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The Beginning – FCB vs Hillary (Friendly) Just to give those not present a write-up on last nights friendly against Hillary...
Now to next Wednesday and Ashley with the start of the league – things are looking up.
Game 1 – FCB vs Ashley Last night FC Burrough kicked off the 2008 League campaign with a resounding 2-1 victory against a much more youthful Ashley team. Thanks to goals from Gilly Mills and Burnsie early on in the game, and a fine display of goalkeeping by Howie the Cat, everybody’s Man of the Match on the night. Let’s just say “he made himself big” on a number of occasions, however he has been severely injured, in fact we’re waiting on confirmation from our medical team as to when the Cat will be available again (currently he is in bed with a swollen ankle).To sum up, the lads looked like AC Milan (we played in red and black stripped jerseys) in the first 15 minutes with the Ashley lads chasing leather all around the park (In Ashley player Craig Simpsons own words – “I pulled a fat” after going off injured 5 minutes into the game), but the wheels fell off a bit in the 2nd half and we managed to hold out for the win.
2. Brent De Villiers 3. Alistair Mather 4. Brett Macintyre 5. Peter Vink (El-Capitan) 6. Gary Nossiter 7. Steven Burns 8. Noel Parsonage 9. Gilly Millard 10. Doug White 11. Red Slogrove 12. RedBulls
Hillary 5 Fairfield 0
Red Rovers tip of the day: FC Burrough is the one to watch – even considering it’s the second run for most team members after a long lay-off.
Game 2 – FCB vs Hillary Last night FC Burrough boys showed a lot of guts and heart in keeping out Hillary in what was a goalless stalemate as both teams seemed to cancel each other out. What surfaced from this outing was the fact the FCB have got BIG defence which is the mark of true champions, typified by non-other than Burnsie who was the team’s MOTM, and another fine display between the sticks by Tim Howard (Howie the Cat) helped seal the point. Once again Vinkie retained his unbeaten captaincy, as the lads held on in what felt like the OK Corral with wagon-burners running at us all night. All in all (and all) this represented a good away result, even though we played at Fairfield Park, it was our away game. The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night;
2. Brent De Villiers 3. Alistair Mather 4. Ant King (Debut) 5. Peter Vink (El-Capitan) 6. Gary Nossiter 7. Steven Burns (MOTM) 8. Noel Parsonage 9. Gilly Millard 10. Garon Kenchenten (Ketchie) (Debut) 11. Red Slogrove 12. RedBulls Other scores – Dumpy Bend 1 Fairfield 0
Game 3 – FCB vs Dumpy Bend Last night, after observing a minutes silence for our friend and great supporter Hennie Dafel (Rest in peace, Chappie) the Burrough boys and the ballies of Dumpy Bend locked horns. It took a whole 20 minutes for us to draw the old guys out, before a rasping drive by Ant King (from inside the small box) – “Yes, Ant King” – broke the stalemate and the flood gates opened. Five minutes later Noel Parsonage added to Dumpies misery and the teams went into the sheds with FCB 2-0 up. Both teams listened intently at coach Les Riddles half time talk, as F’s & B’s flew around, but little was taken in as the carnage continued shortly after the whistle. Man of the Match Gilly Millard added a further 2 and Doug White another from the spot after Chrissie Davies (who earned his first cap) was scythed to the ground in the area. Dumpies did answer with a goal of their own – but it was too little too late – with FCB playing a 1 (Howie in the pub) – 2 -3 – 5 formation for the last 10 minutes. Tempers frayed as the older guys (including Dixie) started attacking the referee – final score FCB 5 – Dumpy Bend 1...and still unbeaten. The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night;
2. Brent De Villiers 3. Alistair Mather 4. Ant King 5. Gary Nossiter 6. Noel Parsonage 7. Gilly Millard (MOTM) 8. Garon Kenchenten (Ketchie) 9. RedBulls 10. Red Slogrove 11. Chrissie Davies (Debut) 12. Corrie Groenewald 13. Dougie White 14. Barry Ebs Other scores – Hillary 3 Blues 0
