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 After a disappointing first Wednesday 6-a-side season, which saw more defeats than wins, Meanwood decided to change back to 5-a-side. Would they regret this move or would they refind their form and become a force once again. Whatever the outcome, it was a make or break "half of a season" for Meanwood. Meanwood started the league almost half way through and were already rooted to the bottom of the table with FC/DC the nearest team to them.
Meanwood's first match would be against Roque Jnrs. There was a familiar face in the Roque Jnrs team, Stuart the referee who had sent more Meanwood players off than anyone else was playing for them. He was terrified that he'd get snapped. Meanwood started their first match off brightly and created some good chances. However, it was Roque who managed to take the league and dampen Meanwood's spirits. Things went from bad to worse when the referee wrongly awarded Roque a penalty, much to the dismay of all the Meanwood players. Meanwood fought back with Goals from Mckieth and Bissitt. Meanwood then should have received a penalty but it wasn't given. However, the referee allowed a goal after a blatant head height that saw a Roque player chip the ball at least ten foot in the air, much to Roque Jnr's amusement who couldn't believe it themselves. To rub salt in the wound, the referee gave Roque another penalty even though Richard Bissitt was clearly at least a foot away from the box. The Meanwood players burst into hysterics, as did a few of the Roque players. However, Gafa made sure that Meanwood had the last word when he sent a thunderbolt from the half way line to make the final score 4-8. Meanwood felt absolutely conned and felt so strongly that they made their first ever complaint about a referee. However Goals frustratingly stuck up for the referee, much to Meanwood's disgust.  Next up a match against Grampa's 8 my Hampster, Meanwood were completely flat in this match and seemed jaded. Grampa's 8 my Hampster were deserving winners as they clearly wanted it more. The only major action came when a Grampa's 8 my Hampster's player punched Gafa in his back and got sent off towards the end. Meanwood reacted badly and Bissitt was told that "he can look after himself" by the Hampster's goalkeeper, to which Bissitt replied "no he can't". This fired Meanwood up a bit and Gafa went on to score a brace with Bissitt scoring as well. However, the final score was 8-3 to Grampa's 8 my Hampster. A poor performance.
Meanwood's next match would come against the mighty Park Lane, would Meanwood be able to withstand the pressure of the league's second best team. Well for the first 30 minutes they did as Meanwood played very defensive and stopped Park Lane from scoring. Mckieth was on fire in this match and scored a brace for Meanwood to make the score poised at 2-2 with 10 minutes to go. However, Meanwood were tiring as they had no substitutes and collapsed, allowing Park Lane to score four in the last ten minutes. Meanwood had thrown this match away but it was still a good performance. However, this now meant that Meanwood had lost three on the bounce. The season looked like to be breaking rather than making Meanwood. Until…  Meanwood faced Inter Mi Nan. Inter Mi Nan had been laughing at Meanwood before the match and were about to get a nasty shock. Meanwood were quickly out of the blocks and took the lead through Richard Bissitt. However, Meanwood had even more chances and were unlucky not to capitalise. Meanwood conceded and it looked like it was going to be the same old story. However, Meanwood held their nerve and got back into it and kept battling. As full time approached, Meanwood found themselves in the lead and were desperate not too lose. Meanwood ran down the clock to frustrate their opponents and as the final whistle went…Meanwood had won their first match in the 5-a-side league. About bloody time as well. Bissitt scored a hattrick. Gafa, James Milner and Anthony Mckieth all added a goal each to make the final score 6-4. Gafa was on top form this day and he received the man of the match award. However, there was some bad news as Ayden Fertug had badly injured his wrist.
Meanwood then entered a youth tournament, which they finished runners up in. A good performance from Meanwood and more silverware was added to the throphy cabinet. However, this was only a warm up for their important Mens League match against FC/DC.  Meanwood were without Ayden Fertug , thus Paul Mallian made a shock return to the Meanwood squad. Paul Mallian had been a key player in some of Meanwood's success in the youth league. Meanwood had another surprise in store, they had now resigned Dean Bell as a switch of leagues meant that he could now play. Meanwood were fierce against FC/DC but missed a mass of chances early on. However, FC/DC handed Meanwood their first goal of the match after they scored a bizarre own goal. Gafa then eased everybody's nerves after he scored from an almost impossible angle. Meanwood would then go on to crush their opponents. Even after Anthoy Mckieth was sent off for swearing at the referee, Meanwood still controlled the game. Bissitt was on fire and he would go on to score 5 goals and get his first Mens League man of the match award. Dean Bell and Gafa were on form as well and they both scored 4 goals each. The final score was an incredible 14-4 to Meanwood. This meant that Meanwood were now off the foot of the table and looking strong.
Meanwood's next match was against The Big Kahuna's. The less said about this match the better. Meanwood were missing Woody and needed a defender urgently. Meanwood had few defenders back and paid dearly. However, Gafa and James Milner did manage to score but it obviously was nowhere near enough. Meanwood then lined-up against Omar Superstars with Woody in net. To be honest, Meanwood needed him out…but they had no other keeper. Just like in the match against the Big Kahuna's, when Meanwood attacked they were extremely vulnerable to a counter attack. Meanwood had now being hammered for the second time in a row…and looked destined to struggle. Meanwood looked like they were going to receive another hammering against Roque Jnrs when Dean Bell, Paul Mallian and James Milner were all missing from the squad. Fortunately, Chris Waring was quickly drafted into it. However, Meanwood were about to surprise everybody when they risked putting Paul Waring in net in order to play Woody out. However, this gamble paid as Meanwood dominated their opponents and won convincingly.  The final score was 11-8 with Mckieth scoring a hattrick and everybody else scoring a brace. This also meant that Bissitt and Gafa were both neck and neck to become Meanwood's top goal scorer with 12 goals each…Meanwood were now also in fifth place and Meanwood had also gained revenge for their defeat to Roque earlier on in the season. Would Meanwood now go onto get revenge against Grampa's 8 my Hampster?
Meanwood were aware that a win or a draw would almost guarantee them 5th place. However, a loss would have meant that they were likely to slip to 6th. The pressure was on and Meanwood produced their best display of the season. It was goals galore as Meanwood kept counter attacking their opponents. Dean Bell smashed home five, Gafa added another five, Mckieth contributed another four, Woody generously gave us a brace and Bissitt also scored. To make the score an incredible 17-5. Meanwood had now ended their season on a high. Gafa also ended his season on a high as he got another man of the match award and became Meanwood's top scorer. However, every single Meanwood player should be proud of themselves…with performances like this, Meanwood have a lot to look forward to. Overall, a roller coaster season if ever there was on. Meanwood started poorly and lost their first three games but Meanwood eventually got back on track with two back-to-back wins, Meanwood then dipped again but finished the season very strongly. Meanwood must now consider promotion as a realistic aim. Meanwood have goals in the likes of Richard Bissitt, Dean Bell, Gafa and Anthony Mckieth and the ability to concede few with the likes of Woody and Ayden Fertug protecting the net. An exciting period of time awaits…
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