| -20th
August 2005
Too many missed chances.
2-2 draw leaves some walking wounded.
 This
was going to be our final game before our league campaign kicks
off. I expected a more bigger squad than last week, but unfortunately,
some were missing due to injury, work and holidays. So, I got a
bit paranoid the night before. We had a total of 13 players, but
I was sure we'd struggle or something would come up. So I drafted
in David Murton (aka Bunta) from Hylton Castle - just in case. My
fears were correct. Minnie was stuck in at work and also Scotty
J was going to be about 10-15 minutes late. Bunta went straight
in (along with me) in a reasonable looking team. Up front we seemed
to have a fair bit of fire power. Bunta and Bell in attack. Stapes,
Gourlay, Greenwell and Pearson in the middle. In defence were myself
with Donkin, Stubba and Jase. Muers was in goal, due to be replaced
after half time by Johnstone.
The opponents were run by Lee Francis, a former player for Groundwork
Murton and then Sassco for a few months, in the early days of the
Sassco League. I expected the bulk of their superb team to be there,
but there was only Francis, in goal and Steve Sinnott in attack.
Both had played for me in the 6-a-side on several occasions. Francis
was (is) a decent outfield player so it helped us by him being in
goal. Also, surprisingly, we saw Patty Walsh, formerly of Toddy's.
An outstanding centre half, so it was definitely going to be difficult.
This time transport wasn't a great problem. Our boy helped out by
getting Dunston and Greenwell, while I got Stapes and Bunta. Everyone
else made their own way to the superb Hetton Crown pitch which was
the enclosed Northumbria Centre one (rich sods!).
So now to the game. We were caught
out a little bit in the opening stages. Sinnott, as centre forward,
broke the offside trap (as if we were playing it...) and nearly
scored. At the other end, we were coming closer and closer each
time. Bunta missed a great chance after some brilliant football,
but eventually, Jimmy Donkin, in the right place at the right time,
scored when a ball landed perfectly at his feet. Just before this,
Beam had turned up so Mickey Pearson went back to his original position
as left back when I came off for Beam. But poor Beam broke down
and so I had to come back on. We then let ourselves down when from
a corner, Patty Walsh came steaming in to score a bullet header,
despite myself screaming for players to mark him. There is a reason
why I do the tactics as well as run the team, I do tend to know
the strengths of quite a few players and we should have sorted Walsh
out. Eventually we did and it was only by doubling up on him, especially
for corners against us. But the team followed the instructions before
the game. If we'd lobbed the ball in the box, Walsh would have won
every time. Instead, we played it on the floor so Walsh's effectiveness
in the air wasn't really shown. By this time we'd realised that
Sinnott was the focal point of their attack and probably
the only person likely to score. Stubba was doing his work by sticking
tight on him. It flared up near the end with Stubba and Sinnott,
but of all the players on the pitch, you'd expect Stubba and Sinnott
to be at each other.
Soon, in the second half, our good play showed and we did it right
by keeping the ball on the floor and passing well. Through balls
were difficult, as Hetton kept a good line, but overall we did some
good stuff. This eventually led to the second goal from Tommy Bell,
he outpaced the keeper and from a really tight angle, scored a superb
goal.
But after this we got complacent in attack and didn't take shots
when we should have and missed some glaring chances, including some
cleared off the line and Muers missing a sitter. Yes, Muers came
out of goal and Donkin had to go in as he was injured and we eventually
conceded. Wasn't surprising. We'd missed too many chances and then
allowed Hetton back in it. But the scoring ended there, in our last
game before the League commences.
Overall, a very competent performance. We followed the pre-match
instructions and didn't lob the ball in the box or dwell on it too
much. Passing was sure and great to watch. One-touch stuff as you'd
expect from the forward line we had. Special mention needs to go
to Mickey Pearson as he changed positions three(!) times during
the game but did excellent every time as left back, right wing then
centre half. But it shows, that we have the lads to adapt in all
these situations. Pearson got my choice as man-of-the-match, simply
because team wise we were all good, but he had to adapt and easily
did. Also apologies to Muers. He was due to get a half outfield,
but both Beam and Minnie weren't available in the second. He did
great in goal, but was disappointing outfield late on, when he should
have scored at least one of the two good chances he had.
