Nailsea 0 v 2 EM95

Oct 20th, 2024 Nailsea Arena

TEAM: Sir, Alex,  Craig,  Jim, Marcus, Rick, Duds, Stu, Yinka, Sheri, Drane

SUBS: Neil, Morgs, Rob

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EPIC EFFORT IN BIBLICAL CONDITIONS

Commitment, teamwork, enthusiasm were all on display on Sunday… But enough about queuing for cheap post-match drinks at the Nailsea ‘spoons! The Monday changing room resembled an abattoir as it was awash with red tops with plan A -  all to bring red tops, plan B  - Jim getting the 35's red kit from Manny and Plan C -  the 50's red kit showing up! We went with Plan B thanks to Jim and the Monday squad of 14 went out to the elements fired up in red. Recent results vs Nailsea had been loss, draw, loss so the 95ers knew they had to be on it and up for it…they were.

Yinka told his adoring fans after the game... “I was a little disappointed we were not playing in our blue shirts, I got a nice new long sleeve one which I must admit I was looking forward Ito wearing. Nevertheless it gave me an opportunity to wear my old red England shirt only to be disappointed when Sheri got out a school bag with some smelly red tee shirts.”

The pre-match pep-talk from Sheri and Stu were ‘strong defences win leagues’, keep the ball and press them hard. As Jim observed… “I sensed the eye of the tiger in the faces pre kick-off as Sheri went through the team. A steely determination to get out there and win.” The helpful addition of Craig to a strong squad was commented on by Jim and Duds who unsurprisingly revealed after the game that Craig’s recovery pace has been bailing them out of trouble for decades, so was reassuring to see him line up for the seniors!

Draner was sent out as skipper to win the toss and play with the wind, he lost that one and Nailsea turned Monday around to play into the wind. Lose the battle (toss) but win the war (match) was all that was left to go and do. Stu observed… “Pete made us move our bags to the far end of the pitch so we’d have the wind behind us first half. Mind games! Then we lost the toss and played into it!.”

The wind was strong and Nailsea started on the front foot and dominated as expected given the conditions.They pinned the Blues (I mean Reds) back at times but the 95ers defended the goal as if their lives depended on it. Sir Lee in goal epitomising this by basically playing on one leg for 50 minutes. Monday were strong and resolute with the hustle in midfield from Stu and Duds and the running of Sheri upfront who was always showing as an outlet and gradually started to hit Nailsea on the break.

Monday were having  better half chances when Sheri slotted in Draner through a gap and he neatly finished 1-0 Monday. A few players held their breath in fear of VAR considering an offside. All eyes turned to the line to raise his flag. Credit goes to their lino for playing fair and not flagging, Yinka adding… “Draner was onside, but we have seen so many times these decisions going against us.” Overall there weren't many big moments in the first half but the pace was high with both teams at max effort so to go in 1-0 up at the interval having played into a strong wind was a bonus. The only other incident of note came from Rick who informed his legion of Tiktok followers… “A badly executed back heel pass to Stu early in the first half put me flat on my arse. That was enough to get me to sign up to TNF after a 5 year absence.” The second half saw Morgs come on for Sheri, Neil replace Alex and Rob slotting into right wing for Rick.

Sir insisted he wanted to carry on in goal despite fucking his achilles and nobody was going to disagree with him. Morgs clearly had something to prove and was super-charged when he came on. Chasing down the defenders, making them panic, one of the Nailsea players lamented “there is just no time on the ball”. Within minutes of the restart, pressure was put on the keeper the forced error fell to Yinka who smashed the return against the post, Yinka had began his celebratory run before he realised the ball hadn’t crossed the line. A little later a great ball from Draner left Yinka with just the keeper to beat, but as he later told reporters… “I was facing the wrong way, I had no clue where I was.” The resulting half chance was saved by the keepers feet.

Halfway through the half the heavens opened and a biblical downpour ensued.

Nailsea attacked, Monday defended well and continued to look dangerous on the break with the better chances.

Sir refused succumb to injury as his leg was not falling off but Sheri took his life in his hands and decided to sub him for Al. A brave shout as Sir likes being subbed less than Morgs!... infact he’s NEVER been subbed. With the game in the balance Monday had another breakaway, the ball fell to Nailsea’s good central midfielder who had dropped back to centre half, Yinka was there to apply pressure and force a mistake, the ball ran to Morgs who put a lovely ball into Draner to show the team how to finish. Morgs summed up his work nicely by telling Talk Sport... "First half the bench was warm. Second half the bench was wet. I remember the bench. Oh and a perfectly weighted through ball onto Drane’s preferred right foot for his second.” He also added… “I know I’m taking my own life into my hands with this recollection… there was the moment where Sir seemed to defy all laws of physics as he hurtled face first towards a rolling ball… that was memorable.” The Monday defending was excellent all game until Yinka dangled a leg in the box and the striker went down, Stu said… “oh no not again, FFS!” However, Yinka clearly got the ball, the players got up saying that wasn’t a pen and the ref to be fair to him wasn’t swayed by the shout from the other side of the pitch 50 yards away. Rob recalls another classic Corinthian League moment… “I was free down the right with all the time in the world to put in a perfect cross. Needless to say I sliced it horribly over the fence behind the goal. Their left back commented ‘that was absolutely shite mate’- I couldn’t argue with his assessment.” The storm let up briefly, much to Colonel’s delight who was hobbling the line with his torn glute, in the vain hope that his drenched attire might dry out a little. Sadly, the monsoon returned with interest.

A tactical switch saw a sub subbed (Morgs accepting the shout with a mixture of confusion and grace) as Draner added a body in midfield to help shore things up. Despite the weather and competitive opponents Monday blew as hard as they could and closed the game out. A very well earned 3 points with Yinka summing up the game up nicely… “Nailsea played a strong game and in the right spirit and it was a credit to them which made it an enjoyable game.” Jim told his evr growing fanclub… “Tough game, tough conditions but a performance of effort and quality and a beautifully clean sheet, followed by sone delicious low cost pints. Great Sunday for the Monday.” Last word on the game has to go to Craig who ruefully observed… “It was dry. Draner scored. 1-0 Monday half time. It was wet. Draner scored. 2-0 Monday full time!”

Once the players had dried themselves out Sheri commented… “Clearly winning is more fun as was evidenced in the bar with a good showing from the 95ers, onwards to the next game as spirits are high. As always Nailsea were very sociable in the bar after.”

MOM: Again, a massive squad effort all over the pitch and a clean sheet vs a very strong team so tough to select one player but Draner's brace sealed the deal in a tight game.