Johnny Coopers came into the tie as firm favourites, after a devastating first half to the season which saw them sitting comfortably top with a 100% record, having scored 34 and conceded 1 from their first 4 games.
Florist were just happy to be back playing a league match, after forfeiting against Orlando Pirates, followed by Inner City FC forfeiting the week after, and then a bank holiday.
The match saw new signing, Tom Slater, striker and younger brother of James, make his debut only a couple hours after landing back in England after his big money move from Kansas.
Johnny Coopers started well and tested Florist early on, who were clearly nervous. Florist had to dig deep in defence to keep Coopers at bay. Tom Slater provided a decent outlet in the early stages for Florist to play the ball up to, but it proved in vain, as a period of possession from Coopers led to a strike past Mann to give them the lead.
Florist were growing into the game though and started to play out from the back and control the ball in the midfield. Jack Carter as usual was pulling the strings and when he found Tom Slater on the move with a through ball, the new signing smashed the ball into the back of the net to give himself the perfect start to his Florist career.
Unfortunately, Florist soon found themselves behind again, when the Coopers striker was left untracked down the left hand side, who slotted the ball sweetly past Mann again.
This lead was added to when Jack Carter played an unusually sloppy ball across the midfield, which Coopers seized upon to make it 3-1. It seemed like it wasn’t going to be Florist’s day.
Queue the return of Charlie Carter to the pitch – whose run went unnoticed down the left hand side which James Slater wonderfully picked out, when the ball rebounded between Carter and the goalkeeper it fortunately ended up in the back of the net - Florist were back in the game.
Charlie Carter wasn’t done though. He won the ball in the midfield with his back to goal, turned and ran at the defence and hit a screamer past the Coopers goalkeeper to give him a contender to retain his goal of the season. An inspiring late first half performance from the player manager, had bought his team in at half-time level.
Johnny Coopers were seemingly rather wound up by the scoreline at half-time as they came out in the second half with a quite appalling attitude. The game soon turned into a string of fouls, dissent and obscenities aimed at both the Florist players and referee, who himself seemed rather intimidated by the situation.
Florist were clearly the better team in the second half, playing some fantastic football which only led to wind up the opposition further. The game soon became a farce, as every time anyone received the ball they were bought down.
When Tom Slater made a fair challenge to win the ball, the recipient of said challenge turned round and attacked the new striker throwing a punch at him. The player received a blue card, but more importantly it seemed to galvanise Florist. Jake Hardie began to start pressuring the ball up the pitch and winning it, Tom Slaters movement and skill was too much for Coopers and James Slater and Morris were faultless at the back.
The abuse only got worse from Coopers both verbally and physically – one of their players deciding he was going to try and break Charlie Carters skull with a horrific, yet pathetic attempt at an elbow during an aerial challenge, which the referee missed.
Unfortunately, despite all the teams’ good work, when a shot deflected off Morris, it flew past the wrong footed Mann into the back of the net. It seemed it wasn’t going to be the just outcome tonight.
Florist kept their heads, bought together by the horrific actions of the Coopers players. When Tom Slater broke forward and slipped in Jack Carter down the left, Carter unleashed a fabulous shot which beat the keeper at the near post to equal the scores once more.
Florist were now favourites to win the game, however, it had become farcical. Fouls were being committed every time a Florist player received the ball, and even when the referee sent a Johnny Coopers player off for verbal abuse, the spectacle had already been ruined.
It ended a draw, but a moral victory for the Florist. A fantastic team performance which saw them more than quadruple the amount of goals Johnny Coopers had conceded this season and keeps them in the race for promotion at the half-way stage of the season.
