* ORM *
Still Loves Emma Bunton. Roy McDonough is God!
Was it the unseasonally warm weather or was it the fact that I'd only recently found out that STHs get into reserves games for nothing ? It matters not. The important thing is that after 33 years of patiently and quietly watching the best team in the world I finally broke my duck to watch my first ever reserve game. With a dodgy hamstring I only wish I'd known I could have parked in the car park.
Rushing to the ground at 1.55 to avoid the crush and taking the opportunity to enjoy a last nervy pre-match ciggie I finally took my seat in the East Greens alongside McNasty, General, BluesRBest (late
) keefmoon and a couple of others. Not that good at estimating crowds so I'm guessing somewhere between 200 and 250 hardy, elderly or like me unemployed souls made the pilgrimage.
The last time I sat in the East to watch a match was for Ron Pountney's testimonial. I'd forgotten that there are restricted views from this stand. Last time I think it was Brian Dear, this time it was Scriv blocking out the entire northeast corner.
Enough waffle onto the match and we line up as follows:
Collis
Kearns Efe Spinner Cheese
Moussa Smith LukeyG Cowley
Ricketts Hooper
As for Luton they lined up with a team of complete unknowns (to me), and frankly I couldn't give a fig except for a couple of names I recognised. Ahment Brkovic, Warren Feaney and Adam Boyd. A new record was also created today. Possibly the shortest midfield line up ever witnessed this side of Lilliput.
With a strong line up I was expecting good things but it was clear from the outset that we were going to struggle in midfield. I know a lot of people are going to be disappointed to hear this but on that showing I can understand why Smith hasn't had a sniff of first team action and Luke did nothing to suggest he was either back to his best or eager to regain his place in the line up. Too many times when a move broke down we had four defenders and a 25-30 yard gap to the midfield who were very slow getting back.
It was from a situation like this that Luton opened the scoring. We gave the ball away in midfield, the ball was sprayed wide right. I gently enquired whether someone would like to pick up their number 10. It was about the fourth time of asking this when the ball was slipped inside for an unmarked easy finish from Adam Boyd. Make no mistake this was Jay Smith's man but he made absolutely zero effort to make it back. (and I'm a big fan of JS).
Still, plenty of time to go and perhaps things would improve, especially after Collis had kept us in the game on a couple of occassions with fine saves. We finally equalised after 30 minutes when Hooper racing onto a long ball found himself one on one with a keeper and fooled everybody expecting a simple lob for 1-1, preferring to go for the scuff from the side of the boot of the post option. Don't get me wrong though he thoroughly deserved the goal with the effort he had put in.
On the 40 minute mark we went 2-1 up from a corner. Frankly I think any one of 6 blue shirts could and should have scored it but after a Rickettsochet (thanks to McNasty for the quote
) Spinner cooly slotted home from six yards. Cue a big grin from the big man, clearly still enjoying his football.
So 2-1 at half time and possibly a bit undeserved but who's complaining ? Well I was because I couldn't see where the HT ciggie was coming from, until I followed Keefmoon to the welcome site of opened gates and half a dozen fellow puffers.
An so to the second half and a much better performance all round. No subsitutions but Jay started wide right with Moussa tucking into the middle (though they spent the half interchanging). Words must have been said at half-time because we were much tighter in midfield this half.
Only 5 minutes had gone when a Maheresque ball gave Hooper the opportunity to show his ability picking up the ball about 30 yards out, using raw strength to shake off a defender (admirable for such a young man) and composure to pick his spot to slot just outside the six yard box.
Now we started looking a much better prospect and to be honest Luton never really looked like troubling us, unless we wished to give them the opportunity to try. On 60 minutes Che gave us a graphic reminder of why he is on the bench and a horrific reminder of the first LDV final. At least this time he touched the ball but his easy five yard pass to Spinner turned into a 3 yard hospital ball. Fortunately we escaped from that one.
62 minutes on the clock and possibly the best move of the game. A neat little one touch interchange between Ricketts Smith and Hooper which should really have resulted in a well deserved hat-trick denied by the legs of the keeper.
Ricketts had a pretty decent game, naturally strong on the ball, clearly not match fit but tidy, effective and always found another blue shirt with his passes. On 75 minutes he had the opportunity to show us his devastating pace when he was given the ball in acres of space on the right hand side. The big man clearly decided we could wait for that opportunity and a leisurely amble saw him tuck the ball inside to Jay who shot just wide from the edge of the box.
As for Sodje, nothing spectacular to report performance wise. He did OK but nothing better than that and not the dominant force I was hoping for. He also had an opportunity for glory but where a forward would have gone for a shot Efe tried to tee up his team-mates. The worst moment came on 80 minutes where he was scythed down from behind (not maliciously) but remained rooted to the spot. A deathly hush decended on the already deathly hushed East Greens and even after treatment he was hobbling gingerly. Pleased to report he finished the game and I suspect nothing major to worry about though.
