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GAME 1 - FCB vs Marshalls Security Roseglen
On a cold,wet and blustery night reserved for the likes of Ibrox in January the Burrough boys arrived in dribs and drabs but equally enthusiastic about our first encounter of the season against the solid but beatable Marshall Security outfit (Roseglen). The pre match preparations were non existant as we arrived at Fairfield to be greeted with a pitch with no lines and goalposts with no nets and most importantly a Black Door closed with no keys in site!!!!
GAME 2 - Tweedie Pallets Toti vs FCBI could use a whole bunch of expletives that would make your skin crawl and have your dog clamouring for the door with his tail between his legs but I won’t. To describe how terrible the over 35’s were against Michael Bulley’s, FC Burrough, would be like comparing wet bovine dung to a bucket of decaying old toads – there is not much movement but the stench will remind you that you were there to witness what was best described as the worst performance of how not to play football by Toti. The bullets looked keen from the kick off on a wet and stormy south coast evening and could have gone two nil ahead in the opening five minutes with good efforts from Michael “ chappy “ Chapman and David Blundell. Veteran, Gary Hutchison, missed out on a golden opportunity to stretch an open net from close range when he was surprised by an excellent cross in from “ chappy “ and took too much time on the ball to compose himself and squandered a certain goal scoring chance thanks to the interference of Steven Burns in the Burrough goals. Those were Toti’s highlights because from then on we battled to string three consecutive passes together and it looked like the bullets were playing football gaining grounds by hoofing the ball away and giving it to the opposition every time there was a hint of Toti actually holding onto the ball. Mention must be made of Michael Chapman’s pearler of a free kick attempt that just curled over the cross bar but just before half time, the visitors finally went 1-0 up with Shane VDV, who earned his second Man of the match award in as many weeks for FCB, when he slid the ball home through a crowd of defenders and off the upright to open the scoring for the Burrough boys. Unfortunately for Toti, John Lewis injured his knee in a 50/50 tackle and had to leave the field before he could get man of match while goalkeeper, Paul Smith, featured a lot in the game and is fast gaining a reputation as a shot stopper. Early in the second half FC Burrough doubled the lead when a telling cross into the area was unselfishly nodded back by Lee Withers to Barry Ebbing, who stretched his back & neck to get a telling head to the ball which sent the ball looping into the top corner to make it 2-0. The visitors now had their tails up and Shane Griffin rolled over Toti defender, Warren Gregory, in what resembled the Jonah Lomu / Mike Catt affair from the 1995 Rugby World Cup - despite the Toti defender having a reputation of being a South Coast panel beater. The lead then trebled after Shane VDV was put in space down the left flank and totally out sprinted the Toti defence, even slowing up to allow Dean Carson a second bite, but then he teasingly threaded a cross ball to Malcolm “ brockie “ Brock which effectively rendered the Toti defence helpless. “ Brockie “ obliged by nonchalantly drilling the ball home as if he was finishing off the black ball in a pool “whitewash” to make the final score 3-0 to FCB. The phantom mole was out in full force too with ex pat, Dean “ Hummy “ making a guest appearance for the FCB and at one point whilst in possession wide on the left, “ hummy “ fell to the ground as if to feign loss of control and then proceeded to play a killer through ball whilst sitting on his back side - obviously a move he picked up whilst plying his trade in Vanuatu. A Joint Fines prize giving was hosted where the FCB boys enjoyed merit awards and in the case of the Toti boys de-merit awards. There should have been a demerit award for old boy, Tony Van Der Westhuizen, who was wearing Toti colours but was very vocal every time one of his old Hillary team mates scored. Mare of the Match went to Janos Molnar and Man of the Match went to birthday boy, Alan “ the racing snake “ Rowe, who turned 50 on the night and is still going strong on the park –“ the Racing Snake “ now joins the senior citizen ranks of Janos Molnar, Gary Hutchison, Cecil “ the general “ Heydenrych and Ian Bender. SPECIAL NOTE This will be my last report for a while as I am going into hospital for a knee operation and I trust one of the players will assume the scribe’s role and keep everyone informed of the shenanigans of the over 35 bullets. Shane "OB1Kanobi" O'Brien GAME 3 - UIB Crusaders vs FCBThe Avellini Bros FCB lads arrived cordially at