For the first time this season Almaty Gaffer, "Gaffer", had a full squad to select for the clash against Whitfords but that wasn't enough to prevent Almaty's heaviest defeat in its short but glorious history. Gav "tall boy slim" Jeffery had recovered from his knee injury and Keith "S-pí" had hired a mechanic. The weather conditions, however, had not improved on last week's wind and rain.
There was a certain sense of déjà vu about this game. Similar to last season Almaty were flying high after their first six games of the season but came undone in the final game of the first round.
The team talk was simple: don't concede an early goal. Alas, it was in one ear and out the other! Five minutes in (and for the fourth game in a row) Almaty conceded early on. "Safehands" pass into midfield took a nasty bobble on the astroturf and conveniently fell to the Whitford striker who made no mistake with his finish. Oh for fu...
Almaty battled back and came close to equalising when a Gav "slim boy tall" Jeffery effort rebounded back off the far post. This was to be a turning point - disaster struck again as confusion in the Almaty defence allowed the Whitford striker nip in from a long-ball to make it 2-0.
The half-time team talk was subdued. The Almaty players knew a big effort was required to turn the game around. A few minutes into the second half, another Whitfords long-ball deflected off Spratt's hand into the Whitford's strikers path. Spratt hesitated (assuming the ref was going to blow for a free) and in the meantime the Whitford striker had laid off to the oncoming midfielder to slot home.
Almaty fans were left in a state of disbelief when they saw their team concede a fourth. A Whitford strike rebounded back off the post and deflected off Sweetnam and rolled across the goal-line for the Whitford striker to nip in at the back.
A consolation goal was not forthcoming and to be honest was not deserved. Almaty came across a resilient Whitford defence and lacked the guile to break them down. Whitford weren't particularly creative, in fact they didn't really create anything themselves, but Almaty's four gifts were gratefully accepted and they were comfortable defending deep and in numbers to stifle Almaty's attacks. It was a bitter pill for Almaty fans to swallow who are used to seeing their team succeeding.In what is sure to get him in trouble with the ALFA, Almaty Gaffer refused to attend the post-match conference. A source close to the beleaguered manager has said that he got straight on the phone to the one they called "Doctor" to see if he could help "cure" the Almaty crisis.
The victory now puts Whitfords level on points with Almaty at the half-way stage. Assuming results go their way for the next six games Almaty will be set for yet another epic end of season finale. The question is, will they have the balls for it this season?
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