The Clubhouse

WOW! What an explosive evening of Subbuteo! Of course, as with most things Subbuteo Parramatta, a careful following of the tracks leads it all back to one man – Gordy Dudley. With Big Steve and Dom having given notice of their absence early in the day (some lame (badump-ching!) excuses about hospitals and what-not) the schedule was hastily redrawn, with 8 games due to be played. However, an afternoon note from Gordy sent that all in to disarray and the evening was whittled down to 5 games. Raffaele was not happy, having to make the 2 hour drive for only half his original games, and then proceeded to be hounded on the phone by a recalcitrant shoe supplier from Italy on his phone, meaning flick-off for his first game was delayed for over half an hour as the sedate Toongabbie neighbourhood was treated to international business, Italian style!

So, Adam and Imojjen got their game underway anyway, and it proved to be the least controversial of the evening. Imojjen played well, making good defensive flicks, but a couple of misses while in possession in her own goal box meant she handed Adam some open scoring opportunities which he took well. 2 up at half time, the game continued with lots of tight midfield play but Adam was able to find space at crucial times to finish with a 4-0 victory.

Meanwhile, Raffaele and Daniele eventually were able to get underway and the tight affair between the brothers was to bring about the evening’s first controversy. Raffaele took a 1 goal lead but the match stayed evenly poised throughout. Midway through the second half, Daniele pushed for the equaliser, had a shot which pinballed around the goal area slowly, Raffaele eventually clearing the ball off his line with the rod of his ‘keeper. Daniele was adamant the ball had crossed the line. Raffaele was adamant it hadn’t. It was left to referee, Eliot, to make the call and he agreed with Raffaele. The explanation of parallax error did little to calm the aggrieved Daniele. However, he continued to push nobly right to the end, unfortunately leaving himself to a counter-attack in the final seconds, finishing with a 2-0 scoreline. The debrief at the conclusion of the game was extensive!

The second round saw the father-daughter showdown between Adrian and Æowyn – brought forward to cover the shortfall left by the absent players. Æowyn did a sterling job stifling Adrian’s attacks with some well placed defensive flicks. Adrian’s experience told out, though, as he found a way through Æowyn’s defenses on enough occasions to stay comfortable. Even though he was 3-0 up, though, Æowyn made a number of outrageous claims that the score was actually 3-1 (memory loss at 12 years old!!!??). Then, in the final minutes, Adrian was midway through a clear shot on goal which went into the net. Before he actually got to take it, however, Æowyn had called for a time out to clarify a ruling. The ball was thus returned to its original position, the shot retaken and duly saved. Adrian finished the game with a -1 overall goal difference which he had hoped to eradicate in the game! In a much calmer game on the other pitch, Eliot and Daniele whined about the slowness of the pitch (most objective observers noted they probably just need some lessons on polishing!), while Eliot slowly carved a 3 goal victory on the back of some precise flicking in the tight spaces which were all that Daniele allowed him.

The final game of the evening saw two of the favourites for the title, Raffaele and Eliot, line up against each other. The game went exactly as the form guide would suggest, with neither player dominating the other, both players showing some exquisite touches and both players determined not to concede. It was Raffaele who broke the deadlock midway through the first half when he finally found a chink in Eliot’s defense. Eliot did manage an equaliser before the break however. The clock was stopped for a couple of minutes as a referee ruling was discussed in detail. After time was waved back on, Eliot worked his way up field before finishing well, though Raffaele felt aggrieved at the preceding ruling. The second half opened up and, considering that the two players have such notoriously tight defences, the amount of shots on goal each was able to produce was a testament to their ability to control the ball in tight areas in attack. Midway through the half, Raffaele again got his nose in front, this time finding a large hole in the middle of Eliot’s defense having skilfully pulled it backwards and forwards for a few minutes. Eliot was not going to lay down, however, and dominated most of the rest of the match. A few chances were opened up but Raffaele’s goalkeeper was put to good use. Then, in the great talking point, the situation from the night’s first game was repeated. Eliot shot and believed the ball had hit the back of the goal. Raffaele believed the ball had hit the crossbar. In a reversal of the evening’s earlier incident, this time the referee (yours truly, caught in the cross-fire!) adjudged against Raffaele instead of in favour of him. After settling from the ensuing debate, Raffaele redoubled his efforts and had Eliot completely under the pump for the final minute. A string of free flicks on the edge of the shooting area took place as Eliot’s desperation saw him infringe on the rapidly moving ball. In the final seconds, Raffaele had a half sight on goal but, unfortunately, called for the free-flick he had earned rather than playing on, losing both the time and space he had left. In the end, the high quality play from both players deserved the draw.

Gordy’s no-show meant that his match against Paul was officially forfeited, Paul unavailable now due to HSC marking. With all his games now complete, Paul sits atop the table, though those behind him now have games in hand to try and catch him. As well as the new lighting that will be installed at The Clubhouse in the next couple of weeks, the groundskeepers are also now considering installing goal-line technology on the pitches as well! In the wash-up to the controversies of the evening, one thing was clear, though. If Gordy had been present then, at the very least there would have been a whipping boy for the other players to relieve their tensions against, which probably would have put everybody in a more relaxed mood. Of course it was all Gordy’s fault!

(report by Adrian Elmer)

Imojjen 0 – Adam 4
Adrian 3 – Æowyn 0

Raffaele 2 – Daniele 0
Daniele 0 – Eliot 3
Eliot 2 – Raffaele 2

for full results and table, click here.