Northwood Sport grounds aka Crusaders, all neatly attired, with the exception of Gary “Noss” Nossiter and Evin “Evzone” Windelberg, both of whom were late and not in official uniform – both were made to pay for this. The spirits were high in the camp, coming off a good preseason and 2 well deserved league victories, and the lads were eager to get down to business. The opposition, “Minx’s” UIB Crusaders, seemed equally keen to get the job done and were at their most threatening in the first 10 minutes as Peruvian striker Gerson Arroe and Russell De Vries buzzed around menacingly. The rain started to fall lightly, as the FCB lads showed patches of promise, but always seemed to try for that miracle forty yard pass, and given the slippery, billiard table out field (must be the truest surface in our league this season), we generally gave the ball away in the last 3rd. Admittedly our only threat looked as if it would be set pieces, with Noss delivering some unbelievably dangerous corner kicks, ala David Beckham, but nothing could be put away. With our defence now standing firm having got the measure of the opposition, we started launching wave after wave of attack late in the first half. Skipper Steven Burns came closest when his fierce drive was tipped over by the Crusader’s keeper. Then after another classic Noss corner, who was easily Man of the Match with a polished all round display that wouldn’t look out of place on the Eland Road pitch. He found Barry Ebing unmarked on the far post, and Ebs rose and nodded home off the underside of the bar from a difficult angle...1-0. Half time came and we decided to use our high powered bench of McIntyre, Bulley & McIntyre, sounds like a high powered law firm. Somebody didn’t agree with the decision, because as we started the 2nd half the skies opened and swamped the pitch. Well this seemed to suit the battle hardened Burrough lads as we went into overdrive. Shane “VDV” Van der Vlies manoeuvred into some space on the edge of the area and let fly with a drive that ended in the bottom corner of the net...2-0, and the FCB flood gates opened. Not long after this Lee Withers nipped in to intercept from a telegraphed Graham Ellis pass, he then out sprinted the Crusaders defence and calmly slotted the ball past an isolated keeper...3-0. We upped the ante even more as the deluge continued on the pitch, and “goal-a-game” VDV got his second when “the locksmith”, Evzone, unpicked the Crusaders defence with an impressive through ball. VDV showed a clean pair of heals to all and sundry and simply chipped the ball past the keeper and into an unguarded net...4-0. The now deflated and bedraggled Crusaders team seemed to lose interest at this point and this served to spur the FCB lads on further. VDV then subbed himself for Shane “Grifbox” Griffin, and also to avoid the financial burden attached to scoring a hat-trick. And almost immediately a cross from the right saw Grifbox being allowed 2 bites at the cherry after being left unmarked in the small box, and on his second attempt he dispatched the ball from point blank range...5-0. With Lee Withers now making a menace of himself on the right flank late in the match, a cross found the Evzone the locksmith unattended in a similar position to what Grifbox had found himself. Again Evzone took 2 bites at the cherry and made no mistake on the second attempt...6-0 and there was no time left to add anymore. Although Burnsie should have score after Grif’s visionary pass put him inside the small area with just the keeper to beat, but it wasn’t his evening...So heading into Easter the Avellini Bros FCB team find themselves top of the log, having won three on a trot and will enjoy a well earned league break until we meet Greg Fern’s K&S YWP at their Yellowwood Park base just other side of the Coedmore quarries. Maybe we can rearrange their squad to feel like KY (Gel) SW&P, if you know what I mean! The PFA “socialites” played their first home game against an unknown New Germany outfit – they also want the result to remain unknown after they caught a little 5-2 thrashing...On the positive side, if there is one, Simmo got both goals & Timmy Howard made his comeback after a long lay off (although not all the swelling has gone down!)