Simon Adams reports: What a performance! Ed hopefully got it right when he said “St Boniface are a team that I think are better than their league position suggests” however we are where we are because the performances haven’t been good enough, consistently enough. We lost to Clarendon in the second week of the season but felt we gave them a good game, so we went into this knowing that if we competed, and every player did their job then we stood a good chance of a positive result. Sure, Clarendon were short of a few players, but even the replacements would get regular starts in a lot of teams. We have been without three key players in Laidley, Watkins and Wilkes all season.
Clarendon started the brightest although St Boniface were defending well as a team. Most of the play was coming down the Clarendon right and on the first occasion we switched play to their weaker left side, a great run and cross from Ben 10 Fowler saw Obi miss a sitter at the back post, somehow side-footing wide. Midway through the half Clarendon hit us twice during a poor five minute spell, the first goal from a counter attack launched from our set-piece, which was worked into the box and slipped beyond James in goal. The second was probably the only long hoof played all game, Jonesy missing the header and the rest of the defence caught napping by a smart run in behind and lobbing the St Boniface keeper. 2-0 down and we hadn’t played badly.
Credit to us though, we began to work hard trying to retain possession believing we had earned the right to compete against a side as good as Clarendon, and we finally got a reward when a free kick saw Obi head towards goal where the ball seemed to be kept out by a defender’s arm and bounce out only for Obi to rifle it home. Good refereeing as the alternative would probably have been a penalty and red card and no one likes to see players hit with reds and fines, especially close to Christmas!!! Half time came and we came off 2-1 down but probably the better side overall.
The second half, there was only one team in it. Jim Gray only got his gloves dirty when setting the ball for his goal-kicks. We equalised when some persistence from Levi down the left saw the one moment in the season when we were glad that Levi can’t cross accurately as the ball nestled in the far side of the net. Game on. The winner came soon after from the same player when Jimmy Cutler, who had played superbly all game, holding the ball up and linking the play, cut in from the right and crossed for Levi to head home. There was still time for Yeos to make a run in behind the defence, found by Baby Walsh, only to appeared to run in slow motion “Chariots of Fire” style as James Bond (Roger Moore) gained 350 yards on him to make a tackle and win a goal kick too.
Credit to Clarendon who played in a great spirit, kept trying to play football even at the death, refusing to hoof it long, and to the referee who was excellent. We hardly noticed he was there. Unfortunately for Clarendon they met us on a day when all eleven St Bees were superb, none more so than Clive Haslam who, for a 17yr old, plays at the back with a maturity and quiet composure belying his tender years (I think I nicked that phrase from a Sports journalist!). The only downside was that Clive chose the aftermath of the game to tell us he was going to Botswana for six months after Christmas. Good luck to him but he needs to find us a replacement first!
