box and put away into the back of the net to give Staggs the psychologically crucial lead. Play resumed again much as it had started with a couple good attacks from Staggs but it was soon time for the Witchery to turn up the heat with some intelligent play leading to a shot from within the 18 yard box that saw a truly dreadful scuffed clearance from me that was stabbed home from 6 yards to regain parity. By this point the match was shaping up to be a far more competitive affair than at St David’s and it became evident the tie would be hard to settle. With my confidence at a massive low after being responsible for us conceding our lead I had to keep my head down and power through and make up for such a dire performance. It didn’t take long for me to pick myself up. Within 10 minutes of conceding in such embarrassing fashion I was presented with an option for redemption. Picking up the ball within our half after a Witchery attack I spotted Owen in space on the wing near their 18 yard box. My well timed overhead through ball found Owen in good space and with one touch to control the ball and one touch to take it within range Kinsella sent us back into the lead with a driving shot from tight angle and 20 yards that nestled in the bottom left corner perfectly. If we were able to control the match and go in at half time with the lead in the bag it would have been a perfect start to the game but however it was not to be. Not a bunch to be downhearted the Witchery kept up some good pressure and with an attack down the centre they took the lead again. Joey was unfortunate not to win the ball off the attacking blue shirt with a well timed challenge but the ball broke through and clean through on goal the Witchery converted despite my best attempts to put off the attacker with a blood curdling scream in the earhole.

Half time soon arrived and we were more than happy to in at half time equal after a hard fought half. There was a general feeling that we could have been sitting on a lead but there was no sense of discontent. Despite the battle the first half proved to be most of the lads were in fine fettle, and only Marcin volunteered himself to be substituted for his mate Andy. The message was clear, good first half and just go back out there and continue to play our own brand of football.

The second half was soon underway with fire in our bellies to nick a winner or even open up a lead. The half opened with a blazing shot from Val on the half way line that fell short of goal, but certainly proved useful in getting our players up the park to apply some pressure. We remained consistent and did well to fight off a batch of Witchery attacks, many of which coming from corner kicks that were well defended which was a refreshing thing to see. The play in the middle of the park continued to be creative and the through balls were raining in and Ryan Mckenna was unfortunate to be deemed offside by Chris Muir when played through on goal. There were further chances for each team with the corners continuing to rain in from the Witchery but to no avail. In the last 15 minutes a couple tactical substitutions were made with Val going off for Calum Day, and Yorkie coming off for veteran winger Ken Dick. Both substitutes got involved straight away with Ken making some promising runs about the park and communicating well with the team. Calum also got straight into it winning the ball in the middle of the park a couple of times and playing some intelligent passes. Gordon Mackenzie eventually caved in to the desire for football and got changed out of his civvies into a pair of shorts to come on for the last 10 minutes for Val. Presumably a bad decision for someone that has ruined the cartilege in their knees from being a sporting machine, but nonetheless proving that playing for VAFC is all about the love of football. The pressure was heaped on by both teams looking to steal the proverbial three points but the whistle was soon blown to end a highly entertaining encounter that really could have gone either way.

It was great to pull off a result like this, particularly against a team that only a month ago rifled us 8-0. Lots of positives to be taken, mainly the fresh faces in the side proved very useful additions to the squad and will be called upon in future. One particular negative was the flashpoint that erupted between Declan Kinsella and the boy he was marking. A heated exchange resulted and it was only resolved when I took Declan by the scruff of the neck and told him to drop it, and Chris Muir got involved to discipline the blue shirt involved. Another potential scuffle ensued between Owen Kinsella and his marker after a pretty harsh challenge, but thankfully no cards were shown. There is evidently work to be done regarding discipline but the football that was on display was so promising that it negated all the jiggery pokery that went on during the game.

When it comes to picking a man of the match I am once again totally spoilt for choice due to the marked improvement in play. Jacob was totally solid in goals and despite injury put in an excellent performance. In defence Joey and Declan were well solid and were involved in some great link up play with the midfield. I thoroughly enjoyed my assist to Owens goal as it is the highlight of my career to date, but my name is not in the ring due to my horrific error early in the game. All the midfield can be proud of themselves with great play between Clarky and Ryan Mckenna in the middle. Clarky once again putting in some brilliant crosses, particularly from corners, and Ryan Mckenna maintaining a cool head to display some effective close control that saw me dub him as a dead likeness for George Best. Both wingers proved themselves of immense value, mainly due to them netting a goal each, but also due to some good tracking back and creative through balls. However, scooping the man of the match award for our best team performance yet is Matthew Tulloch. His intensnely industrious play was vital to the success of the team. Happy to come back to the middle of the park to win the ball numerous times from goal kicks but driving forward constantly contributing pricelessly to keep up the pressure required to grab a result

I think it would be reasonable to say the Mulscrew family have been silenced.

Keep the faith,

JD