Two last actions of note. Luke set up Jay Smith nicely with a couple of minutes to go but his lob over the keeper also cleared the bar. Not the easiest of chances I'll grant you but would probably be disappointed not to have done better. In the dying embers of the game Luton hit the crossbar (Cheese at fault again) when it would have been easier to score.
3-1, the final whistle and another stampede to avoid the crush at the exit. A thoroughly enjoyable experience and probably not one I'll get the opportunity to repeat if I get the phone call I'm expecting in the next day or so telling me I'm finally no longer a lazy layabout slob.
Biggest disappointment of the day was that I didn't win the HT challenge draw again this week.
ORMs Ratings
Maher 10 - Man of the Match by a country mile. Forget Ireland - Maradonna was voted player of the 20th century. I know where my vote is going for the 21st century
Emma Bunton 10 - Who needs the Blue Belles ?
Collis 7 - I was about to say he didn't have a great deal to do and certainly can't be faulted for the goal. Pulled off some nice saves and very vocal. Nice to have a keeper that can see over the mushrooms.
Cheese 5 - Not just for the woeful distribution unless it was a clear ploy to grant the winger acres of space in an effort to get matchfit
Kearns 3 - No-one likes to see anyone have a shocker, least of all a youngster but two of the three marks were for effective wearing of matchkit. Hopefully it was just stagefright or piles.
Efe 6 - Nothing spectacular and didn't win everything in the air but pleased to see him get 90 minutes under his belt
Spinner 7.5 - Missed absolutely nothing in the air and would have got an 8 but for a couple of late wobbles.
Moussa 6 - plenty of energy, plenty of wasted balls and put us in trouble a couple of times with poor decisions on the ball but I like the look of him
Jay 6.5 - Got much stronger as the game went on, awful first half but once he got into the game was much better and put himself about in the last 15-20 minutes linking up well with the rest of the team. Nothing to suggest an immediate recall here though.
Luke 6 - Hmmmmmmmm. For someone that had been dropped I'd expected a much more energetic performance from Luke. Again a much stronger second half but again nothing to suggest Hunt needs to worry too much for the Derby game. We all want to see Gutts on form but it's not pretty to watch him struggling.
Ricketts 6 - Nowhere near match fit but effective enough and I think there's a first team place waiting for him if the opportunity arises once fit
Hooper 9 - M-o-M by a country mile. Hopefully Freddy was watching this because this is what I expect from a striker. All over the pitch, nice touches and 2 well deserved goals. If he's not playing up front on Saturday then for chrissakes give him a wide berth on this performance.
Cowley 6 - Didn't shirk challenges, didn't do anything spectacular, didn't do anything badly wrong
Subs -
Ademeno for Ricketts 82 minutes - nice touches, pacey. One for the future/
Smyth for Hooper 85 mins - didn't really see enough
Rushing to the ground at 1.55 to avoid the crush and taking the opportunity to enjoy a last nervy pre-match ciggie I finally took my seat in the East Greens alongside McNasty, General, BluesRBest (late
The last time I sat in the East to watch a match was for Ron Pountney's testimonial. I'd forgotten that there are restricted views from this stand. Last time I think it was Brian Dear, this time it was Scriv blocking out the entire northeast corner.
Enough waffle onto the match and we line up as follows:
Collis
Kearns Efe Spinner Cheese
Moussa Smith LukeyG Cowley
Ricketts Hooper
As for Luton they lined up with a team of complete unknowns (to me), and frankly I couldn't give a fig except for a couple of names I recognised. Ahment Brkovic, Warren Feaney and Adam Boyd. A new record was also created today. Possibly the shortest midfield line up ever witnessed this side of Lilliput.
With a strong line up I was expecting good things but it was clear from the outset that we were going to struggle in midfield. I know a lot of people are going to be disappointed to hear this but on that showing I can understand why Smith hasn't had a sniff of first team action and Luke did nothing to suggest he was either back to his best or eager to regain his place in the line up. Too many times when a move broke down we had four defenders and a 25-30 yard gap to the midfield who were very slow getting back.
It was from a situation like this that Luton opened the scoring. We gave the ball away in midfield, the ball was sprayed wide right. I gently enquired whether someone would like to pick up their number 10. It was about the fourth time of asking this when the ball was slipped inside for an unmarked easy finish from Adam Boyd. Make no mistake this was Jay Smith's man but he made absolutely zero effort to make it back. (and I'm a big fan of JS).
Still, plenty of time to go and perhaps things would improve, especially after Collis had kept us in the game on a couple of occassions with fine saves. We finally equalised after 30 minutes when Hooper racing onto a long ball found himself one on one with a keeper and fooled everybody expecting a simple lob for 1-1, preferring to go for the scuff from the side of the boot of the post option. Don't get me wrong though he thoroughly deserved the goal with the effort he had put in.
