 |
 |
|
Game 1 Leg 1 –FCB vs Highway Our quest for the holy grail began at 20h15 last night, where we entertained that dogged Highway team from up country. The FCB lads wanted to come out of the Bronze Age of 2008 and convert our recent form to gold. This was always going to be tough bearing in mind we’ve been inactive since the 17th of June fixture against Dumpy Bend. We started off quite positively and had a few half chances early on, but as the game progressed so we reverted to Highway’s tactic of kick and run, abandoning our usual stylish passing game. Shots on target were few and far between, even the crowd, Jan and Elton were kept quiet. The second half started off a bit more positively as we threw a bit of caution to the wind by playing 3 across the back and pushing an extra man forward, but again we continually found the highway keeper or simply blasted high and wide, the rustiness was showing through. The lads continued in this vain until with about 10 minutes to go we sent the Captain forward and were now playing with a 3 pronged attack. We looked a bit vulnerable at the back but it did the trick in creating a few extra near misses. Nevertheless try as we might we couldn’t bundle the ball into the net, and now we’re left with the task of going up the hill to put Highway away. A score draw will do, but we’ve got one thing on our minds...can’t wait for Wednesday night! The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Craig Harper (Homer ) (MOTM) 2. Steven Burns (Burnsie) (El-Capitan) 3. Michael Bulley (RedBulls) 4. Gary Nossiter (Noss) 5. Byron Duncan 6. Shane Griffin (Grifbox) 7. Wayne Davies (Taffy) 8. Brett Mcintyre 9. Graham Coad (Coady) 10. Evin Windelberg 11. Mike Slogrove (Red) 12. Barry Ebing (Ebs) 13. Ant King 14. Alistair Baird 23. Peter Vink (Jan – player number 23) 24. Shaun Howard (Elton – player number 24) Player of Year (after 11 games) 1st Taffy – 14 points, Joint 2nd Evin, Noss, Homer & Burnsie - 12 points Golden Boot (after 11 games) 1st Ebs – 5 goals, 2nd Grifbox – 3 goals Other cup results - Dumpy Bend 1 Chiltern 1 BOB 1 Hillary 1 Blues 1 Win-1-Soon 1
Game 1 Leg 2 –FCB vs Highway FC Burrough assembled an army of the Burra’s finest troops and marched up the hill to Highway’s posh new grounds, in the heart of Hillcrest, prepared for anything and everything. The new facilities were quite impressive, apart from the visitors changing rooms, which were still under construction, but this served to spur us on a bit more. We came out firing and never looked back until at least half time with some breathtaking football, the stuff reserved for channel 203. It took only 10 minutes to chalk up our first goal with Barry Ebs’s lob from 40 yards just dipping below the crossbar...1-0. The lads were all over the Highway-men from the restart like some sort of “Burra” disease. And it only took a minute or so to extend our lead when our best trooper on the night, Dean O Brien (MOTM) got onto a Barry Ebs through ball after outpacing the Highway defence and slid the ball past the keeper...2-0. We were on fire! The exhibition continued with our expansive 10 man game – goalie Homer Harper was getting KFC from the drive-thru – pulling the opposition around the park at will, taunting and teasing them with some fine passing. It was so appropriate that we had a clown as the referee on the night, and Stan the clown seemed to take joy in attempting to even things out on the night, penalising FCB even when our players were getting kicked. It was the clown who in fact kept the score line down by disallowing an Evin Windelberg header which would have made it 3-0. But the Burrough Express had gained such a head of steam that absolutely nothing would’ve held us back on the night! And after some sublime soccer we netted our 3rd goal when Barry Ebs side footed the ball into the goals from the edge of the area...3-0 and still half the game to go. After half time we introduced a number of changes bringing on all 4 of our subs, who excelled individually, but admittedly affected the momentum of the team. Nevertheless we were over the hills and far away from Highway by then, they just couldn’t get back into the tie. The second half turned out being more of a contest with some end to end stuff being played, but at the end of the game we had won the battle and the war...final score 3-0, and 3-0 on aggregate, and we were going through to the semi-finals where we’ll meet Blues of Maritzburg early in August.
