The teams came out as a little nip appeared in the air,
the opening episode was a test of my patience as both teams stuttered like
clockwork robots with shit in their cogs. I began to scribble, ooh me
noggin. Respite was given though via a wide awake home team who sprung
from the traps, knocked a ball in from out wide that saw the guests ball watch
and the resident No 11 (Benjamin Brooks) rise and easily nut home. It was
an encouraging start but from here neither team could gain a stranglehold on
proceedings with Ecky playing long balls that just lacked accuracy and Cheadle
working up a head of steam but failing to capitalise on their momentum.
I found myself with very little to report until the guests had a free-kick that
went into the perilous zone with No 10 (Shay Finney) looking to slam
home. The touch however was weak, I nearly produced my eraser for the
first time this year (note I refrained from using the term 'rubber' - oh you
vulgar swines). Cheadle Town had a gratis boot next, No 7 (Justin
Pickering) took command and sent in a curler that wasn't that far off the
strike zone. The Town pushed again, the Eck looked ruffled as the ball
went in and out for a corner. The cross was decent enough, Brooks rose
but couldn't keep his effort below the bar. Myself and Stu had seen
enough and decided to wander for a cuppa, as we strolled round the pitch
excitement remained minimal although I did note that one guy had left his flies
half-undone and his dog had a hard-on - surely it wasn't caused by what was
happening on the pitch!
The second half began with Cheadle pressing and a free-kick getting nutted downward and hoofed behind by a defender. The corner went in and out, No 6 (Oliver Hatfield-Banton) tried to shake things all about but the attempt on goal had way too much elevation. From another barren period the travelling pack had position in No Man's Land. No 6 (Jake Langdridge) looked indecisive so gave the ball a boom towards goal where he had spied the keeper off his line. The ball rose, the keeper back-pedalled, the ball dipped, the keeper looked a trifle perturbed. As a hand reached up it was all too late and when the net bulged outward we had all witnessed a 40 yard peach that was the pinnacle of the game so far. Brilliant!
Now the game had a little more potency and the first team to step up the quality in this midweek stodge would certainly find themselves with 3 more points in the bag. Cheadle made a substitution, the player (Patrick Davin) was immediately in the thick of matters, a cross was found, No 10 (Paul Sunderland) left the turf and put his forehead on the globe, bang - 2 - 1 - surely this was the time for the home team to move on and kill the game dead. Alas, this wasn't to be the case with a golden opportunity falling to the visiting No 7 (Luke Lewis) who only had the keeper to beat. The shot was made, the mittman produced a solid save, the ball went loose, boom - over the bar it flew.
Now the game was better, the teams were playing with a little more expression, space was starting to develop. A free kick for Eccleshall was dealt with, a return long ball was exquisite, the defending that saved the day was absolutely stupendous. The game now entered the arse-end of the night, Eccleshall were striving to snatch a point but when they went down to 10 men after a sin-bin moment the last few minutes looked to be considerably uphill. The team from Staffordshire were not giving in, a penalty claim was waved away and then they survived a scare as Town's Brookes put a header straight at the keeper. Time was now the rarest commodity, Eccleshall pressed with nothing less than passion, turmoil was had in and around the opponents box, a penalty shout went up, the referee paused and then, quite controversially, pointed to the spot. No 11 (Louis Downs) took charge, slapped the ball with firm belief, 2 - 2 it was, now where did that come from? Before the final whistle blew The Town had one last charge to save face, Pickering was away, shot and forced the keeper to punch. A corner was conceded, played in but the chance to grab a winner remained elusive - the points were shared and perhaps that was a true reflection of the game itself. Man of the Match is difficult to say the least but the Eccleshall No 6 (Jake Langdridge) battled hard throughout and grabbed a goal that will live long in the memory - I suppose the nod is deserved for that moment alone and ends this report on something of a positive note.
FINAL THOUGHT - Judgement for both sides, on this performance at least, is best left to those who were wearing rose-tinted bins rather than the shit-stained specs of reality - believe me, this was not a thriller. On the plus side, no team lost, we did get a wonder goal and a certain tenacity was displayed throughout. Whether or not a clash of styles contributed to a duff do is up for debate or are both teams hitting a period were the wheels are wobbling and the pre-Christmas run up is looking harder than first deemed? The hosts, to be fair, have never got truly running this time around, I am sure though that they can shift a few gears and make their league position a bit more pleasing on the eye. Eccleshall are doing alright for themselves and I would love to see them progress further but this is one tough league and they are going to have to dig ruddy deep to maintain their lofted position. I always love a trip down their end, a warm and welcoming place it is and me and the good lady will be there later in the season hoping that they are flying high and holding their own - hang in there folks, the road is, as ever, long, hard and always uphill.
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