...next week is a BYE so lets hope for a better result! GAME 4 - K&S Seals YWP vs FCBLast night the Burrough migration through the quarries of Coedmore was bang on time – we even had the opportunity to stop off and pick up the referee, always a good policy which we hoped would pay dividends. In the stands amongst the crowd we spotted a few old familiar faces, Gordon “Gorgeous” Chislett and “Big” Mike Pitman, obviously their to witness the FC Burrough awesomeness that they’ve read and heard about. Unfortunately the Mayor, Rob Martin had a curfew, so he did have the same privileges as them. We started with our usual team and formation based on the logic that you “cannot change a winning combination”. The first half was admittedly a bit dreary as both teams fought to gain the upper hand in midfield. Both teams’ strikers were frustratingly trying to pick up whatever scraps they could, but to no avail. With FCB goalkeeper Vinesh “Vee” Sukdeo & YWP goalkeeper Mike “Gordon Banks” Wellbeloved dealing with most threats posed to their respective goals, both teams went in at halftime locked at 0-0. During the break the FCB management decided to introduce our lawmen in the form of McIntyre, Bevis and McIntyre to make an impact on an otherwise drab stalemate, and that’s exactly what happened, as the game came alive in the second period. Wingman Malcolm “Brockie” Brock was causing all sorts of havoc as he was allowed to push forward more, and when he picked up the ball on the edge of the area and was allowed to fire, the writing was on the wall for YWP. His somewhat mistimed effort swerved and dipped over a hapless “Banksie” and nestled in the top corner, ...1-0. It didn’t take the Yellowood Parkers long to respond, their star player Japhet Zwane who was unbelievable on the night (contrary to Wikipedia’s below comments that he’s not playing well), smashing a screamer past Kenny “the Kat” Bevis to level the tie...1-1, obviously his time in Russia had hardened him up a bit to cope with harsh Durban conditions.
On Wednesday night the boys travelled down the old Edwin Swales VC Drive, now called Solomon Mahlangu (must have claimed squatters rights or something?) to the ground we all still call Lt King Park, home of Fynnlands. We’ll make no bones about it, but we had a score to settle after the Bluff stuff swiped preseason glory from under our noses. This is an improved Fynnlands team, with Gary Charlton rolling back the years and pulling the strings in midfield like a maestro. Not to mention the fact that they’re also unbeaten in the league, even if they are draw specialists. Well the Bluff boys started well and could have, should have, been up by 2 clear goals within the first 10 minutes, but Venesh “Vee” Sukdeo, in the FCB goal, was never going to permit that. He pulled off two match saving efforts, which proved priceless as the game developed. The FCB lads, midfield in particular found it hard going at first, as the ball bobbled around on a bumpy and sandy track, something common to Fynnlands. But as the game wore on we started to create more chances, as both Shane “goal-a-game” Van Der Vlies and Barry “Ebs” Ebing started to break down their defensive line bit by bit and hit by hit. VDV was particularly impressive, and one particular break, he sail passed the defence with pace, set himself, and did everything right by shooting across James Van Niekerk in the Bluff goals. Only the upright would deny him, as the ball ricocheted off the post and back into play (in the days of the square upright this would have been 1-0, just some real bad luck.) Both teams kept the pressure up on respective defences, but chances were really limited to the odd defensive slip, and nothing real materialised for the rest of the first period. After a couple changes at halftime, and a good chat, the lads came out a little more fired up, and began to chase hard and with a purpose. Whilst in the nets, Vee, easily our MOTM on the night, was intent on keeping his season long “clean sheet” at all costs. To be fair to the lads in front of him, the central men, in Wayne “Taffy” Davies and Stephen “Burnsie” Burns seemed to knock the appetite out of the Fynnlands strikers more and more as the game wore on, but any lapses were securely insured. And VDV, although now starting to tire from his huge work load, was still finding the energy to make the runs, and on one particular occasion he outstripped the full back and as the central defender came across to cover the by line he rolled the ball to Evin “Evzone” Windelberg, whose miscued shot rolled to an unmarked Lee Withers, who calmly slotted past a stranded Fynnlands keeper...1-0, no the referee blew for offside, even though the central defender Robbie Badenhorst was still catching his breath next to VDV on the by line? Credit to the FCB lads who got on with little fuss and still managed to create a few late chances, but nothing that would make the net bulge again. At the final whistle, both teams were still the only unbeaten teams in the land, and in the end both were seemingly satisfied with a share of the spoils, final score 0-0. So to next week Monday when the Avellini Bros FCB lads will come up against Liviero Juventus, a mouth-watering prospect and a date we’ll relish to prove our determination to stay at the summit of the league, can’t wait! MOTM: Vinesh “Vee” Sukdeo MARE: Lee Withers AGAIN! (he was too aggressive, a trait not easily extracted from Burrough lads...)
