Week 6: AA 5 Fan of Canta 2

They say the mark of a top side is when they can grind out a win without playing well, and that was the case last night as Almaty Athletic won their fifth game on the bounce against a physical and at times ill-disciplined ‘Fan of Canta’… AA lined up in their usual 3-1-1 formation, with James G returning to the side in place of the missing Alex O’D.

AA started reasonably well but were wasteful in front of goal… typified by Jim “Lamps” Butler. At one stage, a sweeping ball across the width of the pitch was coming to me, I focused on the flight of the ball, picked my spot, concentrated on keeping it low, and started to pull the trigger… With my face locked in concentration, the ball was just about to arrive and I was poised to make contact… “HAVE A SHOT JIM!” shouted Gav… What the f*ck?!?!?! And the ball was shanked wide… cheers Gav!

Unfortunately there’s no excuse for the free kick debacle… the plan was to bend it in the 6 inch gap between the wall and the post with the outside of the right boot… so what if the ball was wider than 6 inches! So what if Gav had an open goal square of me! Instead, well, you know the rest…

There was also another attempt on ‘goal’ which went out for a throw in (and the ball into the car park), and their keeper decided to make one decent save when I was through on goal … all in all, classic “Lamps”…
\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan lang\u003d\"EN-IE\" style\u003d\"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan lang\u003d\"EN-IE\" style\u003d\"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>Anyway, enough about me… AA broke with\ntradition this week and actually scored first, James G finding the net… Sorry\nJames, can’t remember the goal… Fan of Canta huffed and puffed but\ndidn’t create much. Ant was marshalling the defence, and made sure we\nkept tight to ‘Number 19’. AA had a few trademark breaks and slick\nmoves, but in general we were dragged down to their level. Fan of Canta then scored\nout of nothing when a long throw caught out the defence and with Safehands\nstranded, ‘Number 19’ was on hand to slot home.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan lang\u003d\"EN-IE\" style\u003d\"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>\u003cbr\>\nAA are made of stern stuff however and we kept to the gameplan. We managed to\nget back in front before the interval, Gav rediscovering his goalscoring touch\nafter an erratic display in front of goal last week (specifically, that header\nover the bar from 1 yard!). He looked lovely in his United top too it must be\nsaid! 2-1 at half time. \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan lang\u003d\"EN-IE\" style\u003d\"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan lang\u003d\"EN-IE\" style\u003d\"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>In the second half, the game became very scrappy with\nsome heavy challenges going in by ‘Number 19’ and their lad in\nnavy. He got into a bit of trouble with the ref and in truth could have been\nsent off. The ref finally took action to stamp his authority on the game after\nyet another reducer by yer man on James G… by warning Safehands about\nkeeping his mouth shut!\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan lang\u003d\"EN-IE\" style\u003d\"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan lang\u003d\"EN-IE\" style\u003d\"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>AA rose above it all though and killed the game. Gav\nfinished expertly into the corner after James G set him up. Next, James G and\nJim broke through, and though it went against every bone in his body, James G\nreluctantly decided against the drouble drag-back followed by the\nsidefoot-from-behind-the-other",1]
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Anyway, enough about me… AA broke with tradition this week and actually scored first, James G finding the net… Sorry James, can’t remember the goal… Fan of Canta huffed and puffed but didn’t create much. Ant was marshalling the defence, and made sure we kept tight to ‘Number 19’. AA had a few trademark breaks and slick moves, but in general we were dragged down to their level. Fan of Canta then scored out of nothing when a long throw caught out the defence and with Safehands stranded, ‘Number 19’ was on hand to slot home.
AA are made of stern stuff however and we kept to the game plan. We managed to get back in front before the interval, Gav rediscovering his goal scoring touch after an erratic display in front of goal last week (specifically, that header over the bar from 1 yard!). He looked lovely in his United top too it must be said! 2-1 at half time.

In the second half, the game became very scrappy with some heavy challenges going in by ‘Number 19’ and their lad in navy. He got into a bit of trouble with the ref and in truth could have been sent off. The ref finally took action to stamp his authority on the game after yet another reducer by yer man on James G… by warning Safehands about keeping his mouth shut!

AA rose above it all though and killed the game. Gav finished expertly into the corner after James G set him up. Next, James G and Jim broke through, and though it went against every bone in his body, James G reluctantly decided against the double drag-back followed by the sidefoot-from-behind-the-other -leg, instead squaring for a tap in for “Lamps” (who resisted the temptation to wheel away, cupping his ear at the section of supporters who had been on his back…) Incredibly, he did the same a few minutes later, Espey capping another superb performance with a goal.

All in all, a solid performance with the knowledge that there is plenty more in us. Attacking, James G with a goal and 3 assists did well, as did Gav with a brace. The defence coped with ‘Number 19’ who was everywhere… Safehands had a good game despite conceding a second at the death. One great save when the ball smacked his face…
Next week, the make or break clash with table-toppers Viscount.
Safehands Sweetnam
“Lamps”
Ant “Pick up Number 19!” Spratt
Keith “The Rock” Espey
Billy “Mr Dependable” Murphy
Tadhg “Tiger” McTadhg
James “G” Galvin
Gav “Have a shot Jim!” Jeffery