The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Craig Harper (Homer ) 2. Steven Burns (Burnsie) 3. Michael Bulley (RedBulls) 4. Gary Nossiter (Noss) 5. Dean O Brien (MOTM) 6. Craig McIntyre 7. Wayne Davies (Taffy) 8. Brett McIntyre 9. Graham Coad (Coady) 10. Evin Windelberg 11. Mike Slogrove (Red) 12. Barry Ebing (Ebs) 13. Ant King 14. Chris Davies (El-Capitan) 15. Alistair Baird 23. Shaun Howard (Elton – player number 24) Player of Year (after 12 games) 1st Taffy – 15 points, Joint 2nd Evin, Noss, Homer & Burnsie - 13 points Golden Boot (after 12 games) 1st Ebs – 7 goals (from 10 starts), 2nd Grifbox – 3 goals Other cup results - Dumpy Bend v Chiltern (Chiltern go through with a walkover) BOB 0 v Hillary 1 (3-3 on aggregate - Hillary go through on AG Rule) Blues 2 Win-1-Soon 2 (3-3 on aggregate - Blues go through on AG Rule)
Game 2 Leg 1 –FCB vs Blues With cup fever in the air the FC Burrough lads travelled up the N3 with a much thinner squad than we’ve become accustomed to. Nevertheless, the spirit and commitment to the cause was evident from the first whistle. Being a semi-final the players decided to exclude the traditional OBs warm-up ritual and prepared the good old fashioned way. It seemed to work, as we built up quite a head of steam during the first half creating chance after chance as our Midland’s foe was being put to the sword, the onslaught was relentless. Frustratingly it took more than 20 minutes to register our first score, but it was worth the wait, as Dean O Brien was put into space out wide by Ant King’s long ball, he neatly cut the ball back to Gary Nossiter on the edge of the area, and his sweetly timed volley left the Blues keeper with no chance...1-0 and a precious away goal. Half time came and went, with Elton berating his strikers for not delivering with the same consistency as COSATU and company. But his message was left on the touchline as FCB once again continued to squander chance after chance. Things changed, for better and for worse, in a flash, as Lee Withers (undoubtedly our MOTM after his polished display in 6 studs) crashed home a volley from 40 yards out, that happened to bounce into the top corner with the Blues keeper scrambling in vain to try to keep it out...2-0, we were styling. Then tragedy struck from the kick off with keeper Brent De Villiers still celebrating the goal with his defence and obviously thought he was playing in the Charity Shield when he gifted Blues a goal as their striker let rip from the centre spot...2-1. The pressure of cup football was beginning to take its toll, as the game went back and forth as each team took it’s turn to launch attack after attack. And at the end of the day it was FCB who rued all the missed opportunities, when a slip in defence allowed Blues to scramble the ball over our line late in the game to square up the tie at 2-2, and effectively keep them alive with their impending journey to Fortress Fairfield scheduled for this Wednesday, a mouth watering prospect! The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Michael Bulley (RedBulls) 2. Gary Nossiter (Noss) 3. Dean O Brien 4. Craig McIntyre 5. Wayne Davies (Taffy) (El-Capitan) 6. Brett McIntyre 7. Graham Coad (Coady) 8. Evin Windelberg 9. Mike Slogrove (Red) 10. Barry Ebing (Ebs) 11. Ant King 12. Brent De Villiers 13. Lee Withers (MOTM on Deboo) Manager. Shaun Howard (Elton) Player of Year (after 16 games) 1st Taffy – 21 points, 2nd Evin - 19 points Golden Boot (after 16 games) 1st Ebs – 7 goals (from 10 starts), Joint 2nd Grifbox, Deano & Redbulls – 3 goals Other cup results - Chiltern 2 Hillary 0
