Tournament Torture (Part 2)

After last season's Youth Point tournament Meanwood were reeling from their misfortune and their tendency to finish runners up. The Youth Point tournament prides itself on bringing together teams from all over Leeds and is often seen as a special occasion. However for Meanwood it's just another day with the possibility of winning another trophy. However, Meanwood felt more strongly this time as during the last two tournaments they had lost in the semis and in the final and they were determined to make amends. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be easy as some dangerous teams awaited… Meanwood had few injury worries and Aydan Fertug was available to play his first tournament in net. Woody, Gafa and Mckieth were available to play at the back and Sam Sawiuk returned to the squad to play up front alongside Bissitt. Stuart Turpin returned to Goals once again to manage his beloved Meanwood team. Would these players and managers be able to guide Meanwood to success? 1st Match vs. Hawksworth Meanwood vs. Hawksworth…Meanwood were reunited with Jacko who proceeded to try and trick his way round the pitch but he was startled (or snapped) by a defensively gifted Meanwood team that managed to cope with him relatively easy. Lawnswood's superstar winger was also on hand to try and aid Jacko in his efforts to score past Meanwood but he also failed (or was snapped). Meanwood raced out of the blocks and showed no mercy. Within minutes, Gafa had put the team 1-0 up after a superb Sam Sawiuk cross. Moments later, Gafa almost added a second when he sent a sublime effort from way inside his own half that rattled against the post. However, it wasn't to be too long before Meanwood added to their total as Woody drilled a low shot past Jon Stainsby. Meanwood weren't finished yet and rounded off a convincing start when Sawiuk broke forward and scored again to make the score 3-0. A good start. 2nd Match vs.YP United With Gafa and Bissitt rested the team struggled to find the same momentum that had caused them to win so convincingly in the first match. The team struggled to get going and found themselves one nil down. However, Sam Sawiuk then decided to kick start the fight back when he sent a few strong efforts towards goal but they were unfortunately saved by Meanwood's ex-goalkeeper, Bradley. Meanwhile Meanwood's current keeper, Aydan Fertug was at hand to keep Meanwood in the match. Eventually, Meanwood equalised after a sublime Sam Sawiuk volley. Meanwood then roared back and tested Bradley on several more occasions before finally finding the breakthrough when Sam Sawiuk sent another powerful shot into the back of the net. Another win for Meanwood… 3rd Match vs. Dynamo Kebab An easy match this one, Dynamo Kebab never looked like scoring past a robust Meanwood defence. However, Meanwood made very hard work of it by missing chance after chance. On another day it could have been five or six but Meanwood stuttered in front of goal. Richard Bissitt had several opportunities saved and was getting frustrated until he finally scored to give Meanwood a very well deserved lead. For the rest of the match Meanwood tried to add a second but it wouldn't come. An easy win in the end even though the score line doesn't suggest so. 4th Match vs. Armley Squash Club A frustrating match for Meanwood. They just couldn't score. Gafa raced his way round defenders but kept being denied by some stunning saves. Meanwood were about to celebrate when Bissitt slotted home...until the keeper pulled off a another stunning save. Gafa worked his way round the pitch again but he was once again denied…Armley failed to muster a single shot on goal. The final score was 0-0. How on earth didn't Meanwood score? Great goalkeeping. 5th Match vs. St Lukes A Last years winners started off in good form against a nervous Meanwood side. They scored early on after some slack marking allowed St Lukes' striker to break free and slot home. A bad start got even worse when the eventual player of the tournament slipped past the Meanwood defence and sent a long distance shot that deceived Aydan Fertug. Another fight back was looming. Sam Sawiuk was having a wail of a time and was scoring goals for fun and he scored another drilled shot to pull one back. Mckieth then equalised for Meanwood after worming his way past the St Lukes defence and slipping another past the keeper. Meanwood then took the lead when Nathan Williams scored his first tournament goal for the club when he made his way down the right and smashed one into the top right hand corner of the net to make it 3-2. The comeback was complete and the whistle went. 6th Match vs. St Lukes B The referee had controversially sent Meanwood's ex goalkeeper Bradley off for "politely" complaining about his decisions, thus Meanwood knew what to expect or did they? The referee blew his whistle on an average of ten seconds (that's an under-estimate) and frustrated the likes of Gafa and Sam Sawiuk to the core. Meanwood got more frustrated when they conceded a sloppy goal with St Lukes first shot of the match. Meanwood battled on and scored a superb goal through Gafa. However, it was ruled out for being in the area despite St Lukes' players and manager admitting that Gafa was at least a meter away. The referee then threatened to send Gafa off for complaining. Meanwood were more dismayed when Sam Sawiuk was adjudged to have been in the area despite touching the sideboards when he sent a shot goal bound. Fortunately, the shot was wide anyway. The referee continued to blow his whistle every ten seconds and ruined the flow of the game much to the disgust of both sets of players and managers alike. A disgusting refereeing performance. Meanwood's manager, Mr Turpin later complained to the tournament organisers about his performance, as did many other managers. Meanwhile still reeling from his disallowed goal, Gafa questioned the referee's eyesight after the match and was branded a "liar" by a coward of an official…much to everyone's amusement. Semi- Final: Hawksworth Meanwood had the pleasure of meeting Jacko again in the semi final but would the result be any different? Meanwood once again came out flying and shocked their opponents with their most confident display of the tournament. Despite suffering from a reoccurring quadriceps injury, Gafa still managed to amaze a large crowd with a fiery performance. Gafa was quick to open up the scoring again and mugged Wainwright before coolly slotting home. Sam Sawiuk then ruthlessly sent a shot towards goal that hit Jon Stainsby in his never regions, this sent Bissitt trigger happy who sent numerous shots towards goal that kept hitting Jon who was in agony on the floor and rebounding back. Gafa finally put Jon out of his misery and coolly placed the ball into the back of the net, how kind. People may have been questioning their sportsmanship but nobody could question Meanwood's skill when a fine passing move was nicely rounded off by Gafa who slotted home to score his hattrick. Now onto the final… Final: St Lukes A Meanwood had already beaten St Lukes A but they had their confidence shattered when they went a goal down early on. Meanwood then tried to get themselves back into the match but they were left exposed to a counter attack and St Lukes scored their second. As Meanwood tried to pull one back they became increasingly frustrated by an organised St Lukes defence. The match time had been reduced by 20% and this left the Meanwood players confused when the referee blew his final whistle. Moments later, the defeat sank in and Meanwood were left gutted. No complaints about the result but overall Meanwood had been the better team during the tournament and had already beaten St Lukes…but that's life. Another disappointing tournament for Meanwood and another final loss. Meanwood seem to be under-performing in finals and this is costing them dearly. If Meanwood had have maintain their good form up until the final then Meanwood would have been the most likely winners. A lesson learnt for Meanwood- "never take your foot of the peddle".