As the Green and Whites took to the pitch, the walls of the home dressing room were still echoing with the rousing, inspirational words of stand-in manager Ecky Limon. The players had all stood in silent awe and wonder as Ecky delivered a memorable speech which had even some of the stronger men wiping away a tear and Dave Sharred humming "La Marseillaise"
A day which had previously been pleasantly sunny and calm suddenly turned sour as the elemental gods decided to turn the weather dial up to shit-factor 11 just as Cringleford prepared for kick-off.
The home team quickly made their intentions clear. Snappy in the tackle and slick and precise in the passing they soon had Rockland on the back foot. The inevitable goal came after 15 minutes when a great run by Pyne to the by-line and a cut back allowed the well-placed Kevin Taylor to side-foot home to the keeper's left and high into the roof of the net. The second goal was soon to follow and came as a result of a well worked "training ground" move between Fairman, Pyne and Ecky who finished tidily after Pyne's "dummy" gave him the shooting opportunity. Taylor and Pyne continued to combine well and the third goal was a carbon copy of the first with Pyne setting up Taylor to finish confidently and clinically. The fourth goal came shortly before half-time when, as Pyne swung a lazy right foot and the ball curled and nestled in the top right hand corner of the net, play seemed to stop as Rockland appealed for off-side. Pyne was unsure whether to celebrate, protest, run back to the half-way line or fall to the floor in anguish. He looked longingly and desperately into Ecky's eyes who was able to confirm. "Yes Mike, it's a goal". Cringleford went in at half time with a well-deserved 4-0 lead.
The second half saw the introduction of Fez, Nick Skipper and a welcome return for Mick Sanders. Cringleford continued to dominate with Sanders hugely influential in the middle alongside the combatative, accomplished Sharred. Fez Bird showed some great touches, vision and tidy passing combining well with Sharred to put Pyne through on goal. His effort hit the post allowing an easy tap-in for Fairman. Richard Fairman got his second and Cringleford's sixth when a long ball from Ecky curled with the outside of the right foot fell into Fairman's path who then managed to put both the defender and keeper on the floor before tapping home and thus cementing an almost unassailable lead at the top of the Goalscorer's leaderboard. It's just a shame that the top Goalscorer's trophy is so small this year!
The highlight of the game was without question some inspired work by Skipper down the left flank who managed to combine gloriously a sort of "knees up Mother Brown" move followed by the "Hokey Cokey" and finishing with a flourish and a forward roll. The Clown School have put in an offer.
With minutes to go and the game obviously in the bag, Sharred was substituted for no other reason than that of being a Brummie fool. Fairman was moved back to midfield and this gave our Captain Fantastic Phil Shaul his long awaited chance to play up-front and seize his moment of glory and a first goal for the vets. For almost 2 years Shaul has been hassling and haranguing for a chance to prove himself as a striker and finally with seconds to go it seemed that the perfect script had been written. Pyne played the ball to Ecky who, with a good chance of a shot on goal, selflessly squared the ball to Shaul. It was a "boy's Own" moment. Shaul saw his footballing career flash before his eyes, he composed himself, visualised the ball hitting the top corner and.................got scared and passed to their defender. Final score 6-0.
This was a commanding display from the Cringleford Vets, one of the best since their formation all those years ago. The team as a whole battled tirelessly together, but also played with great style and creativity. The defence are looking solid and difficult to beat with Jennings again outstanding in this game and often the unsung hero. The midfield are working hard and passing well, and the goals are beginning to flow. In this mood the Cringleford boys are a match for anyone.