Game 4 – FCB vs Highway Last night was FCB’s toughest assignment or at least we made it our toughest game of the season. The Highway boys came down to sea-level and just kept on running the whole night. As their captain said after the game “they played with a lot of heart”. And they did, shutting us out for the entire 90 minutes (really only 70, but it felt like 90). From our point of view, we’ll take the point and move on, on a night where the underdog seemed to come out on top, this is enough to see us heading the log going into week 4. MOTM was Brent De Villiers, with a sterling all round display at left back, although it must be said that a few other players ran him close for this accolade... so bring on Forest Hills in week 5. The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night;
2. Brent De Villiers (MOTM) 3. Alistair Mather 4. Ant King 5. Craig Harper (Deboo) 6. Noel Parsonage 7. Gilly Millard 8. Garon Kenchenten (Ketchie) 9. RedBulls 10. Red Slogrove 11. Corrie Groenewald 12. Dougie White Other scores – Forest Hills 3 Hillary 2 Blues 2 Dumpy Bend 0 Fairfield 1 Ashley 1
Game 5 – FCB vs Forest Hills It HAPPENED – we were beaten. But we were very UNLUCKY – we dominated the match – Burnsie was solid and voted MOTM – to sum up “we couldn’t score a zol at Doctor’s pozzie.” And succumbed to a dodgy penalty. After the match, whilst watching United bun Chelski, we did all the post mortems – verdict was “sign a striker” – so we pulled out the cheque book and hopefully this will rectify the situation. The mood in the camp is still very positive – and after a few Quart-er-zones – the feeling is we’ll “DO THE DOUBLE”! The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night;
2. Tim Howard (Howie) 3. Brent De Villiers 4. Steven Burns (MOTM) 5. Ant King 6. Shawn De Beer (Deboo) 7. Noel Parsonage 8. Gilly Millard (El-Capitan) 9. Garon Kenchenten (Ketchie) 10. RedBulls 11. Red Slogrove 12. Gary Nossiter 13. Barry Ebs Other scores –Highway 0 Hillary 0 Ashley 5 Dumpy Bend 1 Fairfield 0 Blues 2
Game 6 – FCB vs Fairfield Last night we were privileged to have 19 squad members available for this fixture. We were also privileged to have donned our new kit – a few of the “real” Burra boys felt like they were back at school again. But it was a truly luxurious position to be in – telling Vinkie, Homer, Ali Mather and Chrissie D to start the braai and turn the meat. Now we know how Fergie currently feels, and how Avram used to feel. The match though was a bit of a damp squid though with the opposition spoiling the atmosphere at every chance. It was left to Ebs and big money signing Godfrey Wheeler to silence the opposition, with 4 and 2 goals respectively. Team MOTM was Red, who played his heart out for the entire 30 minutes and got manager Vinkie’s vote. It brought back memories of the times when him and Chomp versed his bru’s Lee and Clint in the cul-de-sac in Keeling Place, Escombe – those were the days. The Fairfield lads did come at us in periods – the first 10 minutes of either half – whilst the “boom & quart-er-zone” mixture was still in their systems. But we saw them off 6-3 – first set to FCB – my prediction second set is 6-0... Next onto PMB to play the Blues next Wednesday night. The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night;
2. Brent De Villiers 3. Steven Burns 4. Ant King 5. Alistair Baird (Deboo) 6. Noel Parsonage 7. Gilly Millard 8. Garon Kenchenten (Ketchie) 9. RedBulls 10. Red Slogrove (MOTM) 11. Gary Nossiter (El-Capitan) 12. Warren Benson (Chomp) (Deboo) 13. Doug White 14. Godfrey Wheeler (Deboo) 15. Barry Ebs Player of Year (after 6 games) 1st Gilly – 11 points, 2nd – Burnsie – 10 points Golden Boot (after 6 games) 1st Ebs – 4 goals, 2nd – Gilly – 3 goals Other scores – Dumpy Bend 0 Highway 1 F Hills 2 Blues 0