On the 40 minute mark we went 2-1 up from a corner. Frankly I think any one of 6 blue shirts could and should have scored it but after a Rickettsochet (thanks to McNasty for the quote
So 2-1 at half time and possibly a bit undeserved but who's complaining ? Well I was because I couldn't see where the HT ciggie was coming from, until I followed Keefmoon to the welcome site of opened gates and half a dozen fellow puffers.
An so to the second half and a much better performance all round. No subsitutions but Jay started wide right with Moussa tucking into the middle (though they spent the half interchanging). Words must have been said at half-time because we were much tighter in midfield this half.
Only 5 minutes had gone when a Maheresque ball gave Hooper the opportunity to show his ability picking up the ball about 30 yards out, using raw strength to shake off a defender (admirable for such a young man) and composure to pick his spot to slot just outside the six yard box.
Now we started looking a much better prospect and to be honest Luton never really looked like troubling us, unless we wished to give them the opportunity to try. On 60 minutes Che gave us a graphic reminder of why he is on the bench and a horrific reminder of the first LDV final. At least this time he touched the ball but his easy five yard pass to Spinner turned into a 3 yard hospital ball. Fortunately we escaped from that one.
62 minutes on the clock and possibly the best move of the game. A neat little one touch interchange between Ricketts Smith and Hooper which should really have resulted in a well deserved hat-trick denied by the legs of the keeper.
Ricketts had a pretty decent game, naturally strong on the ball, clearly not match fit but tidy, effective and always found another blue shirt with his passes. On 75 minutes he had the opportunity to show us his devastating pace when he was given the ball in acres of space on the right hand side. The big man clearly decided we could wait for that opportunity and a leisurely amble saw him tuck the ball inside to Jay who shot just wide from the edge of the box.
As for Sodje, nothing spectacular to report performance wise. He did OK but nothing better than that and not the dominant force I was hoping for. He also had an opportunity for glory but where a forward would have gone for a shot Efe tried to tee up his team-mates. The worst moment came on 80 minutes where he was scythed down from behind (not maliciously) but remained rooted to the spot. A deathly hush decended on the already deathly hushed East Greens and even after treatment he was hobbling gingerly. Pleased to report he finished the game and I suspect nothing major to worry about though.
Two last actions of note. Luke set up Jay Smith nicely with a couple of minutes to go but his lob over the keeper also cleared the bar. Not the easiest of chances I'll grant you but would probably be disappointed not to have done better. In the dying embers of the game Luton hit the crossbar (Cheese at fault again) when it would have been easier to score.
3-1, the final whistle and another stampede to avoid the crush at the exit. A thoroughly enjoyable experience and probably not one I'll get the opportunity to repeat if I get the phone call I'm expecting in the next day or so telling me I'm finally no longer a lazy layabout slob.
Biggest disappointment of the day was that I didn't win the HT challenge draw again this week.
ORMs Ratings
Maher 10 - Man of the Match by a country mile. Forget Ireland - Maradonna was voted player of the 20th century. I know where my vote is going for the 21st century
Emma Bunton 10 - Who needs the Blue Belles ?
Collis 7 - I was about to say he didn't have a great deal to do and certainly can't be faulted for the goal. Pulled off some nice saves and very vocal. Nice to have a keeper that can see over the mushrooms.
Cheese 5 - Not just for the woeful distribution unless it was a clear ploy to grant the winger acres of space in an effort to get matchfit
Kearns 3 - No-one likes to see anyone have a shocker, least of all a youngster but two of the three marks were for effective wearing of matchkit. Hopefully it was just stagefright or piles.
Efe 6 - Nothing spectacular and didn't win everything in the air but pleased to see him get 90 minutes under his belt
Spinner 7.5 - Missed absolutely nothing in the air and would have got an 8 but for a couple of late wobbles.
Moussa 6 - plenty of energy, plenty of wasted balls and put us in trouble a couple of times with poor decisions on the ball but I like the look of him
Jay 6.5 - Got much stronger as the game went on, awful first half but once he got into the game was much better and put himself about in the last 15-20 minutes linking up well with the rest of the team. Nothing to suggest an immediate recall here though.
Luke 6 - Hmmmmmmmm. For someone that had been dropped I'd expected a much more energetic performance from Luke. Again a much stronger second half but again nothing to suggest Hunt needs to worry too much for the Derby game. We all want to see Gutts on form but it's not pretty to watch him struggling.
Ricketts 6 - Nowhere near match fit but effective enough and I think there's a first team place waiting for him if the opportunity arises once fit
Hooper 9 - M-o-M by a country mile. Hopefully Freddy was watching this because this is what I expect from a striker. All over the pitch, nice touches and 2 well deserved goals. If he's not playing up front on Saturday then for chrissakes give him a wide berth on this performance.
Cowley 6 - Didn't shirk challenges, didn't do anything spectacular, didn't do anything badly wrong
Subs -
Ademeno for Ricketts 82 minutes - nice touches, pacey. One for the future/
Smyth for Hooper 85 mins - didn't really see enough