Interesting problem on the horizon. Wardle and co's Saturday morning
team have entered the County Cup. Simple situation, if he prioritizes
playing for them in this competition instead of us, then he's ditched
from the squad. It's a simple choice and one that he, Stubba and
Greenwell have to make. We've got a large squad now and if he does
decide not to play for Sassco then we'll make a few changes, but
we've got 20 lads signed on now so his loss won't create a dent.
I think he needs to sit down and think about things. I'm always
loyal to my team which is why I've put off signing on a large squad.
I'm glad I've added Beam, Kershaw and Bunta to the side now, along
with Oliver, Sammut, Bell, Minnie and Hembrough. If Fatty makes
the wrong decision (along with Stubba and Greenwell) then he's out.
I won't object to Jimmy Donkin playing in the cup against us though
as he's one of the later additions to the team and once the full
squad comes back (Digga, Sammut, etc.) then he'd probably be sidelined
or at the very least, rotated each week.
Sassco always have the best kits, the best website and the best
crack. No other team has any website or publicity which even dares
to come close to Sassco. Why do you think we get invited by teams
such as Northern League Shildon AFC to play in their stadium and
Newcastle United's Official Deaf Team to play in games against them.
Sassco's not simply a team, it's a brand name and keeps getting
bigger all the time. Some people playing for the team haven't yet
grasped this fact and will probably only get the idea when they
aren't playing for the side.
Venue: Northumbria Centre, Washington
Friendly
Hetton Crown 2
Sassco.co.uk 2 Bell, Donkin
Sassco.co.uk: Muers, Johnstone (Sangha), Amour,
Donkin, Greenwell, Stubbs, Staples, Gourlay, Bell, Murton, Pearson*
|
Lets
look at the positives first. 
New
team shirt
Very
difficult to take any positives from a 3-0 trouncing. We were stunningly
depleted. No Deano, Pearson, Staples, Hembrough, Herkes, Hodgson
to name a few. Also Wardle and co. had a semi final on in the morning.
Lucky for us, Dave G managed to press gang Ed Cook into turning
up. Dixon was back from injury and Wilkinson had come back from
his SAS camping session (SAS meaning Saturday and Sunday).
As
mentioned earlier, we really struggled with a team. I was ill so
didn't really want to take part (but had to), while Herkes decided
to text me two hours before kick off to say he's busy. I understand
people are busy, etc. But some people seem to be more busy than
others which means they will have to be classed as non-regulars.
God knows how many texts I sent out to get a full team, but then
again, all teams have that problem at this time of year with so
many games and competitions going on. 
Our
biggest game since the opening day. We were facing off against Redhouse
FC in what actually was a meaningless game. We're definitely relegated,
while Redhouse had seemingly shot themselves in the foot after gaining
the lead in the table then losing it, surprisingly in two games.
However, for this one, they were back to full strength (as expected).
I was concerned with our lack of numbers, but a stroke of luck made
both Greenwell and Wardle available. They didn't have a game in
the morning, so the likes of Stubba, Jeff and Donkin would also
be available just in case. However, Wardle and Greenwell were straight
in as Tommy Wilko and Danny H were missing. Gourlay and Pearson
were also missing until around two hours before kick off. So lucky
for Redhouse, I put my footy boots back into the Aldi carrier bag
and prepared to spend an interesting evening on the sideline, watching
one of our most important games in terms of how we performed. As
with all Sassco games, it tended to end in tears.
Second
half saw us start to panic. We'd never been good enough to hold
a lead. For some reason we can't seem to get our foot on the ball.
Difficult to work out a plan for this in the future, but at 4-2
down - yes 4-2, we started to actually keep the ball and pass it.
We'd conceded an early goal in the second half and then two quick
ones in succession. We were out of it. I sent Herkes on late in
the game to terrorise Gash, but he looked intimidated by Gash's
hairstyle. Nevertheless, he did okayish. One thing about Herkes
is that he can't half trap any ball pinged at him at any speed or
height. The goals conceded were predictable. One was when Jase claimed
the ball was out while the others were essentially ourselves not
giving Butler any respect. My team talk at half time was simply
that the rest of them were shite and Butler is the one. We should
have doubled up on him. But most of our lads being a bit dim said
that he wasn't playing well. I'm afraid he played a bit too well
in the second though. I wouldn't go the whole hog and say Redhouse
are a one man team, but Butler is definitely the edge which puts
them above the likes of Dolphin, Grange, Castletown, etc. The Redhouse
team talk dwelled on the fact that Keith Braziers arse was twitching
just in case Sangha's Sassco celebrated their first League win over
him.