Game 7 – Blues (PMB) vs FCB We CAME, we SAW, we got SHAFTED (in sleepy hollow)! Conditions were appalling, with the oval at PMB Collegians being drenched about an hour before kick-off and temperatures plummeting close to minus nought. We played our typical expansively beautiful game, which clearly didn’t fit the occasion, and came up short on a night when everybody seemed to be flat. With the exception of Burnsie, who put in some telling tackles and made the hard yards. But it was all in vain, as we drew a blank, and conceded with 10 minutes to go in a shortened 25 minute each way affair. Enough said about that, final score Blues 1 FCB 0. This result has set us back, but turning for home with 7 to play we’re still handily placed at fourth on the log, with some telling fixtures to come. The cup draw was also made and came out the hat looking like this; · Hillary v Blues · Highway v FCB · Dumpy B v Ashley · F Hills v Fairfield Two legs – home and away (same as Champions league knockouts) – 25th June and 2nd July. The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Craig Harper (Homer) 2. Brent De Villiers 3. Steven Burns (MOTM) 4. Ant King 5. Alistair Baird 6. Noel Parsonage 7. Garon Kenchenten (Ketchie) 8. RedBulls 9. Red Slogrove 10. Gary Nossiter (El-Capitan) 11. Warren Benson 12. Ali Mather 13. Godfrey Wheeler 14. Barry Ebs Player of Year (after 6 games) 1st Burnsie – 13 points, 2nd Gilly – 11 points Golden Boot (after 6 games) 1st Ebs – 4 goals, 2nd – Gilly – 3 goals Other scores – Dumpy Bend 0 Hillary 1 Fairfield 0 F Hills 1
Game 8 – FCB vs Ashley We went into this fixture with a selection dilemma about 10 minutes prior to kick-off, our goalkeeper Timmy Howard, with his Everton beanie, had falling ill and our back-up Homer Harper was unavailable...we proceeded to pencil in Brent De Villiers between the posts...then Timmy reluctantly said he would play (Mistake No 1). We started off well and could’ve been 1 up within the first 5 seconds...then it happened (Mistake No 2). They won a dubious free kick quite far out and had a strike...Timmy fumbled after his stomach got in the way...1 nil. A minute later, they were in our half again...the ball was passed back to Timmy, whose foot got caught in the netting (Mistake No 3), he managed to get his clearance away off the ribs of the striker and the ball nestled gently in the corner of the net...2 nil. Five minutes later they were back in our half and fashioned their first corner of the game, it came over and Paddy Leering (I mean Timmy) and about 4 of his FCB defenders watch it go into the net direct (Mistake No 4)...3 nil. All in all (and all) we probably made 5 mistake through the entire 90 minutes (actually 70 mins) and got punished for all but one. For the record Timmy’s not to blame for this disaster...it was Brent’s fault (Sorry Brent, we had to blame someone...?) Back to match, we actually “hammered” the other team, they only got into our half 4 times, but football is a funny old game. Though quite a few players impressed on the evening as we knocked the ball around on that billiard table called Fairfield Park, but none more than Gilly Mills who earned my vote, and I’m sure the vote of many other too, for MOTM...he was on top form and still got home before the 10h30pm cut off time...well done Gills. The final result remained 3-0, but the mood in the camp (besides Burnsie – who pissed off because we lost again, but he’ll already be over it this morning) is still good – the feeling is we’re a cup side with our plethora of big match players...so wait and see... The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Shaun Howard (Howie ) 2. Brent De Villiers 3. Steven Burns (El-Capitan) 4. Ant King 5. Alistair Baird 6. Noel Parsonage 7. Garon Kenchenten (Ketchie) 8. RedBulls 9. Gary Nossiter 10. Gilly Millard (MOTM) 11. Ali Mather 12. Godfrey Wheeler 13. Barry Ebs Player of Year (after 8 games) Joint 1st Burnsie & Gilly – 14 points Golden Boot (after 8 games) 1st Ebs – 4 goals, 2nd – Gilly – 3 goals Other scores – Fairfield 0 Hillary 2 F Hills 1 Dumpy Bend 0 Blues v Highway – no result yet? Log standings aren’t per PDFA as they have penalised FCB & Blues for not having registered players – something we are contesting...
