Audlem FC face Bank Corner

We are back. Last week we had no match having been knocked out of all cup rounds – leaving us to concentrate all our fire on improving our position in the league.

It is very tiring propping up those teams above us for so many weeks and we need to lighten the load with a victory or two.

Here this Sunday – for only the second home tie of all the year! Just the one in early January. Since then we have either been on the road or waterlogged out of a game.

Appropriately perhaps as the first daffodils wake and open to trumpet the coming of brighter days, we meet to face the onslaught of Bank Corner FC – a strong and winning lot.
Pitch soft but it has drained quite a bit. Will be slippy sliddy and especially over to the far left hand Shroppie Fly corner.

Our sponsor, Sevi at Audlem Dry Cleaners, will face a hard task in cleaning the kit up later!

Referee today is Des Evans whose normal job is with Cheshire East and looking after pitches amongst many, many other tasks. We play in our orange kit (we plan to have a new more striking kit for next season which I hope will inspire greater effort on the part of the players).

Two of our most regular sideline supporters – Neil & Pam Goodyear – cannot be with us today so will not be able to judge for our Man of the Match. Hopefully we will have an outstanding MOTM today.

Dampish air all about. Breeze in the bare branched trees. Our lovely Church bells pealing in such contrast to our last meeting in West Street, Crewe.

So, on with the motley crew (some greasepaint would not go amiss looking at some of the paler faces after last night's beers ) and off we go. New players signed on with great care. More of this aspect later.

10.57am and everybody ready to play so Ref. gets us underway. Just as the bells cease their music. Wind getting up but in our favour as it comes in over the tennis courts.

First 25 minutes and all the action is in our half as Bank Corner (BC) press hard on our goal. Connor Baxter (CB) pulls off a fine save – clutched tight to his chest. Great drive by Kev Rodgers – enjoying a better game today – is met by Kev Mort our skipper, but their goalie saves his firm low shot.

Free kick to BC but saved well by CB. Then as he tackles hard, Ref books Kev Mort, the first yellow card to us. And not given to the other Kev (KR) .

Another free kick to test CB but he tips the driven shot over the bar. BC continue to be camped in our half. Kev Walters playing very well in defence. Handbags between Dag Sirle and their number 3 – but just a telling off. No booking.

11.34. Kev Rodgers is brought down in the box. Penalty for us. Up steps Gaz Jones and he scores. 1-0 to us! Ref books one their players for mouthing off.

Half Time

We are one goal up! And we kick off again. Pale watery sun out now as the great grey sky lifts a tad.

1st Corner – and it is to us. Opponents play a sub – against the obvious wishes of the player brought off as he slings his shirt to the ground in anger.

Then – out of the blue, a stupid, stupid soft goal for them – an own goal courtesy of our scorer, Gaz Jones. 1-1

They attack and blow me down , we give them another. 1-2. Joe Benson on – James Edgerley off.

12.01. Free kick to us to no gain. Off goes Gaz Jones – on comes Joe Overland full of running. Great cross by Dag Sirle is met by Kev Rodgers who fires wid . A great chance missed.

A corner to them – driven hard and it is in our net. So easy for Bank Corner. So easy. 1-3

Kev Walters off as on comes James Bebbington. CB floored after heavy tackle but is OK.
Ref lectures another BC player – told off for trying to advise how the ref should run the game. Tempers flaring and then a fracas as their goalkeeper, defender and Kev Rodgers all square up. Again a sensible lecture by the Ref. settles the matter.

Then a goal kick by them goes all the way up the pitch- bounces once and is headed in for their 4th easy goal. 1-4 is the result.

Sunshine fades and the grey skies are back. Grey, just like the faces on us – as we feel a touch of déjà-vu – as we again lose the match. Man of the Match was Kev Walters for his performance.

New Players

On Thursday night, I attended the regular meeting of the Crewe Regional Sunday football League. At that meeting we had to face the executive to be charged with playing an ineligible player.

Sitting there as Kev Rodgers (Coach) and I faced the five-man executive, was a bit like the famous painting "And when did you last see your father?" by Yeames in which the boy in blue is pressed to give away his Royalist father.

The upshot. We claim the player was not signed on by another team. They are now to go back through the records to check signatures. If found guilty because we were not giving the full truth, then we face a fine.

Our next game is away on the 9th March against Leighton – the team where we met that 'stick wielding harridan'.

Ralph Warburton
Chairman

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