Midweek
games do my head in. Players aren't available and the ones who are
have to spend time rushing around. From our encounter on
Saturday, only Watty, Jase and Pearson were there. The remaining
team was bolstered by Wilko, Herkes, Jeff Clark, Stubba, Jimmy Donkin,
Deano, Wardle and Gourlay. 
2-0
up. What more could I ask for. We'd lost Griffiths, Murton, Muers
and Gourlay and also Wilkinson on the day, but mustered a team together
and actually performed to our best abilities. It was 4-3-3 again
and this time, instead of Griffiths in attack, we had Corby. It
was great to see "Old Man Corby" back in the fold. Ironically
against his previous team mates, Duffy, The Mouats and Barry Cook.
People unaware of Sassco wouldn't know that the majority of key
players in some of the teams have donned the Sassco jersey in the
past. Both Corby and Duffy were present in our first ever win back
in 2002. Paul Mouat has played on and off in the Saturday mornings,
while Keith Mouat was a regular. But to the team on the day, instead
of Murton it was Pearson behind the front two and Gillespie in front
of the back four. Out was Muers and in was Hodgson. Watty's mate
played on the right hand side of midfield while Young P played right
back. Jase was left back. Stapes on the left and Scotty H up front.
An
unexpected strong performance from Sassco didn't leave us with the
result we wanted. Hendon Grange were the opponents and while they'd
come off the back of a Cup Final defeat the night before, we'd had
a reasonable game against Aquatics last week. This time, we lost
Jase, Pearson, Herkes, Deano and Danny. Rackstraw was due to make
a return, but bailed out in good notice the day before. So, I had
to play. Also, Watty, who was busy releasing all the shits out of
his arse, put them up me when he said he wouldn't be able to play.
I tried Gav Kershaw, but he wasn't there, so Watty took all the
weight off his mind and turned up looking leaner and healthier,
if not a bit paler. I suppose the conditions didn't help. They couldn't
have been more contrasting than our game against Aquatics. It was
searing heat with a sun baked, hard ground to play on. At the end
of the game, we were collectively struggling (both sides) with the
hard ground conditions. Makes a change from the quagmire though.
When
Digga lashed in the opener midway in the first half, things were
looking up. 
Midweek
games aren't really helpful. I remember with Sassco in the Tyne
& Wear League, we had a radically different side on the evenings.
This was no difference. Panic set in early, though. The list of
unavailable's read; Tyzack, Murton, Hembrough, Cook, Muers, Staples,
Gourlay, Gillespie - all good, first team regulars.
A
few disappointing aspects about our first game against Hendon Grange.
Firstly, Tommy Wilko dropped us in it saying he's babysitting. Simply
not acceptable. Don't care what the excuse is. Players have ample
time to say they are not available. Also Deano threw a bit of a
strange wobbler asking to be excused and then saying he didn't know
why he didn't want to play. So, without Emu (still hasn't paid or
even paid a part of his fine), Hembrough and also Tyzack we were
fighting an uphill battle.
Well,
what can you say. Before the game, I would have taken a draw considering
we didn't have six key players; Tyzack, Hodgson, Muers, Staples
Tommy Wilko and Gourlay. But after the game, everyone felt let down.
On reflection, the Dolphin did dominate the middle of the park and
tended to win every high ball, but we seemed a bit more clinical.
From
the start I was positive. We had eleven players only, but those
were 100% reliable's, i.e. ones who say they will turn up and do
so. Secondly, I managed to pull together ten Sassco shirts. I lent
some to Fatty's team before Christmas and luckily had around five
in the house as well, so we can at least turn out in our new shirts
- although we can't afford to lose one, when before I had around
twenty! Also the Echo guy was there to take a nice mug shot. Now,
normally when ever we get our picture taken, we get hammered - this
time it didn't happen. We had one new comer in Tim Gillespie who
played for SNC many years ago. Also, Ed returned along with Dixon
and Pearson, so even though we only had eleven, we still had a good
side. I actually turned up on the wrong pitch and spent half an
hour removing my screw in studs only to change the pitch and find
out it was a shitter of an area. The game was playable, but I felt
like I was walking around wearing pumps.