Game 2 Leg 2 (Semi Final) – FCB vs Blues The Burrough lads were in pretty buoyant mood safe in the knowledge that we had 2 away goals to our name, and also upbeat with the fact that Blues are notoriously poor travellers. But they had assembled their best squad, all of whom arrived at Fortress Fairfield well before kick-off, and they weren’t in any mood to give this one away either, having comeback from 2 goals down in the first leg. We came out firing, just as we did in the first leg, and they were blanks, same as the first leg. Our defence stood firm, with only 1 blemish in the entire first half, which was snuffed out by the cover. Particular mention must be made of Craig McIntyre’s faultless display at right back, our MOTM for this leg. Our approach play was immaculate, as if we were toying with the opposition. But we lacked decisiveness upfront, but never lacked effort, and this persistence paid dividends when a Blues defender lobbed his own keeper after being put under immense pressure from Barry Ebing...1-0. We were satisfied with our first half return, although we knew that the Blues squad would never lie down, and they never did. At the break Elton called the changes, in between sips of his Hansa-rade quart. They were decisive and defined the destiny of the match. Both substitutes, Shawn De Beer and Harry Davidson were in the thick of thing from the restart, linking with Ebs which allowed Jaws to beat the Blues defence and calmly slot the ball past their keeper...2-0. It was now time for exhibition football, and with Blues fading, the lads piled on the pressure, creating chances at will. But for Dean O’Brien, who is receiving counselling for his goal mouth woes, and Ebs, it just wouldn’t go in at all. However the pundits are tipping a flurry of goals in the pipeline for our strike duo, when we need them most! It took a break down the left flank from Harry to put the game beyond Blues, as he curved the ball beyond the hapless Blues keeper and book our slot in the final on September 5th ...3-0 and a dream final was set-up between the defending champions Hillary and ourselves, what an occasion! The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night; 1. Michael Bulley (RedBulls) 2. Dean O Brien (Deano) 3. Shane Griffin (Grifbox) 4. Wayne Davies (Taffy) (El-Capitan) 5. Brett McIntyre 6. Graham Coad (Coady) 7. Evin Windelberg 8. Craig McIntyre (Tube) (MOTM) 9. Barry Ebing (Ebs) 10. Ant King 11. Brent De Villiers 12. Byron Duncan (Buzz) 13. Shawn De Beer (Jaws) 14. Harry Davidson (Beamer) 15. Lee Withers Manager. Shaun Howard (Elton) 23. Peter Vink (Jan) with Ali Baird, Steven Burns & Red Slogrove in supporting role... Player of Year (after 17 games) 1st Taffy – 22 points, 2nd Evin - 20 points Golden Boot (after 17 games) 1st Ebs – 7 goals (from 15 starts), Joint 2nd Grifbox, Deano & Redbulls – 3 goals Other cup results - Chiltern 0 Hillary 2 (Hillary came back extremely well to book the first spot in the final with a 2-2 aggregate score eventually winning 5-4 on penalties)
The Cup Final - FCB vs HillaryWell, the 2009 season has been a long road which has ambled through areas as far away as Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, always inevitably leading back to Fairfield Park, and the Black Door. As a team we had our high’s and the occasional low point, but the spirit, commitment and comradeship never faltered. The season was always poised on a knife’s edge, with many occasions which could have turned it upside down. There was the first league match against Hillary, when the lads found themselves 2-0 down with only 15 minutes to go, and clawed our way back to earn a point, which ultimately assisted in FCB being crowned league champions for 2009. This is also illustrated by the fact that we would have come away empty handed had we lost our last 2 fixtures. The climax to our season was to unfold on Saturday at midday – the question on everybody’s lips was “Could FCB do an unrivalled and unbeaten double?” Well the lads were amped, as were Hillary, who reserved their best squad for this match, having kept their preparations under wraps. Both teams lined up with the match officials for the “Anthems” and one could see the tension etched all over Elton’s face, maybe worried whether his team had done the right preparation for this massive encounter, or whether there would be a spare Hansa-rade floating around amongst the water bottles. By the time referee Godfrey Wheeler blew his whistle to start the match both teams were eager to get