Match Report
The playing fields of the Johnston Recreation ground were bequeathed to the village in an act of extreme generosity. This was West Cheshire, not Wirral. The boys watching the match were wearing Calvin Clein not Le Coq Sportif. The ground is overlooked by a sail-less windmill and is tree lined.
Willaston’s wealth has not extended to high quality maintenance of the pitches, unfortunately. Cheshire West, of course, voted Leave in the Brexit Referendum, which appears to have denied it access to the EU Line Marking Paint lake. The machinery has not been much used recently.
The roller was, apparently, an eyesore and had to be removed. It is a little while since the pitches looked like this.
But the pitch was, as they say, the same for both sides. Willaston didn’t seem to find any problems with it. The pitch wasn’t why we lost the game.
The Skipper’s obsession with half-time oranges might have proved costly, he having sliced his finger open preparing them this week. But his hands so infrequently touched the ball, this can hardly have been why we lost the match.
Some might say that the free kick awarded for the opposition’s first goal was never a foul, and some might say RvP was fouled by the man who scored the resulting goal. Some might say three of the goals were clearly offside. Some might say that it was a goal kick rather than a corner that led to the ninth goal. But none of that was why we lost the game.
We were just plain and simple outplayed. Willaston Vets use an old Stoke City 3rd kit but would probably beat today’s Potteries outfit. They were quick and slick and the finishing was ruthless. At 3-0 down, an excellent cross from Eddie Jones found Mornington, whose finish was clinical. Hopes of a comeback were short-lived, within 120 seconds the score moved from 3-1 to 6-1. But so it remained until half-time. A series of well managed substitutions meant that the game never ran away from the Vets, a mere 5 being conceded in the second half. The highlight of the second half was a long ball played by Jerry Hopkins out to the left wing. McNay’s tumble as he tried to control it will live long in the memory. Think Crouch Wind farm.
This team may have learnt how to win but it certainly hasn’t forgotten how to lose. It was entirely coincidental that Murf, even as a spectator, was there. Good to see him, hopefully it will be in a kit soon. We need his goals.