First
problem was the kit. Some bastard had nicked the dirty shirt bag
out of my garage, so I spent all Friday night running around looking
for the old shirts we used to wear. Luckily I had a good few socks
and shorts ready in case. Also my two set of boots went missing
so I used Sassco's vast reserves of cash to buy a pair of £12.99
Adidas Two Stripe from JJB's. I also used my noggin and also purchase
a set of hard ground studs to avoid having to buy a pair of soft
ground blades. See, when you run Sassco you have to make every penny
count. As a footnote, I've just paid £99 to the League and
£127 to the Council for the pitch so now we don't owe anything
to anyone.
When
Patty Walsh was trying to convince me that his team were struggling
today and that the game was up for grabs, I tried to do likewise.
We were missing Muers and Staples out of the regulars, which definitely
affected the overall performance which was unacceptable from the
team. 
Well
then, a new dawn under a new Team Coach. Watty was making the decisions
in his first game in charge. A game which was full of incidents,
such as Peter Truman being pissed out of his skull for the opponents
and falling over whilst trying to pick fights with his team mates
(funny though). Tommy Wilko having a regular clanger and each time
he did, all the players started staring at me. Digga getting shit
on himself again and so much more. The team choice wasn't too difficult
to make - mainly because we only had 11. Linley, Bunta and Cheesy
were missing, so most of the decisions were probably made. Only
choice was whether Tommy Wilko would be in attack or Mickey Pearson.
The choice went to Tommy Wilko and the decision was correct considering
that Mickey P had a cracking game at the back, while Tommy gained
his first "goal". 
The
second half saw more of the same from ourselves, but we were tiring
slightly and taking liberties on occasions which let them through.
They did actually score, but luckily for us, Muers had nodded a
powerful downwards ball off another superb corner which deflected
through the 'keepers legs. It failed to spur a comeback because
Hembrough finally scored his goal to make it 4-1. There were several
incidents in the game. The most devastating was Dixon discovering
that he had a streak of shit down his socks. Now those in the know
can remember his "shit on the shoe" incident at Ryhope
a few years back which led to a downturn in his superb season. This
one could cause a similar effect and boost his confidence to no
end. Although he was humiliated by the other players in the changing
rooms when most of the other players were convinced that he'd been
wearing his girlfriends knickers during the game. This all occurred
while I was in the showers booting the ball around to remove the
shit off it - which I'm sure was caused by Digga doing a clanger
of a cross bar challenge.
About
time too. Park View's recent results have been positive against
some of the more stronger teams, and with our diabolical attitude
in the last game - I was sure we were going to struggle. To top
that off, we lost some key players, regulars at that. Gourlay, Dixon,
and Rackstraw. Sammut was still injured while I daren't ask Wardle,
Greenwell and co just in case they'd drop us in it. The only addition
was Dean Robinson who was coming in on the back of an 8-1 walloping
off Wearview.
Generally
when someone says that they are available to play, they turn up.
Obviously this doesn't apply to the likes of Donkin, Wardle and
Greenwell. A text from Donkin said "Alright mate we are stuck
on the m6 we r neva going 2 make it". Typical. We were also
missing Sammut, Haldane and Hembrough, but I knew that well in advance.
You,
know, I think it's a waste of time sometimes me producing the squad
line up during the week and announcing it on the site. Firstly,
Racky said he'd be struggling due to him being down Leeds - which
is fair enough as I was told on Friday. Then Sammut completely went
amiss. No answer to any calls etc. Could be something serious so
I have to rest judgment before plunging in. Then, of all people,
Greenwell, apparently desperate to make a comeback, drops me in
it on the same day saying that he thought we had enough...we
never have enough. The prick was getting his hair done! (his
fucking hair done!). It's these reasons which make me think I should
just jack it all in. 
The
game started off in awkward conditions. The pitch had a splattering
of puddles which caused both teams problems. But we held our own
together quite well spurred on by support from Redhouse FC incumbents,
Hunt, Gash and Keith. Fatty Wardle, making his long awaited return,
played very well and even gained himself a yellow card (for his
gob, not a bad challenge). He tended to combine well with Hembrough
up front, but some pot shots just didn't fall our way and near the
end of the half, we lost a goal as Barry Cook struck from distance.
