Meanwood Kick Back

All of 5 of Meanwood's players had been involved in an intensive 11-a-side match a mere few hours before kick off, thus they were somewhat lethargic before they started…not good news. However, Meanwood's players seemed to be in good spirits and they were determined to get there miserable season back on track. In fact, they were so determined that they had all sat down and watched Jay-Jay Okocha's "Soccer Superskills" DVD. Would Meanwood conquer their marathon or would they fall flat on their arse like Paula Radcliff in Sydney. All was to be revealed. Anthony Mckieth was missing as he had picked up a painful injury in the 11-a-side match hours before.. However, he was loyal enough to turn up and cheer his team mates on. Meanwood lined up with Ayden Fertug reclaiming his position in net. He was protected by James Milner, Woody and Gafa who once again stayed back in defence. Richard Bissitt tried to intimidate the opposition with his brute strength by playing the role of the lone striker. An exhausted Meanwood team kicked off and decided to soak up the pressure and counter attack their opponents. In It For The Kick made several opportunities to go forward but they were denied by a strong Meanwood defence. Meanwood then counter attacked when a long ball found Bissitt who proceeded to trick his way round three defenders before his left footed shot went just wide. James Milner then had a shot that spun past the post. However, Meanwood found themselves a goal down when Meanwood pressed their self destruct button and allowed In It For The Kick to break forward and fire a deflected shot past Ayden Fertug. However, Meanwood were not deterred as James Milner did the unthinkable and scored! Seconds after kick off, he sent a powerful shot past In It For The Kick's keeper to level the scores. The goal was nothing more than Meanwood deserved as they had dominated their opponents by keeping possession of the ball for most of the game. Jay-Jay Okocha's "Soccer Superskills" DVD had clearly rubbed off on Richard Bissitt and he used a combination of "Jay-Jay Step Overs" and other tricks to worm his way past a bemused In It For The Kick defence. Bissitt was a constant pain in the backside for In It For The Kick as they struggled to cope with his strength and trickery, in recent weeks Bissitt has been superb. Gafa almost added to Meanwood's total when he spun past In It For The Kick's defence and sent a thunderous shot that was brilliantly saved by the keeper, a lot better of a shot than he had in an 11-a-side match hours earlier. Bissitt then out turned the In It For The Kick defence yet again and was again very unfortunate not to score when another left footed shot forced a good save from the keeper. Meanwood were knocking on the door and were causing In It For The Kick problems and they finally got their reward when James Milner (no I'm not joking) scored another good goal to put Meanwood in the lead. James Milner was Meanwood's secret weapon as nobody was expecting him to play well. Meanwhile, Gafa and Woody were working well together at the back. Gafa's positioning and reading of the game seemed to be combining brilliantly with Woody's strength. In It For The Kick were causing Meanwood few problems at the back and looked destined to lose. However just before half time, they somehow managed to equalise when a deflected shot spun of the boards and into the path of an In It For The Kick striker. The striker then sent a shot towards goal that hit Ayden Fertug, deflected onto the post and narrowly crossed the line. The sick curse of luck had struck again and dented Meanwood's chances of success. The rest of the half fizzled out with Meanwood content to go in at half time drawing, perhaps knowing that they had performed stronger in the second half this season. In It For The Kick brought the second half underway and proceeded to try and attack Meanwood but once again Meanwood's resilient defence of Gafa, Woody and James Milner held firm. Richard Bissitt proceeded to weave his way through In It For The Kick's defence and was very unlucky not to add to Meanwood's total. Maybe it wasn't going to be Meanwood's day. Or maybe it was as Meanwood always looked in total control and looked confident of themselves. During the second half, Woody proceeded to take a more attacking role and produced an effort on target. Meanwood then rattled In It For The Kick again as they sought after another goal with efforts from Bissitt and Milner who both forced spectacular saves from the keeper. It seemed that the only person who stood in Meanwood's way was In It For The Kick's keeper who was saving his team's necks repeatedly. However, he could not save his team for much longer when James Milner superbly turned round three defenders and placed the ball in the back of the net to score his first hattrick for Meanwood, miracles do happen. James Milner was having a right game, as was Richard Bissitt who continued to cause In It For The Kick problems. The next ten minutes were much of the same as In It For The Kick struggled to break down Meanwood's defence and Meanwood struggled to find a way past In It For The Kick's keeper until a player accidentally stumbled into the area. Up stepped Richard Bissitt to take the penalty who calmly slotted home to make the score 4-2 to Meanwood. From then on, Meanwood played the game down by keeping hold of possession. Ayden Fertug had little to do but saved brilliantly when an In It For The Kick finally managed to squeeze through and send a shot flying towards Fertug's near post. Fertug got down quickly and reminded everybody of what a good keeper he is. Meanwood then almost got another goal when Gafa volleyed just over. However, it wouldn't have counted as the referee had tried to stop play for head height moments earlier, unbeknown to both teams. Meanwood's defence was then put under a bit of pressure as a Bissitt continued to cause In It For The Kick problems and used his vast experience to hold the ball up as the clock ticked. In It For The Kick made one last desperate attempt to make a comeback. In It For The Kick's star striker ran through the majority of the Meanwood team but Gafa cruelly tackled him much to his displeasure, access denied. As the clock ticked, Meanwood kept possession and won the match. Man Of The Match- James Milner James Milner was outstanding today, not in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that he would played this well before the match. The thing about James is that he always works hard but he often gets caught out of position and gets little reward for his efforts. Today, he worked hard, was back when required and got a hattrick. James' third goal will go down in the record books as the greatest goal he has ever scored, he turned three players before firing past a helpless keeper, nice! If James keeps up these types of performances going then he'll eventually earn the reputation of being a decent player. However, I bet he doesn't play next week. Conclusion Well it seems like the Meanwood train is back up and running after derailing for six weeks. After a pathetic start to the season, Meanwood have now won their last two matches convincingly and have conceded very few goals. Apart from James Milner's hattrick, Richard Bissitt was also a high point in Meanwood's performance as he held the ball well and used his refound trickery to give In It For The Kick's defence nightmares. Meanwhile, Gafa seems to have adapted as a makeshift defender quite well and put in a sturdy performance, as did Woody. Finally, Ayden Fertug saved the majority of his shots well and was unlucky to concede both goals. So that's everybody playing well…and that performance did not include Anthony Mckieth. Imagine how well Meanwood would have played with a sub and Mckieth involved…Next up for Meanwood is Grampa's 8 my Hampster whose only win of the season was against Meanwood, can Meanwood get revenge and start moving up the table? All will be revealed next week…