Our mid-week game on Stoughton's awful pitch set us up nicely for the truly dreadful field that Irish Village had booked for our Sunday game. Heavy rain had made the few patches of grass slick, but mostly the surface was uneven mud. A win here would confirm us as division champs, but a dour defensive display by Irish Village made it difficult.
The Villagers only had 11 players and defended capably for the first half. They had one cast-iron chance, when a free-kick from outside the box on the right was glanced onto the underside of the crossbar by Mike O.
At the other end there was plenty of good goalkeeping too. The keeper touched Mick's header onto the crossbar, Bardot's shot onto a post and another shot by Mick from fully 25 yards on the post. The keeper was proving to be Bardot's nemsis as he turned numerous shots around the posts and over the bar. There was plenty of desperate defending, but we couldn't prise an opening in the first 45.
The second half was more of the same as the Village people were pinned into their own half for long periods. Samuel had two fine chances directly in front of goal, the service each time coming from Bardot on the right, but his touch was heavy on the first pass, then he miscued from close range on the second. Finally, midway through the half Schect hit a free-kick from the right near the half-way line to the edge of the IV area. Samuel touched the ball back and Karsten struck an inch-perfect left-footed drive that went in off the base of the post. A couple of minutes later Pap played a cross from the left that took the keeper by surprise as it bounced in front of him and directly into the roof of the net.
To their credit IV didn't give up and kept pressing to stay in the game. The referee gave them a generous penalty when one of their players headed the ball onto Steve Gans' arm, but Mike was equal to the kick and also bravely gathered the ball at the second attempt.
Another Karsten goal wrapped the game up shortly afterwards. He didn't make great contact with the ball from ten yards out, but it looped up and over the keeper into the net.
Squad: Mike O, Schect, Mick, Tim R, Mike A, Pap, Andy, Joe, Karsten, Steve G, Ivan, Tim T, Victor, Bardot, Samuel
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