This came after a lengthy stoppage, but we still kept our heads
up and reasoned that we had a chance.
Never
mind, we gave it our best shot with what we had, but their remaining
goals came from Cook (a brilliant header which Donkin failed to
cut out) as well as one from Mark McDermott and then one from Lee
Cresswell. One of the latter two goalscorers scored when a corner
wasn't cut out and the player lashed it in from the edge of the
area. So a heavy defeat (we've never encountered a narrow defeat!),
but there's not a lot I can do especially when the regulars drop
me in, as opposed to the non-regulars. I'll see the situation this
coming week and look to sign a few reliable's on. Also, hopefully,
Dave G will be back soon as well. For this game, though, Stapes
and Pearson did well in the mud and Pearson gets the nomination
for Man-of-the-match. Holly didn't have the impact like he did last
week, but the pitch was probably to blame for that. Defensively,
Jimmy Crouch struggled a bit, but Muers did well again, although
he was at fault for at least one goal when he shouted for it and
didn't act decisively enough. Digga played well as he could but
again, the pitch probably caused more problems for our style of
football than it did for the opponents.
There
are many events which gain a stranglehold on the human psyche. Events
such as Churchill's, "we shall fight them on the beaches..."
words. Neil Armstrong's seminal words on mans first ever steps on
another world. Kennedy's speech at the Berlin Wall. Dirty Den and
now the Mitchell's coming back to Eastenders.
So,
the opponents were of the same standard as Silksworth, in my opinion,
so I left nothing to chance. The pitch was also tiny which normally
causes us a host of problems. Yet we played to our strengths. Quick
passing and stunning movement. Tommy Bell spearheaded the attack
and caused many problems for the opponents. A corner kick was received
with a bullet header from Emu. The second strike was a penalty won
by Staples, with one of the most spectacular dives ever. It was
coolly dispatched by Hembrough, as we restrained Emu who was chomping
at the bit - although the 'keeper nearly got his hand to it. Bell
eventually got his just rewards with a third goal to give us a very
comfortable start.
complement
each other. Stapes on one flank and Holly on the other both played
well. Holly in particular had another great game after playing in
one of the earlier friendlies. Also his corner kicks were a peach.
Everyone looked as if it was going to lead to goal had it not been
for the onion shaped heads of some of our players. Also the back
line was good. Digga, storming forward, gave Bell a goal, while
Scotty H looked "wasted at left back". Watty also commanded
his back area and tipped a few spectacular ones over the bar. It's
a shame the camera wasn't on. Up front, Bell was excellent as always,
while Charlie started slowly, but managed to control the ball in
some awkward areas to get other into play.
After
such a tumultuous week, I knew we’d struggle badly to get a full
squad out. However, I had high hopes. We had Watty back and I was
really pleased that Emu and Gav Rackstraw worked so well in centre
defence. Tommy Bell was also available. The missing persons list
was considerable. Jase decided that he’d had enough. John O was
still injured (long term). Minnie had decided to join his mates
at Foremost, which wasn’t a problem, but he was still unavailable
due to injury. Scotty H was down at Old Trafford. I got a jolt on
Friday night when Dave Gourlay told me he was fooked for a good
while with a crushed arm. So, the emergency texts went out to tell
all that they definitely had to be there.
Another
week, another cup we've been knocked out in. Very disappointing
performance, especially in the second half. First was quite decent.
For a tall team, Silksworth conceded a very long range free-kick
which bounced over their own huge 'keeper and prior to this, one
of Scott Johnstone's throw-ins led to the opener.
To
save time, I've not changed the subheading just above. "Disaster
in defence, bad finishing up front." is the exact same reason
why we lost against Redhouse FC last week and it's reared it's ugly
head again. We did have a strong side out again. Stapes, Jase and
Sammut were missing, but Beam, Ed and Cresswell were back, so it
seems that when we lose a few good players, there's always other
lads who come in. We've got a regular squad of 15 and the rest are
classed as non-regulars.
Second
half was called and I was looking forward to it now. But that's
where the problems began. Firstly, Tommy Bell wanted to come off
as he'd done his knees in. But we had an able replacement in Beam.