GAME 6 - FCB vs Liviero JuventusThe good ship “Burrough” arrived back home to it’s fortress Fairfield last night to play Paul Conti’s much heralded Liviero Juventus team, although they were quick to mention they’d left a few good men behind. It must be mentioned that the local support was numerous, with guest appearances from old friend (and title sponsor) Len Avellini to ex-Hillary FC stalwart Gary “Suspender” Spencer, amongst the many “Socialite” players who came to cheers us on their night off. Again the FCB line up was pretty much “as you were”, and the bench was bolstered by the return of the evergreen Noel Parsonage. Both teams started relatively well but were a little cautious in their approaches on a pretty lush Fairfield Park. But it was the Burrough lads who upped the tempo and put the Juve midlfielders – Grant Crawford and co – under extreme pressure. After 10 minutes we found ourselves in front, when Shane “Goal-a-game” VDV chased down what seemed to be a hopeless cause, and forced the Juve keeper Grayden Wheatley, to come sliding out for a 50/50, which ricocheted off the strong VDV challenge and into the back of the net...1-0. The next 10 minutes belonged to FCB as the lads played “keep ball” with Juve left chasing shadows. And with Malcolm “Brockie” Brock, now warm, was starting to terrorise the left fullback with his twisting and turning, the signs were a little ominous for the black & white striped opposition. It was a cross-cum-lob of Brockie’s that caused some discomfort for Juve, taking the keeper out of play and finding Barry “Ebs” Ebing with 2 defenders for company, just beyond the far post. Ebs positioned himself perfectly to allow himself to get the jump on both defenders and nod the ball just inside the upright...2-0, and it was starting to look comfortable. This changed in the dying minutes of the first half when Juve seemed to play their best football, with the FCB lads standing off a bit too much in the defensive situations, probably a product of the pass and move brand of football they were implementing so well. But when the Juve strike force did get a march on the FCB goal late in the half, it was Venesh “Vee” Sukdeo in the Burrough goal, who closed them down and pulled off a few breath-taking stops to add to his 5 and a half clean sheets to date. We went in still 2 goals ahead, and were forced to substitute Craig “Tube” McIntyre, who cried off with a calf strain after putting in a superb first half effort. The second half started off quite spritely as the FCB lads kept the ball through many phases with relative ease, and should have buried Juve, with Lee Withers coming close from a free-kick (which he had dived 2 metres in the air to be awarded), but Grayden Wheatley pulled off a Schmeichel-esque save with a strong left hand to deny him. VDV also came close as his shot thundered off the underside of the bar, but without goal line technology the referee was unable to award the brilliant strike. As skipper Stephen “Burnsie” Burns (joint MOTM with the equally impressive Wayne “Taffy” Davies) put it – “we’re solid at the back”, and they were even more solid after making a few more adjustments. But the game got to a point where it needed a final push to decide it outright, and that happened when part time defender-cum-midfielder-cum striker Michael “Redbulls” Bulley was introduced to the fray. And with only minutes remaining some devastating running down the flanks by the two Shane’s (VDV & Grifbox) ended in a cross which found Evin “Evzone” Windelberg in a little space in the area. Evzone’s shot was somehow blocked by the Juve defender and the ball bounced towards the oncoming Redbulls, whose rasping drive could only be dived over by Wheatley and ended up nestled in the Juve goal...3-0, and the ensuing celebration in front of the Black Door “kop” might have chased a few away, but was worth the effort. The lads had won again, their finest display of total football this season, to remain on their perch at the summit of the log, long may this remain! And like Dennis “Wicksie” Wicks always said “win the next game and you’ll win the league!”, well this is currently very apt. Next up is the very physical Westville OB’s, bring it on! MOTM: Wayne “Taffy” Davies & Stephen “Burnsie” Burns MARE: Lee Withers HATRICK! (very unlucky as he played well but so did the rest of the team, sorry Hansie!) GAME 7 - G&G Westville vs FCB
I wasn’t there to witness this, but the lads came back from 2 goals down to mesmerise the opposition into what their manager describes as “shoddy defending”. Finally G&G Westville succumbed to a 4 goal blitz in front of their Jimmy Bellows faithful. Something that was long overdue from an FCB perspective...final score; G&G Westville 2 Avellini Bros FCB 4.
