PIPPA MIDDLETON’S ASS RANGERS 4 – 2 REEM TEAM:
In the second MEFF at Charnwood, it took an inspired Hat-Trick from Andy Griffiths, Captain of new challengers Pippa Middleton’s Ass Rangers, for his team to come from behind and see off current leaders Reem Team. Having the advantage of one more man for the first ten minutes (due to Griffin’s cheap car tyres), the Ass Rangers managed to take a 1-0 lead when Spencer stroked a precise finish beyond stand-in keeper Brett. Nevertheless Ream Team did not give up, and having installed Griff back in goal, they instantly equalised when a sprinting Brett headed home Patto’s corner with aplomb. Despite both teams defending well, Paul and Griff were forced to smother a number of close-range scrambles and long range shots, before Reem Team finally took the lead when Patto’s throughball was expertly dummied by Phil, and SuBo used every millimetre of his leg to poke the ball around Paul and finish from a tight angle. Reem Team probably had the best of the first half but wasted the chances to extend their lead when passes went astray or wrong decisions were made, while Pippa Middleton soaked up the pressure and bided their time....
With the usual second half fatigue creeping into both sides (along with a physically competitive edge that threatened to boil over), the end result came down to the matter of who used the ball the best, and in this case it was the Ass Rangers who proved ruthless on the counter-attack, while Reem Team became panicky in the final third and saw many half-chances go to waste as passes were overhit. Griffiths smashed in his first from close range to level the scores after good build-up play from Crozier down the right, before crashing in his second goal with a left-footed drive that bounced in off Griffin and his near-post. With heads beginning to drop, Ream Team tried their best to equalise but couldn’t really test Paul as weary legs failed to support the attacking runs or shots drifted high and wide, before Griffiths finished off his hat-trick with the final kick of the game as the ball crept in the bottom left corner of Griff’s goal after a spot of goal-mouth pinball.