I was advised to put him in midfield (which I was going to) to "mix
it" a bit as they were quite physical, but had to change and
plonked him on the right, Minnie now up front and Muers on the left.
Yet within moments of the second half starting, he'd done his achilles
in and had to hobble off. John Oliver, coming back after a good
two months out had to fill in on the right wing. Unfortunately now,
we'd lost all our pace. Minnie was struggling and Hembrough seemed
isolated in attack. At the other end, the typical Sassco pissing
about routine happened when, instead of launching it, we played
ourselves into trouble and they scored. I can't blame the back line,
because none of them are really classed as defenders. It looks good
when things are going for us, but when we need someone to take responsibility
and hoof it, we haven't got that person. I'm still crying out for
a good decent centre half. It's a shame we have to build now when
we should have during the pre-season, but that's the way it goes.
It
was our big re-match against Redhouse FC. I was uneasy, but put
the strongest possible side out. We were missing Staples, but had
Corby added into the team. Ironically, within moments of each other,
Stapes contacted me to say he was available and Corby to say he
wasn't. Nevertheless, there were no excuses. The team I put out
was one that I was fully confident in.
It
was panic stations during the week. I couldn't get hold of quite
a few players as some were injured and some simply couldn't be reached.
However, the biggest problem was our lack of numbers in defence.
Stubba was missing, while Greenwell, Donkin and Wardle were going
to be busy getting knocked out of the same competition we were in.
So I drafted in some non-regulars (as shown further down in the
news items on this site). Ed Cook and Mark Cresswell came in, but
previous unprobables, Beam, Murton and Sammut were available so,
luckily for the team, I had been edged out off the subs bench. 
Got
to be honest, I had no idea about the opponents, but coming from
a WMC, you'd expect them to be strong. They certainly looked the
part when they turned up (late, but they had come all the way from
Darlo). I had my team set out already. Bunta, Beam and Cressy were
subs, while Hembrough was back with Minnie in attack. Stapes, Gourlay
(new captain), Pearson and Emu were in the midfield, while Jase
and Digga were on the full back positions. Partnering Sammut at
centre half was Ed Cook. Gav Kershaw was in goal.
Well,
I was missing, but here's the gist of things. Almost a full team
available, apart from Hembrough. Went 2-0 down with some diabolical
defending (Pearson, whatever were you thinking?). Then Dunston grabbed
a lifeline at the end of the half. Second half, on came Bunta and
combining well with Tommy Bell and Minnie, we got back into it with
goals from Tommy Bell and then Bunta. Dropped points for Redhouse
for sure, but that's what we'd say if we were 2-0 up. 
As
mentioned in the previous reports, we had a depleted squad. The
list of the lost was scary; Minnie, Sammut, Hembrough, Wardle, Gourlay,
Dixon, Bell, Pearson and John O. All were first teamers. To top
it off, Gav Kershaw dropped me in it, so Muers had to go in goal.
The opponents were newly formed so, on reflection, it was an evenly
balanced game. We had player shortages while they were getting used
to playing together. Also this was the first game on our new home
ground, which was located at the Northern Area. It was a good pitch,
we were the only ones there, but the changing rooms were reasonably
adequate (if not a bit antiquated). Anyway, we managed to pull a
team together, but had no substitutes. Steve McDonagh, Chris Haldane,
Scott Johnstone and Jimmy "Crouch" Donkin came in. Ironically,
they were probably the best players on the pitch in a game played
in contrasting conditions. It was humid at the start, but then the
rain came pouring down along with the thunder.
The
difference in quality between the two teams was quite obvious in
the second half. We were camped in our own penalty box giving corner
after corner away. Eventually they scored the goal which took them
to 3-1. 
Second was all about fitness. We were lacking in it and on our last
legs. With no Hembrough, Middlemiss, Wardle, Oliver and Amour. We
had the bare eleven. Jeff Clark was sub after he struggled in the
warm up and I was the only other fit(?) player left. We were given
a run around by Shildon AFC, who, I assume, probably got a bit of
a tongue lashing from their manager at half time. They scored goal
after goal as most of the team simply broke down in the strict man
to man marking which I wanted. Maybe I expect too much from them,
but this system will work if implemented properly. It would kill
off a game completely and then give opportunities to the strikers
more sooner than later. 
