An all time high gate attendance greeted the Alexandra on a balmy Sunday morning, Alexandra fans amassed in their droves, numbering at one point nearly as many as 12 (including subs of course). What had brought them out in force? Was it the Sun? Lavery’s promise of a carnival atmosphere? Halle’s last game? Or the chance to see the most pivotal moment in The Alex’s brief history as they pushed for a top 3 finish?
In conclusion it was probably just the sun, but there certainly was a buoyant atmosphere as the Alex kicked off against 3rd place rivals the Llamas. Sadly neither of the teams seemed to notice and the game got off to a sluggish pace and stayed that way for most of the 90 minutes. Why? Pressure of the occasion? A number of quite hungover players? who knows, but the game lacked anything that could be described as tempo. At least Jimmy had been taking the encounter seriously, warming up the previous evening by practicing sliding tackles in his suit in Waterloo station. The model professional.
Joe graciously volunteered to sit out the first half, eager that one of his team mates should get a chance to shine. It was Joe’s birthday bash the night before and he clearly must have been still in generous spirits.
Llamas it has to be said didn’t look much more lively. Though It took an excellent performance at right back from Nick to snuff out their dangerous Number 9. The game was played very much over the top of the midfield who did a lot of hard work tracking back and forth, but were frustrated by lack of the ball. As the first half wore on neither side was able to make inroads, a long distance effort by Si and a chance that fell to Lavery the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock.
A look to the sidelines suggest the crowd also were losing interest, Even The Alex hardcore (Lucy) were not screaming in support as a lack lustre half came to a close. Still The Alex had created the better chances and with a little more clinical finishing further opportunities would present themselves.
The Second half was definitely an improvement over the first, not by much though. And for the supporters and players alike I swear it dragged on for about 80 minutes. Both sides seemed content to head for a draw, Oli Miller had other ideas though, In the 83rd minute his tenacity was rewarded as he got onto the end of a ball from the impressive substitute Hutchinson to fire past the keeper from close range. The ground erupted. The goal was caught on camera as well, I dread to think how many times Miller has watched it back already.
Alex held on comfortably to snap up 3 points and retreat to the Windmill for a couple of well deserved pints. Have we transformed from a team that slips to unfortunate defeats, into a team that sneaks fortunate wins? I’m still not sure, but with Alex 3rd from top and with 2 huge games to go we’ll soon discover if we have the bottle to stay the course and cap a fantastic season.
Finally good luck to Halle and Toria on their travels. Some impressive performances by Halle this season at left-back along with being a fantastic social secretary means that he’ll be sorely missed and impossible to replace. Expected back 2011-12 season when we’ll be defending our league title for the first time….
Tom
