An over confident Malvern arrived at the ground having already chalked this one down for a win. The flawed application of mathematics and logic had misguided the lads. The logic: AC lost to OX’s 0-1, Rangers lost to OX’s 1-6, Rangers drew with today’s opponents 2-2 therefore AC must be better than Rangers so a win is a certainty. Epic fail number one!
An arrogant swagger out from the rooms and the sight of 24 opponents all under 20 was not enough to keep the ego’s in check. “We’ll just beat them with physical dominance” giggled one player. Epic fail number two.....one must get close in order to apply physical pressure.
From the off AC were in trouble as the Facebook or iGeneration ran them ragged, pulling the makeshift defence from pillar to post as they moved the ball around with speed and accuracy. Even the fittest man in the squad, Pete was struggling to keep up with the pace set.
Beauy’s first breakthrough came via a penalty after fill in Paul used to having Basil by his side fell, but unfortunately for AC he fell the wrong way. The resulting wind blew the slight attacker down and he duly slotted home the first of many for the day.
Chance after chance followed as the mosquito fleet, charged on Red Bull and whatever else the kids have these days, pushed forward with the ball. AC were run off their feet doing what they could, but were relying heavily on Tim to keep them in it. It was like trying to stop the bleeding of a severed artery with a band aid. Looks like you’re doing something, but in reality it’s just a band aid solution (irony).
It was a tough game to watch as a supporter of Malvern, but there was some great football from the Beauy boys; even a bit of show boating crept in. That said there was some standout performances from a few in red and black. Colin didn’t stop running all day and created many chances on the wing despite being battered and usually playing three on one. Tim, bless him, managed to keep the goal tally to a handful with some great work winning many one on one contests and new Malvernite Shane was impressing with his run and efforts.
A dirty day for the club with two penalties and three goals from normal play, but a valuable lesson learnt – no win is guaranteed. “It was the loss we had to have heading into the cup game next week. It might shake the boys up. Also it didn’t help that half the regular team booked holidays on a weekend when we were playing” said club President Mr Malvern.
So now the lads look forward to the most important game of the season; the Central Park derby - Mc Ropod Cup.
AC Malvern 0 - 5 iGenreation
Best in show: Colin
WAG's player of the day: Shane
Mc Ropod Cup preview:
A tough challenge lies ahead for AC Malvern as they have been unable to beat the current cup holders since back in 2006 including all preseason friendlies.
The last four meetings:
AC 0-1 CPR
AC 2-2 CPR (Mc Ropod Cup)
AC 1-2 CPR (Mc Ropod Cup)
AC 1-3 CPR
