On a wet and windy night Ventolin Inhalers surrendered their unbeaten record to in form Big Balls United. In an end to end game that finished 6-3 in favour of the Balls after two superb 2nd half strikes killed off Ventolins hopes of a comeback.
The game started well for Ventolin as they were quickly into their stride , closing down the opposition and working the ball around well. after a good break dain laid the ball wide to JOYCE who chipped the ball into the box for the on form KEELEY to smash home on the volley. Encouraged by this Ventolin continued to play well against strong opposition and minutes later JOYCE found Dain, who collected the ball in middle of the pitch before striding past the balls midfielder, as another defender approached Dain slipped the ball past him and the keeper to make it 2-0.
Ventolin were on fire now and Joyce had the chance to make it 3-0 but was unlucky as his fine strike cannoned back off the inside of the post.
Just as things were beginning to settle down a defensive mistake let the Balls back into the match. Dain trying to play a crossfield ball to Plass saw his pass intercepted and the powerful striker made no mistake. This seemed to lift Big Balls, although it was ventolin who restored their 2 goal cushion after good work from JOYCE and Plass, resulted in both hitting the post before PLASS bundled the ball over the line.
Moments later after good work from Keeley and Joyce, Plass was bundled over in the penalty area and what looked like a certain penalty was waved away by the referee, who decided that the tangle of legs in the box was not a foul...Inhalers fans were screaming for the video replay but to no avail.
Sensing a change of fortunes Big Balls now came hard at Ventolin and only some fine defensive work and great keeping from Keeley kept them temporarily at bay. Alas after more good work from the Balls, their strike force made it 3-2 with another fine strike on goal.
As the half was coming to a close Dain tackled the balls midfielder, pinching the ball off him, only to penalised by an over officious referee. Balls broke quickly and before Ventolin could reorganise it was 3-3 and game on. Even though the scores were level at 3-3 Ventolin could be proud of their performance against possibly the strongest team in the league.
Unfortunately Ventolin were unable to continue this form into the second half. Big Balls sensed the chance to go for victory and put Ventolin under sustained pressure from the restart and it wasn't long before the powerful and skillful Balls striker had given his team the lead for the first time in the match with another thunderbolt from out side the box.
As ventolin pushed forward to try and get back into the match Big Balls sat deeper, making it harder for Ventolin to play their way through like they had in the first half. One or two chances were created, but nothing so clear cut as the first half, due to good defending and pressure from the balls defence.
As the game progressed Balls found something extra and caught Ventolin twice on the break with clinical finishes that left ventolin wondering what might have been had they had a bit of luck in the first half to go with the 3 goals they scored.
In a game that could have gone either way, Ventolin will feel that they still have plenty to play for and will look forward to playing Big Balls again next season.
Next week sees Ventolin take on arch rivals Fairlight Garage in what promises to be another classic encounter.
Man of The Man Tony Dain was pleased with his sides display and felt the first half was possibly the best we have played so far. They are a top team and we pushed them most of the way, if we continue to play like we can then we will enjoy a good season. Although one or two decisions didn't go our way I think Balls and in particular their strikers just about deserved their victory.
