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Pacers V Inter Yamum
Reminder for tomorrow’s match:
Saturday 27 Aug
10:30am
Kennington Park Astro Pitch (Opposite Oval Station) SE11 4BE
Astro Trainers only for this one guys.
Pacers cripple checky cockneys
By Ross Magdalani
Man Utd’s pre-season tour took them to the U.S whilst Real Madrid were whisked off on a private jet to the far east. The Pacers tour also saw them head east, but only as far as Walthamstow on the Victoria line. And in scenes similar to Beckham’s arrival at Shanghai airport, the Pacers received a rapturous welcome at Low Hall Farm E17, by Ash’s entire family!
And in comparison to lasts week, the preparation could not have been better – Goals posts, check. Lines on the pitch, check. A changing room, check. An actual kit, CHECK! Sadly however the early optimism was short-lived when the opposition, who went by the name of Ash’s cousins boyfriends mate’s mates FC stormed into the lead within the 1st 2 minutes. Looks of shock were strewn on everybody’s faces with the general thought being “bloody hell, these lot look good”. Nevertheless, the Pacers quickly composed themselves and began to get on top in midfield. With Olly and Alex bossing it, a few early chances came about thanks to good work down both flanks. And as the game settled down there was slick football to be seen by both sides.
However as the Pacers pushed forward in search of an early equaliser, they were caught with a sucker punch when their centre forward who was built like a brick shit house and had the strength of an ox sneaked through on a rare opposition counter attack to make it 2 – 0.
Original looks of fear were now swapped with looks of confusion, with everyone asking “how the bloody hell are we losing 2-0?”. The situation could have got a whole lot worse when everyone suddenly realised that the oppo only had 10 men as well (!) However the opposite effect was to be had..
With a couple of tactical changes made, Ben moved over to the right wing and the results were instant. After gliding past two defenders, he swung an inch perfect cross into the box which Ross finished off to make it 2-1. (As this is Ross writing this, we shall conveniently forget to mention that at this point the oppo were down to 9 men as their centre back had gone off after pulling his hamstring).
After numbers were evened up thanks to Kevin graciously sacrificing himself to go and play for the oppo, the Pacers slowly began settling into their stride. The ball was now moving from front to back, with Nathan and Neil at full backs starting off countless attacks with neat passes into the midfield. Max, who was immense throughout was giving a Beckanbauer-esque performance of how to bring the ball out of the back. Then with half time looming, Curtis (in nets) pinged an inch perfect pass out to the right where another Pacers attack ended in a neat control and swivel from Ash burying it in the bottom right corner. 2-2 and game on.
With the introduction of a 12-year-old up front (that’s not an exaggeration, he was actually 12) and the 2nd Pacer (Olly) having to switch sides, the numbers were evened up and the 2nd half kicked of with 11 against 11.
Josh came on for the Pacers and immediately made his presence known with countless great runs from midfield and some inch perfect passes. The Pacers defence were now fully on top with Nathan, Nick, Max and Neil bossing the show and denying the oppo of any noteworthy effort. With the midfield also dominating, a 3rd was inevitable, and it came after another awesome team move saw some neat passing down the left from Sammy ending in Ben hammering it in high on the keepers near post. 3-2 and things were looking good.
A 4th came soon after with Ash staying composed in front of goal and sliding it past a helpless keeper. The Pacers were now toying with the opposition, even showing their own version of total football when centre back Nick popped up on the left wing and swung in a deep cross which came back of the bar and landed at the feet of Ben, who duly smashed it into the same top corner as his 1st goal from a distance of about 3.4 Inches! 5-2.
The opposition were now clearly out of steam and unable to keep up with the Pacers slick passing game. Alex was rewarded for his tireless buccaneering performance in central midfield with a stint up front. And in moment of magic not seen since… last week and Kev’s stint up front, Alex powered his way through the defence to find himself 1 on 1 with the keeper and coolly slotted it home to make it 6-2!
The game was now well and truly over and the Pacers used the last 10 mins to put on a display of sexy football not seen since FHM did that World Cup Wags edition.
The referee finally called and end to proceedings and the Pacers came away with a fine result against a quality, albeit depleted team. And the 100% win rate in pre-season goes on.
Goal scorers:
Ben – 2
Ash – 2
Ross – 1
Alex – 1
Pacers Go Goal Crazy!
In a continuation of The Pacers’ impressive pre-season form, the boys passed it around like Barcelona on their way to hitting 9 against a bamboozled Merton.
Less than impressive were the Pacers’ outfits, as the kit remained in Alex’s house in Kingston, leaving us a somewhat motley assortment in some dodgy short-shorts and unmatching shirts.
Early exchanges saw the oppo camped in their box as Ash, Josh, Dave G and Ross probed with their short passes and tricky interchanges for long periods.
The Pressure was just too much for Merton who conceded 4 goals in the first half, Ross, Tom and Dave G all benefiting (I think!). The oppo did manage to grab one back on the break before half time, to go in at Pacers 4 – 1 Merton.
The second half started well, with The Pacers adding to their tally through Curtis’ left-foot belter and Ross, who completed his hat-trick, before the typical Pacer wobbles began! 3 quick-fire goals from Merton brought the tie back to life, and turned stand-in keeper Jordan’s face as red as Popo’s! The pick of the bunch being a cross-shot whipped in from the left, to a cry of “SAFE!” from Jordan, only to be directed in by a bullet header at the back post, classic! Still, he’s in the team to score goals, not to save them, so he’s forgiven.
After that, with the score at 6-4, the Pacers once again took control, and played some great stuff, with threats from every angle, and everybody playing a great passing game which was a joy to watch and be part of.
Alex bagged the Pacers’ 7th and Merton were on the ropes. A tactical change with 5 mins remaining saw striker Jordan and Centre Back Kevlar switch positions, and 2 mins and a quick right-left later, Merton were out for the count. With finishing like that, the gaffer certainly has a few things to think about.
Pacers 9 – 4 Merton
Midweek Training Announcement
Midweek Training will begin on Tuesday 13th September.
Ben has secured an indoor 6-a-side pitch at the imaginatively named Ken Barrington Centre inside the Oval Cricket Ground, Oval.
Training will take place every Tuesday from 7pm – 8pm.
Directions: Head to Oval main entrance (near tube), tell security you’re training at the Ken Barrington centre. Head round the left hand side of the Oval until you find the entrance.
Obviously, due to pitch size, not everyone will be able to attend every week, but I’m sure that Ben is working on a geeky algorithm to create some kind of rota to ensure a fair rotation.
More details will follow nearer the time, but please try to keep your Tuesdays free if possible.
Up The Pacers!
Tomorrow’s Friendly (Sat 13 Aug)
Here are the confirmed details for tomorrow’s friendly:
Venue: Garratt Park, Earlsfield (Behind The Leather Bottle Pub)
Time: 11:30 KO, Meet at 11:00am
Nearest Station: Earlsfield Rail (5 mins walk)
There will probably be the opportunity for a few scoops in The Leather Bottle after the match as well.
See you all there (those that are playing).
Friendly V Walthamstow Wioters
Friendly game arranged:
Walthamstow Wioters V Pacers
Sunday 21st August, 11:30am
Walthamstow (E17 8AX)
Please indicate your availability on the form below:
Pacers Hit 5
A rare venture north of the river and it seemed to work as Pacers put on a masterclass of pass and move.
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