Game 9 – FCB vs Hillary In what was set-up as a sparring session before the big semi-final in two weeks time, outstripped it’s billing and got quite heated, especially when Vinkie was introduced to the game in the 2nd half. It had the same effect as poking a bear with a stick, and we paid for it late in the second half. We conceded with about 15 minutes to go as the lads tired or broke down in the home straight. Noss’s hammy tweaked again, rendering him useless, and Chomp pulled a different muscled again – it’s his 5th muscle he’s pulled this season, all of the different – and Gilly strained a quad, but managed to finish the game. It must be said though we had our fair share of opportunities, and could have been back on level terms, but for our finishing and the clown dressed as a referee in the middle – he seriously was a clown (Stan the Clown) and he never moved from the middle of pitch. The nail was hammered in when Hillary sprung the offside trap (by 5 metres) with 5 minutes to go and Stan the Clown dropped his whistle – 2-0 – the sparring session was over. Now to the main bout – 2 rounds at Fairfield Park to see who’ll be in the Final at the end of the season – luckily we haven’t shown our hand yet! The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Craig Harper (Homer ) 2. Brent De Villiers 3. Steven Burns (MOTM) 4. Ant King 5. Alistair Baird 6. Mike Slogrove 7. Warren Benson 8. RedBulls 9. Gary Nossiter 10. Gilly Millard 11. Chris Davies 12. Peter Vink 13. Dougie Fradd (Deboo) 14. Barry Ebs (El-Capitan) Player of Year (after 11 games) 1st Burnsie – 18 points,2nd Gilly – 14 points Golden Boot (after 11 games) Joint 1st Ebs & Gilly – 4 goals Other scores – Fairfield 2 Dumpy Bend 0
Game 10 – FCB vs Dumpy Bend Last night proved to be a good warm-up game for FCB ahead of next weeks cup fixture. The lads got on the score sheet early on when Gilly made a sniping run down the left flank to cross to the near post area, where Redbulls rose above the defence to head into the far top corner...1-0. The old guys came straight back at us, and were level within 5 minutes, albeit a somewhat dubious goal. Then the rout started, another surging forward run from midfield saw Redbulls cut down from behind just outside the area, a blatant free kick. And after standing up and dusting himself off, bent the ball over the hollow block wall to nestle into the roof of the net with the keeper unsighted...2-1. Straight after the break, Barry Ebs put FCB into a commanding lead, by tapping in from 1 foot out...he nearly missed, as the ball ricocheted off the inside of the upright...3-1. We pressed on and a few minutes later out sheer frustration, Burnsie was rewarded when he went on a run that seemed to start somewhere up Stella Road and ended near the Black Door with a simple tap in. I think the keeper went off to wipe his arse, after seeing Big Steven Burns coming over the horizon...4-1. Dumpy Bend were put to the sword in the last 10 minutes, which culminated in a penalty being awarded for a Barry Ebs dive in the area. Redbulls was first to the ball outstripping Vinkie in a foot race to the ball, and sent the keeper the wrong way to record the first “Trick” of the season, and was duly awarded the MOTM (shot Gilly!). Final result FCB 5 – Dumpy Bend 1. So now we turn our focus to next Wednesday’s first leg cup tie with Hillary…watch the space! The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Timmy “The Cat” Howard (Howie) 2. Craig Harper (Homer ) 3. Brent De Villiers 4. Steven Burns 5. Ant King (El-Capitan) 6. Alistair Baird 7. Mike Slogrove 8. RedBulls (MOTM) 9. Gilly Millard 10. Peter Vink 11. Barry Ebs 12. Noel Parsonage Player of Year (after 12 games) 1st Burnsie – 19 points,2nd Gilly – 15 points Golden Boot (after 12 games) 1st Ebs – 5 goals,Joint 2nd Gilly & Redbulls – 4 goals Other scores – Fairfield 1 Highway 2
