The B's this week took on Jan Pfitzner's Immanuel in what was an extremely important game for both teams (who were level on points).

Rob had an excellent squad to choose from, so strong in fact that Russell and returning captain Wez both started on the bench.

Early on we won a corner; the big man at the back Damien Bushby timed his run into the box perfectly to score at the far post... one-nil after three minutes.

This however sparked Immanuel, who began to tackle and chase hard. The ref was ably assisting them though, by giving a number of very soft free kicks and yellow cards. It was not entirely surprising then, when Immanuel received a penalty, with Lev and Jan both jumping for a cross, but the ref pointed out me as the culprit!?!? It was Jan just appealing for a free as usual, but unfortunately it had all started with our mistake: a poor pass back to defence went straight to a forward who had space to cross.

At one all, things immediately went from bad to worse, as Kevin was sent off for his second bookable offence (this was only 17 minutes into the game). Soon after this Immanuel scored a second goal, as our defensive passing again let us down. Damien tried to beat a striker, but lost it. The ball broke free for another forward who hit an exceptional first time shot which looped perfectly over Matt in goals.

I think the anger over the send off and goal woke the boys up, because after this the Whites played some fantastic football, with Harry and Damo cleaning up at the back and Sean, Lev and Jafar working brilliantly together in the midfield, the Whites were getting to the ball first now.

At half time, Robin just reminded us, we all need to work for each other and that if we scored the next goal the game would be ours.

In the second half, again the whites had much of the play, despite being a man down. Sean especially was holding a clinic in the middle of the park and Nick and Manny just looked too quick for their direct opponents.

Wez came on for Jafar and Russ for Justin and immediately the fresh legs showed, as we really took hold for about 10 minutes. It was no surprise then when Wez slotted an excellent pass through for Nick on the right, who calmly scored the equaliser.

Late in the game, Jason and Mai came on too and we actually had our chances to win the game - Wez hit the bar after some superb build up on the left, Jason shot wide and both Sean and Manny had chances to score also.

In the end though a 2-2 result, but this almost felt like a win, as we'd had to play for so long with only 10 men.

Saf (& Joe)Top

Riding on the back of a performance by the B's which can only be described as nothing short of gargantuan, the A's probably should take a leaf or a tree full of leaves out of their book. While the B's have to be commended for their commitment and desire, regardless of players missing for various reasons for the last month; the show must go on. And How. Drawing 2-2 with Immanuel despite being a man down for most of the game, surely would send a message not only out to the rest of the league, but also to the A's who have a responsibility not only to themselves, but also to the 16 men in the B's, battling every Saturday in the wind, the wet, the cold and the occasional flaming nugget of truth from Rastawookie if he wasn't away fighting the injustice of a non functioning heater in a rented apartment.

Still without a victory, this was a game which the A's needed to win. Coming up against Immanuel which Joe "El Capitano" Windows has so eloquently described as "highly crap", this would present an opportunity to finally get the season under way for the Whites. Lining up in goal again was Dan "a bit less abusing and a bit more Shut the Hell Up" Aikin who would be looking for his first clean sheet of the season. In defence, Joe "Man-Child" Windows, Chris "ACE" Gayen (bit of a plug here) and Craig "McLovin" Goldfinch would also be seeking to form a relationship with Dan which many couples up in the north would undoubtedly be seeking as well. One that would be less abusive, and with a whole lotta lovin (minus the sex cause who wants to see that?) which might equate to an orgasmic 3 points and a clean sheet (haha, orgasmic, clean sheet..anyone anyone? ahhh. I crack myself up).

In midfield, Paul "who should have 3 players at the club by the end of the season who can say his name right" Krysdovnsvlu4923 and Long "Camera Happy" Nguyen roamed the flanks on the left and the right respectively. The middle trio adopted a slightly different shape with Sunny "Dirty Sanchez" Jaswal sitting behind Juan "Daddy Day Care" Livore and George "Potty Mouth" Tan who would be in charge of inspiring and injecting flair and creativity and of course, glamour into the attack. Up front had Ryan "Twinkle Thumbs" Harrowfield and Scott "who still hasn't been to the pub" Edwards pairing up again. On paper, the team had more consistency as this would prove to be one of the strongest line ups to date. With the bench consisting of Daniel "Socks" Wang, Nathan "let me at 'em" Kora, Buddie "Buddy" Lam and Dan "the Man cause Man rhymes with Dan" Graetz, all young and gifted players in their own right, ready to make an impact when needed.

The game started off at a fairly slow pace with Immanuel looking to always play the ball to their tall centre forward who would then bring in the rest of their team. However, Immanuel's midfield struggled to impose themselves in the middle of the park with the Whites moving the ball around primarily up the flanks through Long and Paul. While neither side really controlled the game, the Napisanned ones had the slight edge with Long in particular working hard on the flanks and putting in a few tantalising crosses. Immanuel packed their box and cleared whatever came their way up in the air.

