Match Report
In the summer of 1997, Brazil were playing France in the opening game of a friendly tournament called Le Tournoi. Roberto Carlos stepped up and smashed a free-kick from fully 35 yards with his left foot, bending it with amazing skill. Then for the next 15 years, he took every free kick that was awarded to his team and never again looked like scoring. In the course of 80 minutes in this game, Peter McNay’s performance mirrored those dreadful years. After undeservedly going one down, the Vets’ Russell Hall drifted a glorious cross from the left which just cleared Convocation’s left back. The ball dropped into a difficult position but McNay altered his body position and skilfully and smashed the half-volley he created into the bottom corner. He then missed 6 or 7 gilt edged opportunities and a game that should have been won 9-3 was lost 5-2. This is how bad it was: twenty minutes into the second half, another chance gone begging, Bodey was constrained to say “Come back Jordan, all is forgiven”.
It was astonishing that nearly the end of September had arrived without the Vets already having played Convocation. But after last season’s epic 7 game sequence, it was only a matter of time before they came to Moor Lane. Last minute cry-offs meant that they arrived with nine, and the skipper carefully selected the quickest and youngest Ramblers available to plug their gaps. He also persisted in a flat back four (or at least was unable to stop the back four becoming flat) and a familiar tale of nippy (well by our standards nippy) forwards breaking the offside trap and skipping through to score.
After last week’s thin pickings, a much better quality of half-time orange lifted spirits at the break. Convocation went 3-1 up in the traditional way, then the Vets came back into game when Hall went down like Neymar in the box and McNay wrestled the ball from McGuckin to crawl the resulting penalty into the net. Some might say that Convocation’s 4th and 5th were early Christmas gifts from the Vets goalie and they might be right. But the game was already lost by then. Still, it’s only a fortnight until Convocation come to Moor Lane again; 3-5-2 anyone?