Match Day Two

Old Trafford

The night started in good spirits at Old Trafford (Toongabbie variety) on a great Spring night. An amazing turnout considering it was transfer deadline day. A couple of old heads (my roommates) were on hand to see Subbuteo action for the first time. Beers in hand, and banter loaded for a couple of unsuspecting travellers.
 
First to arrive were Daniele and Fabrizio (Adam doesn’t count living on the next street), not too impressed with the amount of time it took to make it to the Old Trafford pitches. Adam’s hospitality quickly made spirits improve with an offer of a ride back after the matches. Todd rolled in on time. Then we noticed it was 7:10 and two familiar faces were still not in town. Fearing a repeat of previous location mix-ups I was in contact with Steve & Gordy to find a reply of “5 mins away mate”….Deja vu was the only thought in my head…
 
Steve and Gordy, true to their word, arrived within the 5 minutes and the action was underway. 1st up on Old Trafford were Mat and Steve with Fabrizio and Daniele fighting it out next door at Carrington. Two very evenly fought battles ending in draws, these were the standout matches of the night. Mat got away to an early lead against Steve, only for a great 2nd half from Steve to come back, equalise and push on for a late winner. Some great saves from Mat late in the piece saw an even 1-1 eventuate. Over at Carrington, Fab and Daniele fought out a 0-0 result, however both players found themselves with many great chances. The defending/goalkeeping was something to be admired by both players and how this game finished at 0-0 is still being thought about.
 
Up next Steve took on Todd with a new bout of confidence after his 2nd half comeback against Mat. It didn’t take long, with some great touches (I am not looking forward to playing him with traditional Subbuteo pieces at the September Cup in a couple of weeks’ time!), Steve was on the board after a couple, and continued right through to walk away with a 6-0 win. Todd was impressive towards the back end of the 2nd half, and shows some smart awareness defensively. As a fellow new comer I also know what it’s like and Todd will be competing against all in no time. Meanwhile at Carrington, Gordy took on Daniele. Daniele took out the match 4-0 with a classy display.
 
The next round of matches saw Mat take on Todd. Todd had a great first half, and had a couple of good chances early and only went into the half 1-0 down. Mat scored after 4 touches in the 2nd half though and carried the momentum to a 5-0 result. A similar result at Carrington saw Fab beat Gordy 5-0.
 
The final match was one to be seen. Adam vs Daniele. Adam got the jump early and went 1-0 up and carried the lead into the break. Daniele had led Adam into a false sense of security, though, and Adam started to play a tad defensively to protect a lead. Daniele was patient and got two on the counter in quick succession. Adam quickly found himself in a “Woo-Sah” moment. Although Adam put up a great fight and had a couple of more chances to equalise, especially with one long shot on the angle going just past the posts, Daniele scored another 2 late to take out a 4-1 win which did not do Adam’s performance justice.
 
I would personally like to thank all who came to Old Trafford, your behaviour was outstanding and I am happy to welcome anyone who chooses to return to the new stadium when completed (I am moving house this week).
 
Onward and upward! GGMU!

(report by Mathew Barrie)

Mat 1 – Steve Di 1
Steve Di 5 – Todd 0
Todd 0 – Mat 5

Fabrizio 0 – Daniele 0
Daniele 4 – Gordy 0
Gordy 0 – Fabrizio 5
Adam 1 – Daniele 4

The Clubhouse

Four of Australia’s most experienced players were all on hand, along with 3 of the most inexperienced, to battle out another good natured but intense evening’s worth of games. The first round saw Big Steve take on Dom (there were whispers amongst the Elmer girls after Dom’s appearance last week – “Is he Big Steve’s twin? They look the same and even their mannerisms are the same!”) while Paul battled Æowyn on the other pitch. Big Steve was playing with an impressively painted new set of 1954 Mighty Magyars (courtesy of Giuseppe up in Brisbane) but soon found himself behind. No doubt this was caused by the fact that neither player could tell whose red bases were whose (something mentioned by more than one onlooker, though the two seemed happy to go with it!). Steve, however, soon found his touch and went on a scoring spree. By midway through the second half he was 4-1 up before a shell-shocked Dom pulled back a late consolation. Meanwhile, Paul, seeking to get his retro Super-Footy bases to curl as much as possible, took the lead midway through the first half in his clash with Æowyn. Some good saves from Æowyn encouraged her in her performance, as did Paul’s sportsmanship against his much less experienced opponent.

Having rekindled his Subbuteo career last week, Dave then faced Dom and made a great showing. While going down 1-0, he managed to hit the woodwork 3 times, though Dom made plenty of attacks of his own and held on to take the three points. Imojjen subbed in for Æowyn to face Eliot. Again, the more experienced player coached the lesser along the way, though some of the goals Eliot put away would have one believing this was all just a bluff! On one occasion in particular, Eliot’s attacker was just inside the shooting area on the right wing, with Imojjen skilfully placing a defender just centimetres from the ball. Eliot faked to play for the corner but actually chipped the defender, leaving it untouched, yet managing to land the ball in the far top corner. His protestations of “I couldn’t do that again if I tried!” fell on deaf ears as the rest of the room realised his gallantry was merely a pose.

The minors left the room for the final round of games, meaning Big Steve didn’t have to check himself from swearing anymore, which he just about managed in the evening’s earlier stages. He proceeded to give Dave a Subbuteo lesson, both metaphorically and literally. Steve was unstoppable once he got on a roll, but also gave many pointers to the quickly learning Dave. Meanwhile, Eliot and Paul faced off. In the 2014 edition, this fixture saw Eliot produce one of his most accomplished displays, where he put 6 unanswered goals past Paul. And, by half time, he was on track to repeat the performance, carving out a 3 goal lead. However, late in the half, Paul gave a glimpse of what was to come with his patented Magee Flood off a goal kick, the ensuing shot going millimetres wide. In the second half, with nothing to lose, Paul threw a little caution to the wind and pushed extra players forward. This was soon rewarded with Eliot making a bad defensive error under pressure, Paul capitalising and pulling a goal back. The second half played out far more evenly, an excellent midfield battle. Eliot was not able to settle comfortably until a late 4th goal on a quick counter put the result beyond doubt.

(report by Adrian Elmer)

Steve De 4 – Dom 2
Dom 1 – Dave 0
Dave 0 – Steve 5

Paul 1 – Æowyn 0
Imojjen 0 – Eliot 5
Eliot 4 – Paul 1

full results and current table can be found by clicking here