MOTM: Lee Withers MARE: Evin “Evzone” Windelberg Justin (G&G Westville): This was a game of two completely different halves. Westville took the early lead with two goals in quick succession. Numerous squandered chances including a shot at an open goal that went wide meant we could have widened the gap by another goal or two. Just before the breakFCB came back with a goal lobbed over our Keeper from just outside the big box. Going into half-time 2-1 upWestville were confident of providing an upset on the night. The second half was characterized by sloppy defending. An own goal leveled the scores at 2-2. The score stayed this way until ten minutes from time when FCB scored two late goal sconce again through sloppy defending to finish the match 4-2. Although there were a few dodgy decisions by the ref the game was played in good spirits and we look forward to the revenge match at FCB.
GAME 8 - Callies vs FCB
The FCB lads arrived in bunches at the Forest Hills club, both Jack’s were present – Jack Frost & Jack the Lad. After a few warm up quartz the lads kitted up and entered the fray. In what was a relatively good spirited match, an underrated Callies team went ahead through a brilliant Hayden Vincent solo effort who parted the FCB defence with relative ease, and rounded a stumbling goalkeeper and rolled the ball into an empty net...1-0. From the restart in true Burra-style, FCB equalised with 4 touches, with Shane “VDV” Van der Vlies slotting the ball neatly into the bottom corner. In the second half Callies again went ahead with a neat header after their striker was left unattended at the near post...2-1. Both teams had plenty chances to add to their tallies. Gary “Noss the Boss” Nossiter could have levelled matters after the Callies keeper palmed a cross into his path, and Stephen “Burnsie” Burns should have done the trick when his header was palmed back at him, but could not keep his follow-up down and ballooned it over the bar. At the other end Callies had a few raids on the FCB goal, but our goalkeeper and MOTM Venesh “V” Sukdeo would not allow anymore to pass and Callies should have sealed it at the death but somehow the ball was blocked on the line. Final score Callies 2 FCB 1, well played Callies. At the presentation (or in this case fines meeting) it must be noted that Evin “Evzone” Windelberg or the “guy with the floral blouse” actually went home to his family and told them he had won MOTM for last week’s match against WOB, he had actually won MARE of the Match (he was the opposition’s MOTM?)... Next week we look to make amends when we meet a vastly improved Stella outfit at Gladwin Park – hopefully clad in our new strip, we’ll keep you all posted... MOTM: Venesh “V” Sukdeo MARE: Stephen “Skipper” Burns (for leading us to defeat)
Stella team manager Edge “I’m the best there never was” Davis summed up the game pretty well below – apart from the sound effects of his team squealing the whole night to a referee who was only ever going to blow it one way – that of Stella. Must be noted that Simon Magagula was in superb form for Stella, and really pressed us hard in the midfield albeit he was afforded the luxury of a body guard (I was waiting for the blue light brigade to come on every time we breathed on him). The FCB lads had a few who put in good displays – namely Venesh Sukdeo, Shane VD Vlies, who netted superbly with a bending left-footed effort to score his 8th of the season, & our MOTM Wayne Davies, brilliant in defence. But the rest of us, although we did try, were off the boil and obviously highly dismayed at the referees one-eyed tendencies. Never the less we’re back at Fortress Fairfield this Wednesday to put things right, after our coach had some words of wisdom after the Stella match, “We need more stalwarts in our team, and less of the other warts” – Shaun “Howie” Howard...
