Easton Monday 2 - 4 Re-Union

[25 Feb : AXA Sunlife]

Ace Reporter Stilly recalls:

Oooh it was bitter out. A force 10 gale blew straight down the pitch - or straight up the pitch depending which way you were facing.

On the sidelines, Coach Jones was led a merry dance by his son Henry, displaying the kind of fancy footwork that has led people to have no worries for the next generation of Easton Monday. The future is safe in those feet.

I had a hat on 'cos it was cold (a passing troupe of brass monkeys looked distinctly worried) and the wind nearly took the flag off me stick. Mindful of Owen's rant at the linesman in our previous game, I resolved to give every decision in his favour but there was no need to worry - we started like a train, albeit a slow train pulling slowly out of a long station whilst checking that it hasn't left anyone behind on the platform.

We went a goal up very early - I think it may have been a flicked Sheridan header after some tricky Sunderland-style left wing play by Stu.

I seem to recall us making it 2-0 very soon afterwards and taking great joy in telling their late-arriving substitute the score, but I can't remember who got it. Probably the wind.

Sadly, that's where it all started going wrong. We didn't take Han Solo's advice from Star Wars ("that's great kid, but don't get cocky") and unlike Luke Skywalker, we started getting cocky. Charlton playing in midfield for some reason and in a hat for very good ones, played a 'suicidal' back pass - the 'suicidal' bit being that Knoxy swung a Geordie leg at it and missed completely, resorting to chasing their striker towards the corner flag where he managed to roll it goalwards - Deano did his best to scramble it off the line but just ended up like a Whitby cod, floundering in the back of our net. Had Owen asked me, I'd have said "it never crossed the line" but he didn't.

Instead of being half-a-dozen goals up at the half, we just led 2-1. The wind got stronger at half time - they got an equaliser from an early corner and all the good defensive work was undone by a) the wind blowing every clearance back over our own bar and b) Marcus being replaced by the linesman. All I remember from then was us letting two more in and being completely unable to get the ball over the half-way line. And as Tom helpfully pointed out "...and subsequently we lost 4-2".

Ace Reporter Charlton remembers it thus:

Playing right midfield and having no idea what to do I ended up on the left wing where I crossed for Sheri top blast home with his chin. 1- 0

Thru ball for Sheri, broke the offside trap and slid it past the keeper. 2-0

Playing right midfield and having no idea what to do I ended up in the centre circle facing our goal. So I kicked as hard as i could towards our keeper. As it trickled towards him, he swung, it bobbled, he missed it. Forward slides it over the line with his belly. 2-1 half time

Wind assisted corner from our left curling into near post gets flicked past keeper 2-2.

Errr. 2-3.

Wind assisted long throw into our box. smart touch and turn from the forward. Bosh. 2-4.

Manager Colonel Purnell refused to speak to the Press after the game.