Coming off a massive win the week before against Immanuel the White Bs felt quietly confident going into today's game. Sure the young Pembroke team had smacked their backsides 5-1 in pre-season, but the Whites were now fitter, wiser and better prepared following some gruelling training sessions over the past week.

The team welcomed back Louey after a few weeks out and he took his place in the centre of the park alongside Wez. The game also saw the debut of Ryan in goal, with Vish unavailable (kudos Mr Ryan for steppin up).

After the rain held back most of the morning, an absolute downpour met the teams as they came out to warm up. The team's shamens sat in the sheds trying to work out what sort of omen this opening of the heavens may represent, but the best that they could come out with was that this rain soaked pitch may at least be something of a leveller.

The game started well for the Whites who were up 1-0 early on. Richard, playing at left back, and Anoop combined well down the left, before Richard's cross into the centre caught a Pembroke player's hand. Penalty! Up strode John G with ice in his veins and put the penalty away, like a Soprano taking out a hit, execution-style.

The rest of the first half was a struggle in the mud, with the Whites chasing the young Pembrokers around the field, but not allowing them too many actual chances. Wez left early, claiming a calf strain but perhaps it was just the thought of chasing twenty-something olds around a muddy park for another 80 minutes. He went to the sidelines to use his much vaunted mind-melding powers instead to motivate the team. Richard moved into midfield with Sheng coming on at left back. George directed traffic in the middle shuttling back and forth across the field, while the defence held on grimly, with John and Matt unbeatable in the centre.

Half-time and whites were still up 1-0. The portents were good, and the team felt that something was on.

The second half started in much the same vein as the first, with Pembroke coming at the Whites with all that they had, but with little overall effect. George's half-time advice to the midfield was working and there was less space to exploit for the away team. The game turned into something like the Bayern v Inter game, with Pembroke enjoying a lot of possession but the Whites holding on well and looking dangerous on the break.

Then, suddenly, the Whites paid the price for trying the play the ball out of the back, and Pembroke were back in it. A pass to Matt stopped dead in a puddle, the Pembroke striker jumped on the chance and smashed home a great strike past Ryan, who had looked very solid up until this point. This led to 10 minutes of mayhem as the Whites structure collapsed and Pembroke looked like running all over them.

Slowly though the Whites came back into the game and actually enjoyed many of the game's best chances, a number of which fell to Richard, including a one-on-one with the keeper after John G's flick-on had sent him through. Then the keeper made an even better reaction save from Richard's close range shot, again set up by John G, that was heading to the bottom corner. This is not to say Pembroke didn't have a few chances of their own, including one from another misplaced back-pass and a couple of crosses that ended up hitting the crossbar. But in truth they did a lot of huffing and puffing with little result, and when they did threaten Ryan looked as cool as can be in his new found position between the sticks (a word to the wise Ryan, be careful playing too well in goal - you never know when you'll be allowed back on the field).

Then the killer blow. Manny and Pouf's introduction to the game had almost immediate results as Pouf released John G to the byline with a great ball. He heard calls of "penalty spot!!!", and obligingly clipped the ball across goal for Richard to run onto and head into the goal off the crossbar to score his first goal for the Whites. In the immortal words of Saf, Richard hit the ball "airborn & diving - superman-like & the ball cannoned off [his] head like a tracer bullet!!! Almost smashed the crossbar in two!". Champagne football!!!!!

The Whites went wild in celebration (or was that astonishment?), and suddenly the belief began surging through their veins (or was that the red bull from half time?). A fitting piece of sublime transcendence to break the gloom on an otherwise bleak and windswept afternoon.

The next fifteen minutes saw the Whites hold on desperately while Pembroke tried everything they could to break them down, but to no avail. It wasn't pretty, but the defence played its heart out, restricting Pembroke to the wings and allowing them few final chances to draw the game.

By the final whistle the Whites were triumphant. It had not been pretty throughout the game, but every player had put in the 113% that had been asked of them in wet, sodden conditions. Pembroke players were walking around shaking their heads in disbelief, looking like they had just been dropped off by an alien brain-sucking ship (whatever that looks like). It was a great feeling, and while i may have only heard the Bs sing the victory song sung once before, i feel sure that they have never sung it with such gusto. somehow a 2-1 win felt even better than a 9-2 thrashing.

RichTop