Edge Davis (Stella): Hard fought game with another good win for Trader Plus. First half was pretty even with Trader going ahead after a handball in the box. Both sides had opportunities but it was FCB who evened the score after a through ball to a player, we felt was offside, took his opportunity and hit the back of the net. Going into second half it was 1 -1 , the Trader Plus midfield got on top of FCB and started to dominate. Half way through 2nd half FCB stricker got a runaway but hit the post then few minutes later Sandile (Trader) dribbled his way into the box, rounded FCB keeper and made it 2-1. MOTM: Wayne “Taffy” Davies MARE: Chris Davies (handling the ball in the area)
GAME 10 - FCB v Wentworth OB
The FCB squad welcomed the old boys from Wentworth on a perfect Burrough winter’s Wednesday evening, desperate to turn around the recent losing streak of the past couple weeks. The game got underway on time with both teams in a relatively jovial mood. This was changed abruptly when the lads from Wentie’s shocked the locals by converting their first corner in the first minute of the match whilst the FCB statues could only stand and watch…0-1. A minute after the restart the Wentworth OB striker got a march on the FCB defence, still wiping the sleep out of their eyes, and let fly with a well placed shot that nestled in the top corner…0-2, what was happening? Are we Liverpool in disguise? The lads answered the call, and started to up the tempo a little but just couldn’t find their passing range on a slick, mole-infested Fairfield Park. On the other hand the Bluff team were still on top of their game making all the running when in possession. Both teams were now playing good football, and Wentworth could have sealed the tie, only to be denied by the agile Venesh “Vee” Sukdeo in the FCB nets, he palmed a goal ward bound strike onto the bar which was scrambled away by the FCB defence. Just before half time the Burrough lads got a sniff, with Shane “VDV” Van der Vlies hounding the opposition defenders and managed to get in behind them and then rolled a precision pass past the Wentworth keeper, who could only turn and chase the ball into his own net…1-2, we were fighting back hard! After half time the FCB lads seemed to be a bit more relaxed and focused on their individual team roles and also on getting even. And within 5 minutes of the start Barry “Ebs” Ebing intercepted a poor goal kick to feed the hungry “VDV”, he did well to keep possession and take the ball to the by-line and then smartly laid it back to the lurking Lee Withers. Lee lashed the ball home giving the keeper no chance and levelled matters…2-2. From this point on it seemed one-way traffic, as the FCB lads laid siege on the Wentworth OB goal. With FCB intent on getting the win and Wentworth (and the referee) now content with a draw, the referee seemed to let the game boil over a bit, allowing both sets of players to kick each other to pieces. It even got to the point where a “bra” from Wentie’s even scolded Malcolm “Brockie” Brock for “acting like a wit-ou”, that argument was never concluded! This did ruin the fixture a little, but too their credit both teams got on with it and didn’t take the bait. The last 10 minutes amounted to many missed opportunities for FCB, with all our attacking players missing their fair share of sitters. Even in the last minute after a superb cross saw Ebs head the ball perfectly down for Evin “Evzone” Windelberg, who proceeded to snatch at the volley and sliced it wide whilst under no pressure whatsoever from opposition defenders. Try as we might we just couldn’t get that vital winning goal, final score 2-2. Great comeback and good to see the team showing a bit of that early season form, which will be needed next week when we travel to the icy reached of PMB to play the Champions, Savages on their home patch, hold thumbs… MOTM: Gary “Noss the Boss” Nossiter (solid display of “bossing” the midfield, only tarnished by his last minute corner which went behind the goal) MARE: Shane “VDV” Van Der Vlies (don’t know which game selectors were watching - scored 1, made 1 and a yellow card too…?)
GAME 11 - Savages vs FCB
Another season, another trip to Maritzburg, and this year the provincial capital seemed to be colder than the years before, “global warming – my foot!” Anyway we managed to scrape together 11 fully committed members to take the trek. The warm-up consisted of 11 plus Shawn “Jaws” De Beer (on a free) standing around the fire wishing Ronnie Wither’s had sewn on long sleeves & pockets onto our new strip. Anyway we lined and started pretty well, easily soaking up opposition pressure and looking to counter quickly through the pace of Shane “VDV” Van der Vlies and Malcolm “Brockie” Brock. Then after 10 minutes and looking comfortable, we did the unthinkable, with Wayne “Taffy” Davies gently cushioned his header into his own net whilst trying to nod the ball back to Venesh “V” Sukdeo…0-1. In true Burrough style we hit back within minutes when VDV latched onto a through ball with his chest, after getting beyond the Savages defence and skilfully placed an audacious lob over an advancing keeper with the outside of his right boot…1-1. FCB could have gone ahead almost immediately but Savages managed to clear a volley of efforts off the line and then caught us with a sucker punch as winger Dory Gregory came inside and let fly to restore their lead…2-1. With about 10 minutes of the first half to play we lost Brockie when he turned and twisted his ankle, and we were down to 10 men, difficult against a rampant Savages team in front of a partisan PMB crowd. We had Jaws on the side lines, so at least we were vocally even. At half time we huddled together trying to keep warm and catch a breath, but this was in vain, because as soon as we had stepped onto the pitch we found ourselves conceding another 2 goals, as Savages came out firing and caught us cold…1-3 and then 1-4, good night nurse! For the entire second half we battled, a bit like the poms at the battle of Blood River, fending off dark skinned warriors whilst our own we falling around us. Only difference is the poms won that battle, we didn’t! And credit must be given to those warriors who played on through the pain to keep us at least numerically even on the pitch, but no so on the scoreboard. Final score FCB 1 Savages 4, we were well and truly beaten up. Next we’re staying put in the fortress Fairfield and hopefully can muster up a much needed win to keep us amongst the elite, we’ll see! MOTM: Lee Withers (huge effort in a losing battle – would have been awarded a Victoria Cross!)MARE: Wayne “Taffy” Davies (scored an OG – other than that was heroic, but not quite a medal of honour!)