the jobs done, and this was evident in the opening stanza as both teams looked to attack at every possible opportunity, hoping to throw the game wide open. But it was in defence that both teams shone, particularly FCB, with Player of the Year elect Wayne Davies and Steven Burns shutting the door on the opposition, like guards to the Crown Jewels. It was quite significant that our most threatening chances would come from set pieces, being a strength of ours all season long. And when Chris Davies drove a free kick towards striker Byron Duncan, who aimed his flick dangerously beyond the Hillary defence, and before they could turn Harry Davidson was passed them with a blistering run and simply picked his spot as the Hillary keeper stood rooted to his line...1-0 and only 20 minutes played. The game and the weather conditions seemed to hot up almost immediately, with players baying for the half time whistle or any stoppage for that matter. They were finally granted their wish and were more than happy to come in for a drink. The second half started similarly to the first with both teams continuing on an attacking vain, with Hillary trying to be a little more urgent than the FCB lads. They certainly had their chances to square up the tie, but just couldn’t crack the FCB defence. Both teams rang the changes to get fresh legs on the pitch, but all this served to do is nullify each other. The game could have been settled with 10 minutes to go when a cross from Harry found Barry Ebing unmarked and standing under the crossbar. Ebs somehow contrived to head the ball over the bar and to safety for Hillary, a feat that looked near impossible. Nevertheless the iron curtain of Taffy, Burnsie, Chrissie and Craig McIntyre proved too solid to be penetrated and the FCB lads held on to their precious, yet slender, 1 goal lead until the end. And when the referee blew his whistle to end the match he closed a chapter in FCB folklore that will surely represent the finest hour in most of our players time on the football pitch. The game was won, the team had won the double and had achieved this by going undefeated for the entire season, a string of 23 matches – what a team! They will go down as undeniably and perhaps arguably the greatest team in the history of the game to come out of Queensburgh, and possibly the planet. Even the great Brazilian teams of the 60’s and 70’s, who had similar win ratios and had even won as many trophies, were outdone by the FCB lads of 2009, noting that our results were achieved using performance hampering substances, both before and after each match. And trust me the Hansa-rades flowed on Saturday afternoon and into the night! And deservedly so. Thanks to Shawn De Beer (and Bonnie) for hosting the pre-prize giving celebrations at his place on very short notice. We’re also awaiting the pictorials from our photographer, who went missing shortly after prize giving in Hillcrest and has yet to report for duty. One thing is sure, the lads went big and if there was an award for team of the year in 2009 it would undoubtedly have the name “FC Burrough” engraved on it. Well done team!
The following players earned caps for FC Burrough last night;
1. Brent De Villiers
2. Mike Slogrove (Red)
3. Chris Davies (El-Capitan)
4. Steven Burns (Burnsie)
5. Shane Griffin (Grifbox)
6. Wayne Davies (Taffy)
7. Brett McIntyre
8. Michael Bulley (RedBulls)
9. Evin Windelberg
10. Craig McIntyre (Tube)
11. Barry Ebing (Ebs)
12. Ant King
13. Byron Duncan (Buzz)
14. Shawn De Beer (Jaws)
15. Harry Davidson (Beamer)
16. Lee Withers
Manager. Shaun Howard (Elton)
23. Craig Harper (Homer), Ali Baird, Graham Coad and Gary Nossiter in supporting role...
Player of Year (after 21 games) 1st Taffy – 26 points, 2nd Evin - 24 points, Brett McIntyre – 23 points
Golden Boot (after 21 games) 1st Ebs – 11 goals (from 19 starts), 2nd Grifbox – 5 goals, Joint 3rd Deano & Buzz – 4 goals
Other results this weekend: There was no other sporting event of real importance played over this weekend – apart from the odd one sided 2010 qualifying game! |
||
