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Valley Football - The Rematch

Submitted by admin on Tue, 18/05/2010 - 12:13.
03/05/2010 - 14:45
03/05/2010 - 16:30

The Valley Football Match Rematch took place on Bank Holiday Monday 3rd May.


Turning out for the Durnfords were John Stringer, Jon Baggot, Jeremy Makin, Peter, Chris Stott, Hugo Hawkings, Inigo Hawkings, Felix Hawkings, Stefan Ingram, Leslie Burgess and Louis Patterson
Playing for the Woodfords were: Peter Ryan, Gregor Ryan, Matthew Roller, Ricardo Begara (aka Ricardinho, little Ricardo), Aster Crawshaw, Paul Lancaster, Rupert Coley. Rod Crossley, Robert Crossley, Edward
Crossley, Aaron and Derek Patterson.

Referee: StJohn Coley.
The Woodfordd were brimming with fit and talented teenagers. Like an army of ants they would swarm with skill and grace towards the Durnford goal until they were squashed by some brute of an over weight fifty year old like a large wellington boot. Occasionally the Durnfords would rumble forward but they always lacked something in the final third.
With 20 minutes gone the arch-wizard of trickery, Edward Crossley, ghosted down the wing and this time managed to avoid a couple of fumbling oafs, crossed deep into the box and the ball was slotted home by Gregor Ryan 1-0.
Losing is all that the Durnfords have ever known and heads immediately dropped, somehow though they managed to reach half-time without conceding any more.

At half time the hair dryer was turned up to full blast and Durnfords returned to the field confident that age and experience must eventually win through. They managed to put together a number of moves that almost resembled football as it should be played - route one football that is - and it was not long before Durnford's own arch-wizard of tricky moves, Inigo Hawking, floated in a cross too tall for any of the defending kids that was nodded home by Paul, "Lanky Emu" Lancaster. 1-1. Moments later Jeremy Makin was making progress down the same left wing and from some thirty yards out put in a cross, sorry shot, that fooled everyone and bounced into the net. 1-2. A similar effort from Chris Stott made it 1-3 and it was turning into a rout.

Being British we don't like to beat children by too many goals so the Durnfords settled in to see the game out. The Woodfords though were not going to accept that and sensing that the purple faces and heaving chests indicated that there was not much left in the Durnford tank pushed on with wave after wave of Woodford pressure. With 5 minutes to go Gregor Ryan slipped the ball to Peter Ryan who slotted from 18 yards out. 2-3. It was now backs to the wall for the Durnfords and deep into injury time the inevitable happened when Makin needlessly handled in the area and Edward Crossley stepped up to calmly convert the penalty. 3-3.

Before there was time to restart, the final whistle went, and it was into an 11 man penalty shoot-out. Leslie Burgess who was between the sticks when the final whistle went turned out to be a better penalty saver than a penalty taker and produced a string of saves that soon gave the Durnfords certain victory. The event was captured by local photographer, Nigel Wood - please follow this link.
The Woodford Valley "Community Shield" Football Match will take place on Sunday 5th September and the main event will take place on December 31st. Some of us also meet on the first Sunday of the month at 3pm for a knock about - please just turn up.

John.

 


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