Match Report
The only goals at Anfield on Saturday came in the half-time blind footballer penalty shootout. Any similarities between the goalie for that event and the Vets’ goalie at the Geoffrey Hughes Memorial Ground were entirely coincidental, although it did prove possible to watch at Anfield and make it there for kick off.
Although not at Anfield, in his rush to the pitch from the car park Baggers managed to develop a thigh strain which denied him a starting place that his recent performances had earned. The reshuffle saw McNay staring at centre half and Bagley running the line.
From that vantage point, Baggers was able to see that Convocations’s first well struck goal was from an onside position. McNay had in fact started arguing with the referee about his decision before he had made it, carried on as the player he was supposed to be marking moved into a goalscoring position, and finished it by spelling his name out into the referee’s notebook as the ball made its way back to the centre spot. The fact that the President and Chairman were both on the pitch at the time makes them both well placed to judge the sincerity of his letter of apology, due by the end of the week please.
In fact that goal came against the run of play, the Vets playing some good football at times, especially when using Gray and Byrne on the flanks.
Crutchley showed some good touches when he managed to avoid the double team marking on him but had no chance in getting his hands on the ball when the Vets won a free kick on the edge of the opposition’s box. In fairness, he probably also had no chance in clearing the bar by the same margin that Mornington managed in skying the resulting dead ball kick. It was almost as if he struck it too well.
The second half saw the very welcome return to the pitch for McGuckin, who inserted some much needed control to the passing through the middle of the park. When another free kick was won within shooting distance, the Chairman exerted his authority to dribble a shot into the far corner. The Convocation keeper thought this was some sort of thunderbolt and tried to use the momentum of the ball to flick it up and over the bar. There was only enough momentum to raise it up by about a foot. We were equal.
Having paid some penance on the touchline, McNay was reintroduced as top firework. More Catherine Wheel than Rocket, he did manage to shin a ball into Mornington’s path. The resulting shot was not struck too well and to general astonishment found its way into the top corner.
Convocation attacked for the last ten minutes, mostly down the Rambler’s left side, which made the President’s voluntary substitution from left back the more remarkable when a suitable replacement had not yet been identified. It was possible, however, to rearrange the troops and organise a sufficient rearguard action to secure the win.