Round 2 O35 Div1 Firsts NORTH SYDNEY 1 W PYMBLE 3

2 games in, 2 defeats, but there were plenty of positives again for the firsts. 2 tough opponents in the opening rounds was always going to be tough and with influential players away or injured these were acid tests to the strength of the squad.
Not wanting to shoulder any blame for weakoning the team, Tummy Wummy kept going on about how it was such a pain in the neck not to be playing, and lent his full vocal support, and his brother as a peace offering to the manager. West Pymble have been the stand out team in recent seasons but we really did make them look ordinary. Ballard and Jenny Craig (Norton) were bossing the midfield which was preventing their usual attacking play. In the heart of defence we welcomed back skipper Daddy Day Care who notched up his hatrick of boys recently, congrats Mike! Only to realize that this means he needs a fourth attempt to add a female to the clan. Mike was commanding at the back and along with A Real Keeper! for a change we looked as solid as the pre season promise. A big thanks to Matt Green for his stand in keeping role. Mark Armstrong was seen emptying the local ATM machine trying to bribe him to stay for the season.
Kieran and Gary Clark were also standouts and the loss of Gary, who damaged ligaments while getting his fingers stuck flicking through the pages of Zoo Weekly, will be another blow in the weeks ahead. Tummy Wummy & No Goals, who made the sideline look like the waiting room at RNS seemed to look gleefully on at any injury so as to avoid those schooners in the pub every week.
So finally back to the action. Jenny Craig relived his training field and pre season heroics and skipped past the ailing West Pymble defnce and a fine finish saw us 1-0 up at the break – dominant and totally in control.
The second half was largely a repeat of the first and for 75 minutes there appeared only one outcome. We had a couple of chances to make it 2-0 but our lack of finishing would come back to bite us as 3 goals in 6 minutes left us demoralized and facing a second defeat in as many games.
Mark was seen arguing with the ref that over 35 games had in fact been reduced 10 minutes to 70 minute matches, not added to for a 90 minute stint – in the vain hope of claiming a 1-0 win. Meantime Iain St John Black was chairing an analytical and philosophical debate on the sideline, asking the manager what was expected of him in his role as right sided midfielder.
“That’s easy Iain, I want you to take on their entire team, dribble past them, make your way into the box and then back heel the ball into the net like Ronaldo – do that every week and I’ll be happy.”
And so we stand proud at the wrong end of the table, looking up at our rivals. The NSFC board was quick to throw their support behind Mark and give him the “vote of confidence.”
In truth 3-1 was very flattering for West Pymble, who simply had more in the tank, and took their chances when they eventually came their way. A bit of luck, a full compliment of players, and a copy of Jenny Craig’s recent diet and fitness regime, is all we need to turn this around.
It was either off to the pub or to the casualty ward – business as usual!!

Man of the Match: Matt Green – stand out stand in keeper, last seen leaving the Oaks with pockets of cash and a firm handshake from an anonymous manager.
Mug of the Day: Iain St John – post match debate prevented many from getting to the pub before dark. Plus ran out of steam after 20 minutes, after professing to being a conditioning expert.

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