Match Report
When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin’ when I hold you
Don’t you know I feel the same
‘Cause nothin’ lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it’s hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain.
So dull and dark are the November days.
The lazy mist high up the evening curled,
And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze;
The place we occupy seems all the world
One was written by a well-regarded 19th century poet, John Clare, the other by a combination of people including Axl Rose and Slash. But both in their own way tell us what a momentous month November is. And so the pressure was on. Three wins out of three and only one Saturday left in the greatest of months. But we hadn’t beaten Essemmay in living memory.
The high levels of quality that had been reached in recent weeks were not replicated in the opening stages but it is fair to say that the Vets were on top. Being on top without scoring creates its own pressure so it was a relief when, with twenty minutes gone, Rogers curled in a perfect corner which Mornington converted with a pinpoint-accurate bullet header. Further proof, if necessary, that fact is stranger than fiction.
Essemmay fought back. A shot from the edge of the back was tipped onto the bar (promise I got a touch), and though the Vets rallied too, it was somehow without that cutting edge. Passes went astray and half-time came without further incident of note.
There were oranges left over from last week’s Tesco batch. They had been kept in perfect conditions and no-one noticed. They, unlike the first-half performance, were not stale at all. The call for composure was, though, too well heeded. Composure turned to complacency, and an equaliser came that was hardly against the run of play. It is pleasing to be able to report that once more, this fortified rather than crushed morale.
Killen, having arrived late after being taught how to deal with vulnerable witnesses, proved equally adept at dealing with vulnerable defences. A free-flowing one touch move culminated with a neat one-two with Gendall and a sweet left shot into the roof of the net. Mornington then crossed to the far post where Lewis headed home the third to put the game out of reach.
Don’t know why we bothered with the other months …