Game 11 – Highway vs FCB Being our 4th game against this team so far this season we thought we knew what we were in for going up the hill, we were wrong! The game started off pretty much like the weather, hot and cold in patches, and after Timmy was penalised by the 6 second rule we found ourselves trailing early on. In true FCB spirit we hit back immediately when a pinpoint cross from Wheels hit Ebs on the head and squared up the tie. We should have been at least 3 to the good going into the sheds at halftime, but squandered some clear cut chances. Nevertheless after the break we came out firing and thought we had put the tie beyond the opposition, with 2 goals in quick succession…Firstly, Vinkie’s educated left peg (educated at Brettenwood College of Knowledge) found Wheels, same as last week, and after cutting in from the right and firing inside the near post, put us in front…2-1. Then a Wheels cross found our MOTM Barry Ebs unmarked in the area, and he bundled the ball in again with his “kanda”…3-1. But then the other team kicked in as a few of the FCB boys started “smutsing” and closed the gap to 3-2. Then with 2 minutes to go something horrific happened, the ball looped in the area, and with danger all round, Redbulls put a toe in and the ball spun around the onrushing Cat and trickled over the line…all square again. But we weren’t finished, and deep into referee’s optional time Burnsie, now in an advanced position, hit a cracker from 40 yards which dipped and swerved and nearly broke the net, what a winner (goal of the season!), and needless to say this caused some tension after the whistle…final score FCB 4 – Highway 3. The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Timmy Howard (Howie) 2. Craig Harper (Homer ) 3. Brent De Villiers 4. Steven Burns (Burnsie) 5. Chris Davies (El-Capitan) 6. Alistair Baird 7. Ant King 8. Michael Bulley (RedBulls) 9. Chris Davies 10. Peter Vink (Vinkie) 11. Barry Ebing (Ebs) (MOTM) 12. Godfrey Wheeler (Wheels) Player of Year (after 14 games) 1st Burnsie – 21 points,Joint 2nd Gilly / Redbulls / Brent DV– 16 points Golden Boot (after 14 games) 1st Ebs – 7 goals, 2nd Godfrey – 5 goals Other scores – Dumpy Bend 4 Blues 0 Hillary 1 F Hills 2 Ashley 3 Fairfield 1
Game 12 – Forest Hills vs FCB We travelled up the hill and across the gorge last night to play Rowdy Roddy Terreblanche’s Forest Hill’s outfit – a team that are top of the log and still in the cup. We arrived on time and waited for them to come out of the sheds, which they eventually did, but there was no referee, then there was no whistle…we ended up kicking off 45 minutes later. Needless to say some of our squad had already peaked in the warm-up and were keen to hit the pub before kick-off…the minds weren’t right! We agreed to play with one of their players as referee, and they did a really good job of it too. The game itself was a drab affair with both sides showing little interest in the fixture, luckily it was shortened to 25 minutes each way to make up drinking time. The half time score-line reflected this…0-0, and both keepers weren’t troubled at all. Second half we changed around (into the headlights!) and changed referees too, with Rowdy Roddy taking the whistle in his hands, and with his 1987 Hillary sweater on, proceeded to earn himself our MOTM with a dazzling display of whistle blowing – we need more whistle blowers like him in this country. Unfortunately even his performance couldn’t save us on the night, as the men from the hilly forest put two past a clambering Homer the Cat and even a late rally from the lads, which saw us spurn numerous chances, couldn’t bail us out…Final score FCB 0 – Forest Hills 2. So now on to the cup next Wednesday, where we’ll rally the troops for our all important 2nd leg against Hillary to see who goes through to the final..! The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Timmy Howard (Howie) 2. Craig Harper (Homer ) 3. Brent De Villiers 4. Steven Burns (Burnsie) 5. Corrie Groenewald 6. Warren Benson (Chomp) 7. Ant King (El-Capitan) 8. Michael Bulley (RedBulls) 9. Chris Davies 10. Peter Vink (Vinkie) 11. Barry Ebing (Ebs) (MOTM) 12. Mike Slogrove (Red) Player of Year (after 15 games) 1st Burnsie – 22 points,Joint 2nd Gilly / Redbulls / Brent DV– 17 points Golden Boot (after 15 games) 1st Ebs – 7 goals, 2nd Godfrey – 5 goals Other scores – Dumpy Bend 0 Ashley 1 Hillary 3 Highway 1 Blues 3 Fairfield 0