In the middle of the park, Juan, Sunny and George were attempting to work together in a different shape which seemed to pay dividends at times as Immanuel resorted to bringing down players around the box. While Chris Gayen has been prolific so far from the set piece, Juan stepped up for a 25 yarder which curled just an inch too wide of the post. The Whites continued to press and Paul and Long continued to work hard on the wings with Ryan and Scotty running off a few balls which were played over Immanuel's defence.

A quick move saw a slight melee with the ball moving towards the byline in the Immanuel box, Scotty was the first to it and cut a pinpoint cross to the far post where Twinkle Thumbs was superbly positioned with keeper beaten and the goal at his mercy. However, somehow, the Cosmic stars woke up late and forgot that it was time so pour some sugar on the Napisanned ones which allowed a foot from somewhere to appear and block Ryan's goalbound effort. That foot then proceeded to disappear into thin air as the Whites and Twinkle Thumbs held their heads in synchronised fashioned which might actually make the mark for the synchronised swimming events at the Olympics. A golden opportunity which might not present itself again as the both teams finished the half with hardly any clear cut chances for both sides.

The second half continued in the same fashion with the Whites continuing to search for the goal to calm some nerves. Of particular note was Man-Child's defending which would definitely put him in the running as K-Rudd's personal body guard as he put his body on the line and stopped Immanuel's forward from having a clean shot on goal and for that, Dan owes Man-Child a six pack. As the Whites continued to push forward, Potty Mouth decided that his game without a yellow would be incomplete as the Glamour and Creativity he tried to inject into the game came in the form of verbal flair which resulted in a booking (F*&%).

Long's saga with his smorgasbord of injuries continued as his knee gave way with Dan the Man coming on, injecting some pace up front as Scott went out wide. Soon after, Potty Mouth who was having a consistent game in terms of picking up cards came off as Socks came on to add more pressure in the final third. The Whites were beginning to click into gear at this stage as Nathan was finally let off his leash as Twinkle Thumbs made way.

Immanuel began to sit in their half as they packed their defence allowing the Whites to dominate the game. Fouls were continually committed by Immanuel with ACE often launching his trademark deliveries which somehow could not find the back of the net. The trio of subs began to tighten the screw as Immanuel were struggling to contain the barrage that was beginning to resemble the way the Whites should play.

At this point, ex-White Jan came on for Immanuel and proceeded to kick lumps on every White he could lay his eyes on. Good for us and bad for Immanuel, Jan proved to be the turning point in the game as he tackled Scott close to the byline and received a yellow for his hard work. He then proceeded to compliment the referee's wife for her hard work and promptly got sent off. The resulting free from Juan rolled into the path of Scott who kindly decided to put the ball into corner of the goal where the spiders live and the ball smashed in off the cross bar as the orgasmic 3 points loomed large. The match finished off as the Whites showed the maturity and mental focus to run out the game with Immanuel managing an attempt on goal.

3 points, a clean sheet. Best on ground for Man Child. Highlight of the day? The Whites finally having something to cheer about. And Scott and Russell Edwards finally decided to grace the Kentish with their presence. With Pembroke waiting next week, this is the fighting spirit we need if we are do shake White Kings Night (like seriously - they should be sued for breaching a Trademark). COYW!

GeorgeTop

The C's this week took on Mercedes for the first time and with 15 players to chose from, for once we had a little flexibility in the squad…

What we didn't have though was a keeper - fortunately Peter Ashmore put his hand up to go in goals.

Coming down from the B's were Ruairi and Kenneth, whilst Jason was back from his honeymoon meaning we had some size and experience in the line up.

Early on though, Mercedes got the upper hand, with Peter forced to make a number of excellent saves.

We ended up conceding 2 goals in the first half, both of them left Peter exposed to 1 on 1 situations and there's only so many of those you can save. Late in the half though we did get one back, with a lovely passage of play ending with Kenneth, who slotted home a nice goal.

2-1 at half time and there had been some excellent showings - George, Richard and Graeme at the back had been working very hard, whilst Phillip on the right wing was also doing well.

In the second half we made a few changes, with Peter J, Solomon, Dennis and Kyle coming on. Unfortunately we struggled to keep our shape and while Jason was doing an outstanding job in the midfield, the rest of the team had gone quiet.

In the end we went down 5-1. Peter Ashmore was outstanding in goals, whilst Jason, Phillip and Chester all worked hard also.

We still have some work to do, but there's certainly some positives to take from this match - especially our passing.

SafTop