Match Report
It wouldn’t be the Ramblers if we didn’t have a bit of last minute shuffling to do. But with food poisoning putting the skipper’s turnout cup chase in jeopardy and Gossie being, well, Gossie, the glossy teamsheet ambitiously circulated at Friday lunchtime was already fading when the stand-in skipper was trying to paper over the cracks whilst McNay was picking his own position … something that became a recurring theme throughout the game.
The entire squad were grateful to Damo and Rushie for donning the gloves and saving them (or RVP) from doing so. A refreshing change for the vets to concede only 3 goals and for none of them to be attributable to goalkeeping error.
So with Ayton and the President added to the back line, alongside Yates and occasionally McNay, and Crutchley favoured up top with Mornington, there were pace and movement on display at both ends of the pitch, sadly none of it in yellow and blue. After going a goal down to a lucky finish we were soon level when Rogers pounced on a defensive error and equalised with a clinical finish (think Michael Owen’s first Liverpool goal past Hans Segers).
With Crutchley’s mate typifying our finishing (and showing us all who Tim shooting practise with) chances were being spurned and we were soon 3-1 down. It was reputed that when former Real Madrid “star” Michel Salgado joined Blackburn Rovers, the only English he learned was “cover me”, which was still more warning that [the once young] McNay gave to his teammates before disappearing from full back in the second half. Rumours are unconfirmed that Albert Moreno is being drafted in to give him lessons in positioning.
Thankfully he did and the two efforts that he shinned into the net brought parity to the scoreline. Whether or not a win was deserved it for those on the sidelines to opine, but it seemed everyone had a view on what the hell Crutchley was doing after rolling back the years, shimmying in the box to fool 2 defenders and plonk the keeper on his backside, the entire goal at his mercy, only to attempt an audacious chip that was as limp as Claypole’s fringe …
Luckily we don’t have to wait too long to prove we were worthy of more