Last night saw us return to the Fortress Fairfield for a much needed home game against ABSTO Riverside FC (aka Hibs). More or less the same team pitched with a few minor changes, specifically in midfield where Paul De Freitas is now plying his trade for the team from Durban North. The best way to describe the situation is like having a new car radio but the same speakers (Gavin Lane is still in their starting line up!) Both teams were amped for this fixture, especially the Burrough lads who were looking to avenge last season miscarriage of justice and get back on the win wagon. Both teams started relatively well, as did the Fairfield Phantom, who ended Riverside midfielder Ian McFarlane’s evening just a few minutes into the fixture. Brett McIntyre evened things out when he also managed to hurt himself playing at right back. For the most of the first half the battle seemed to be in the midfield as Lee Withers and Gary “Noss the Boss” Nossiter kept the opposite numbers at bay, with both defences dealing with any stray attacks. The best chance of the half fell to Barry “Ebs” Ebing who was picked out in the area from a set piece, and with Riverside keeper Steve Crowley mimicking Lady Liberty guarding New York Harbour, could only manage to guide his header wide of a gaping goal. The second half saw both teams pick up the tempo a bit and vary their attacking strategies, but again the respective defences and goal keepers, both of whom were instrumental in the outcome of the match, especially FCB MOTM Venesh “V” Sukdeo, kept them at bay. Again the Fairfield Phantom struck taking down his 3rd Riverside victim, this time a defender, clearly not acclimatised to the harsh Queensburgh climate. The game was now becoming an end to end tussle with both teams knowing that one goal would settle it. This spurred them on an defences were starting to crack, making elementary errors, but still the strikers squandered golden opportunities at both ends. With the clock ticking down, FCB had a last gasp corner which was half cleared by Riverside. The ball falling to Michael “Redbulls” Bulley some 30 yards out. His goal bound effort looked certain to settle matters, only for an unsighted Crowley to calmly raise his glove and tip the ball over and keep the game all square. Final score Avellini Bros FCB 0 Riverside FC 0, and as the referee blew the final whistle the opposition disappeared to the parking lot faster than a shoal of sardines at Addington Beach. So next week sees a double header against the resurgent Marshall Security outfit – Monday night is cup at the Fortress and Wednesday being the return league fixture at Berea Park…woza weekend! MOTM: Venesh Sukdeo (Was colossal in the nets!) MARE: Brett McIntyre (Hurt himself after 10 minutes whilst attempting to make a swallow dive cum tackle – limped off!)