We
had a bit of a depleted team, but I was confident enough. Main problem
was lifts. Poor Digga must have spent half an hour driving round
Redhouse and Marley Potts getting hold of Staples then Greenwell
(late as always). Then he had to charge all the way over to Ryhope
to pick up Jeff before making his way to Newbottle. I had a straightforward
run. Picking up Muers and Stubba, then Sammut and finally, debutante,
Tommy Bell.
We
had the bare 11. I was due to go in goal for the Wavy if we had
12 players, but Watty was unavailable so I had to play for our lot.
It seems Watty's going to retire now as his shoulder keeps giving
way. We might look for a new player or might just use our existing
goalkeepers. Wardle is probably the obvious choice now that we have
two other strikers available, but the likes of Muers and Middlemiss
have both gone in goal and done a good job, and more importantly,
enjoyed it. I remember a time when our only option was Watty and
then Stubba. So even though Watty will be a miss, we at least have
players in there who I'm confident will do a good job.
The
good thing was an excellent start. Goals scored in the opening few
minutes helped out our cause. We caught Wavendon cold. Stapes opened
the scoring after some good goal mouth work before Minnie added
the second after snatching the ball from a bad kick out. It was
then when John O was caught badly in the face. He clearly had to
go off and we were in trouble. We had no subs and in the heat we
were in for a fight. Luckily, ex-Sassco Warrior, Gash was there
to watch and came on in the right hand side. By this time Jase had
taken John to the hospital so we were still one man down. Digga
tucked in and earned himself a man-of-the-match award as centre
half. Fully accomplished at right back, he had to fill in with Stubba
while Gash patrolled the right hand side. This meant Mickey Pearson
came in as centre midfield and produced a performance which is one
of the reasons why I earmarked him as centre mid with Greenwell
a couple of years back at the end of our first ever season as an
11-a-side team. He did a great job with Gourlay as we had our work
cut out for us.
The
second half was better than the first. We really worked hard for
ourselves. The team talk for once seemed to be working. All the
lads listened and the importance of killing a game when we're up
against it is paramount to any success we're going to have. And
like Minnie said, with one man down it was test of endurance. It
could have gone pear shaped though. Muers missed an absolute sitter
in the start of the second despite doing all the hard work. But
he atoned for it later and set Minnie up to kill the game at 3-0.
He, like Minnie earlier, snatched the ball from a defender and played
it to Minnie. Although his work rate leaves a lot to be desired
sometimes. When we're in the shit, all players have to get stuck
in and do their marking and work off the ball. With Sassco being
3-0 up, the remainder of the encounter was to see how we could play
out before the final whistle, but we ended up playing some of our
best football for ages. The team felt liberated and everyone, rightly,
can give themselves a pat on the back for the effort. Near the end,
Dave G was on his last legs having combined well with Pearson all
game. Yet those legs had one last fling as he placed the ball in
the back of the net to make it 4-0. "You don't save those,"
was Digga's comment in his library of cliches (that's cliche number
34 which comes just before number 35 which is "get some purchase
on it.").
Travel
problems weren't too bad. I had to pick up Stapes, Muers, Hembrough
and Minnie, but when we arrived there, all were present and basking
in the sunshine. But when we got to the pitch (with Gourlay and
Pearson arriving) it was quite evident from the moment the opponents
turned up that it was going to be difficult. The last game saw good
effort from the team but bad organisation. But this time it was
full kits, pre-match warming up and god knows what else. Keith Nobbs,
who is running the show, has evidently done an excellent job in
the last few months on setting the African team on a course to success.
The
end scoreline would give the impression that it was comfortable,
but it definitely wasn't. But then again, we were missing Jeff Clark,
Mark Sammut, Chris Dixon and goalkeeper, Watty. So the back line
only had Stubba in who'd be classed as a regular there and even
he was due to go in goal had it not been for an injured hand. I
think in the circumstances we did really good. Hembrough and Minnie
were a class act up front. Hembrough got himself 3 goals and Minnie
4 and you can't ask for more. Stapes had a quiet game. He got stuck
in but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary that he did - but
that's high expectations from us. In the middle, John O and Greenwell
struggled a bit as they were overrun, but there's the dilemma. If
either Minnie or Hembrough would have dropped deep, we would have
lost our edge up front. John O's problem was his footwear as mentioned
before. Muers produced a few good crosses but didn't do anything
outstanding. Pearson and Gourlay were excellent, Gourlay in particular.