Game 13 –FCB vs Fairfield With our focus now firmly on the mammoth confrontation for “bronze” with Dumpy Bend, we managed to scrape together a few willing squad members for our bi-annual battle with the Tow-truckers from Fairfield. Some of the guys were recovering from minor strains and knocks, others from organ failure. But we arrived expecting to deliver our exhibition football to all the FCB faithful at the Black Door. In fact we were 2-0 down inside 10 minutes as the Tow-truckers proceeded to hit us with their smash and grab tactics. Again we had our chances and could’ve scored 5 or 6 goals in the first half alone, but our Achilles heel continued to haunt us in front of goals. The second half was a different story, which saw us level matters after just 10 minutes with 2 quick Barry Ebs strikes, and the game was on...We must have missed at least another 5 clear cut opportunities on our quest for the winner. Even our ex-skipper, Homer missed a sitter when given a couple minutes un-marked on their 6 yard line. But our run of form continued, as they had the final say from a corner with their 3rd half chance of the match, the ball coming from out of play and curving back in, off the chest of one of their players...Final score Fairfield 3- FCB 2...the streak goes on... The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Timmy Howard (Howie) 2. Craig Harper (Homer ) (El-Capitan) 3. Noel Parsonage 4. Steven Burns (Burnsie) 5. Brent De Villiers 6. Alistair Baird 7. Michael Bulley (RedBulls) 8. Peter Vink (Vinkie) 9. Barry Ebing (Ebs) 10. Mike Slogrove (Red) 11. Doug Fradd 12. Godfrey Wheeler (Wheels) 13. Lyndon Millard (Gilly) Player of Year (after 17 games) 1st Burnsie – 24 points,Joint 2nd Gilly & Redbulls – 19 points Golden Boot (after 17 games) 1st Ebs – 9 goals, 2nd Godfrey – 5 goals Other scores – Hillary 2 Ashley 0
Game 14 –FCB vs Blues (PMB) The band of brothers from the Borough and surrounding districts got together for their final league match of the inaugural season, in what has been a rollercoaster campaign. Only Sir Matt Busby can claim he has had more injuries in one season, and that after an aeroplane crash. Our team resembled a rugby side as we stood around warming up and taking that last sip of Hansa-rade before going onto the pitch. All our loose forwards had turned up (Ketch, Corrie and Burnsie) and we also had a plethora of scrumhalves to choose from. The team manager decided to take the “bash them upfront” tactic, which is quite synonymous with teams wearing green and gold. So we started with Burnsie and Ketch spearheading our attack, a tactic that paid dividends immediately as we went 1 up after 9.65 seconds. Burnsie rolled the ball past the keeper after outsprinting the defense – Usain Bolt style. It wasn’t long before bolting Burnsie got on to the end of another through ball, springing the trap and picking his spot from the edge of the area...great goal...2-0...and then we went into survival mode. Blues stole one back just before the break with a goal that was definitely offside, but they accepted it...2-1. The second half started in a similar pattern to the end of the first with Blues playing counter-attacking football, but Dougie Fradd (MOTM by a long way) stood tall and kept the out, flicking on everything that came his way. But the fatal blow came just 2 minutes before the end, when their right back unexpectedly chipped Homer from 40 yards out to square up the tie...2-2. The final score was a fair reflection of the game with both teams contributing to what was an exciting match. Now on to Saturday the 6th September where the lads will be “going for bronze” against Les Riddle’s wise men from Dumpy Bend, kick-off at 15h00 at Fairfield Park (This is the main game), followed by a spit-braai and all the extras – all players and supporters and families are invited to attend – see you all there... The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Timmy Howard (Howie) 2. Craig Harper (Homer ) 3. Noel Parsonage 4. Steven Burns (Burnsie) 5. Brent De Villiers 6. Corrie Groenewald 7. Michael Bulley (RedBulls) 8. Garon Kenchenton (Ketch) 9. Peter Vink (Vinkie) 10. Warren Benson (Chomp) (El-Capitan) 11. Mike Slogrove (Red) 12. Doug Fradd (MOTM) 13. Godfrey Wheeler (Wheels) 14. Lyndon Millard (Gilly) Player of Year (after 18 games) 1st Burnsie – 25 points,Joint 2nd Gilly & Redbulls – 20 points Golden Boot (after 18 games) 1st Ebs – 9 goals, Joint 2nd Burnsie & Godfrey – 5 goals Other scores – Hillary 1 Dumpy Bend 0 |
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