GAME 13 - Marshall Security v FCBLast night saw the start of the second round of league fixtures, with the Burrough lads smarting from being winless since the beginning of June and also dumped out of the cup at the first hurdle, a bitter pill to swallow. We were pitted against a Marshall Security (Roseglen) outfit that had improved immensely since the first game of the season, possibly the new Man City of the Commercial league. And thing pretty much went along the same lines as Monday night, where the pace was frenetic or a bumpy, worn-in pitch. They also went into a relatively early lead by catching us off guard with a lob from way outside the area…0-1. We had our share of opportunities, but again just could not come to grips with their 4 prong attack, especially the 2 wide men, and did well to keep the score to 1 going into half time. The second half started poorly with Marshall Security capitalising on a defensive error, and managed to poke the ball passed a stranded Venesh “V” Sukdeo in the FCB goals…0-2. And with the FCB going onto the offensive, and miss-firing on all cylinders, we were caught with our pants down and conceded a breakaway 3rd right near the end, final score 3-0. The post mortem was very interesting though, under the watchful eye of “on-duty” Metro policeman David “Tiger” Ogle, who asked to be mentioned in this write-up and sends his regards to all. Some of the lads washed down a consolation Chicken Breyani with a few Hansa-rades. And for those of you who have been out of the Burrough for a few years this may come as a shock, but Gary “Noss the Boss” Nossiter (Godfather of the Queensburgh family of the Mafiosi) has promised to cut his hair (see pictures below of his 70’s Hawaii-50 haircut which he has recently frizzed up into an Afro) when we secure 3 points against Tweedie Pallets Toti United next week back at the Fortress.
GAME 14 - FCB v Tweedie Pallets TotiThe FCB lads welcomed our “cuzzies” from the “deep” South, Tweedie Pallets Toti United to Fairfield Park. It was good to see the likes of Ian “IB” Bender and Big Deanie “formerly from Twini” Carson, back on the Hill again. Luckily for us “IB” wasn’t fit to play, having tweaked a muscle in his back, luckily for Toti this didn’t matter! From the match report below, you’ll see the Toti boys managed to maintain our downward slide, although we did show promise we’ve basically forgotten how to win, and more importantly how to find the net. May that return soon…Final score was Avellini Bros FCB 1 Tweedie Pallets Toti 2…Next week we take on Tiger Ogle’s UIB Crusaders at home, what next? MOTM: Noel Parsonage (came on at half time and was outstanding!) MARE: Chris Davies (gives new meaning to the term “charity begins at home!”) The Toti boys visited the Burrough last night and were down to 10 men early on when Dave Blundell hobbled off with a pulled calf muscle, but their collective effort was good enough to see them go 1 up almost immediately, when Gary Hutchison volleyed home through a crowded area...0-1. The first half was pretty open, especially when Tweedie Pallets got back to 11 players, with both teams managing to repel each other's attacks. But after the change over the lads from the South Coast seemed content to hold their slender advantage and packed their defence for the onslaught. With about 15 minutes to go, Toti were gifted an opportunity against the run of play, and Michael Chapman didn't need prompting as he rolled the ball into the empty net...0-2. A frustrated FCB outfit never gave up though and this was rewarded when Lee Withers got 1 back with a breathtaking strike from some 40 yards out that the Toti keeper could only admire. With time running out the Toti defensive unit sealed the win by shutting shop and took the points down south, final score 1-2, well done Owen & crew!
GAME 14 - FCB v K&S YWPIt was an evenly contested match in which the bulk of the battle was wagered in midfield. A battle which both Japhet Zwane & Rhett Morley seemingly had by the scruff of the neck and could have gone 1 up when a "screamer" from Zwane was tipped over by the FCB keeper Venesh Sukdeo. YWP had an appeal for a goal turned down with the referee unable to rule if the ball had crossed the line, with the Montclair boys shouting for the intervention of goalmouth technology, something which has yet to be approved by Sepp Blatter let alone Richard Musso. Nevertheless both teams turn around goalless and the battle continued. FCB drew first blood when the masterful Malcolm Brock mesmerised a pair of YWP defenders and with the bounce of the Fairfield phantom managed to get a pinpoint left footed cross to the goal hungry Shane Van Der Vlies. His volley, off his left foot too, (some say shin, others say calf) curled neatly past a hapless Mike Wellbeloved in the YWP goal. This drove the Montclair boys onto attack and with a penalty shout turned down after Zwane did his best impression of "I get knocked down but I get up again" but the FCB defence seemed capable of repelling all attacks, and had a few chances to extend their lead too. But it was Welly Van Rooyen who pitched his tent in the FCB area and was picked out by a hanging cross to head home unmarked and square up the game. With time running out the FCB lads could've stolen it from a taunting Lee Withers cross, but the YWP defence got back to clear their lines on the final whistle, score 1-1.
MOTM: Venesh Sukdeo (made a few brilliant stops, some say he even pulled one back from over the line) MARE: Shaun Howard (Gave up smoking 2 weeks ago and went home straight after the final whistle) |
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