Coming out of defence, he made our left side the strongest and most
of the goals were initiated by himself. Pearson had a difficult
job in the centre half position but did exceptionally well when
he was pushed into the middle section of the park. Jase Amour struggled
to start with and some of his clearances were bong eyed, but it
was tiring out there and for his substantial kite moving about within
that long sleeved shirt, you know he did well to keep up. And Wardle
was outstanding in goal. Although one shot went through him and
another was a cracker from Dave Gourlay, he performed outstandingly
and becomes our fifth choice 'keeper behind Watson, Stubba, Muers
and Minnie. 
On
reflection, I think I will have to turn down any fixtures away from
Sunderland in the future as this wasn't the ideal situation. Firstly,
we got stuck by detours to Peel Retail Park, but surprisingly, everyone
was there. Apart from Staples being given a lift by Chris Haldane.
"We're two minutes away," said Stapes to me on the phone
before letting me know he was near Heworth Golf Course.
In
the second, I made some changes. Firstly John O came off to be replaced
by Ryan. Sammut moved into central midfield and Ryan was centre
half. Muers also went into goal now that his work rate was going
to be zero. Beam took his place on the right wing. I wouldn't say
it worked because of the changes, but Beam scored early in the second
to put us 5-2 up. It was now a strong and more relaxed Sassco against
a very poor West Denton team and anyone was up for scoring as we
were clearly going to get ourselves a high score. But by this time,
the referee had no control over the game at all and didn't clamp
down on any of the aggressive behaviour from them. It wasn't surprising
- it's expected when a bunch of Mackems turn up and humiliate you
in front of your own people. Everyone from Mick McCarthy to Steve
Cram got slagged off including Minnies "quiff."
Exciting
times ahead for Sassco. The new shirt is nearly ready to go into
production after the team has been plodding along in the current
design used since 2002. The home one is plain white, while the away
design is to be red (although the away will probably not be put
into production until 2006).
After
losing John Oliver, Mark Sammut, Billy Harper and Jason Amour, it's
quite refreshing that the main point of conversation after the game
was whether Dixon, playing in a right-back position, or Minnie with
his four goals deserved the man-of-the-match award. Digga's last
appearance there was in the game against Sunderland North where
he hauled himself off. This time, I explained the fact that from
time to time, we are going to be short and players need to adapt.
I clinched the argument when I said "it was him or me."
The
second half saw us struggling with fatigue. Most of the team had
played in the morning as well as yesterday and we only had the one
sub. It was 4-2 with Minnie scoring again and then they got one
to make it tight with 4-3. Eventually a long clearance from Watson
led to the fifth and final goal - you guessed it - from Minnie again.
He scored four in total and had chances to get more. Both him and
Hembrough combined well and the whole team did exceptional. Watson
had to go off late in the game to be replaced by Emos. I came on
and launched into a crunching tackle which did my confidence good
after the Saturday disaster. Stapes and Emos did well on the wings,
but Digga was a revelation as right back. Time to time he stormed
forward, but at the opposite end, he always won the high ball and
was comfortable.
For
our first game for several months, I expected things to run smoothly.
They didn't. First Jase and John (Team Secretary and Assistant Secretary)
were late, secondly, someone had destroyed the 11-a-side goals at
the Raich Carter Centre which meant we were forced to play in the
hockey goals!
Due
to an incident "involving death threats, terrorism and deportation,"
Cola Boy has had his stay in the United Arab Emirates prematurely
cut. He's back in Boldon now and could play a part in Sassco's return
to the 11-a-side fold. 
The
new shirt will be available within the next two months and will
be used as the teams main shirt. As always, players should provide
their own white shorts and socks (although the kit bag will contain
several pairs).
After
months of trying, it seems that we've found a sponsor thanks to
Jason Amour. It won't be announced officially as there could always
be a last minute change of heart. But it seems likely that Sassco.co.uk
will have little or no financial worries in entering the league.
The usual donations by all the players won't be needed, apart from
(possibly) a small donation in January 2006. Financial projections,
though, say that the team will generate enough funds between now
and then to cover this.