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Pacers 1 – 1 East Acton Wanderers (2-4 AET)
Following on from back to back victories the Pacers were in a confident mood for Sunday’s Cup game against Premier League opposition East Acton (aka the See you Next Tuesdays).
The Pacers got stuck in right from the off and Acton’s confident swagger soon evaporated once they realised that Darren was no longer playing for us (or them?!) and they were going to have a battle on their hands.
After the initial skirmishes the Pacers broke on the counter and some quick neat passing on the left from Oli, Ben and Ross put Jordan clean through. The half-man, half-zombie didn’t disappoint as he lifted a sweet finish over the scrambling Acton keeper. 1-0 and well deserved.
Acton didn’t back off though and their Yaya Toure-like no. 8 slowly started pulling the strings from the centre of the park. Acton had a few half-chances chances but couldn’t make anything stick against a rock solid Pacer defense – especially with howling banshee Alessio in goal. The Pacers remained a constant threat though and soon a cross from the right, a brave header from Ash up against their keeper left Jordan free to bang in the second. Or so we thought – the ref disallowed it for a non-existent foul on the keeper by Ash.
Undeterred the Pacers continued to dominate but against the run of play Acton forced a corner. As the Pacer’s were getting set-up Acton took it quickly to their left winger who smashed in a first time screamer from just inside the touchline. 1-1.
In second half the Pacer’s continued to boss the play restricting Acton to just 2 long-range strikes, both were smashed into the corners but were no match for the Italian Banshee who literally flew across the goal to make 2 ridiculous saves much to Acton’s annoyance.
At the other end it just seemed like a matter of time until the Pacer would breach the Acton’s defence again. A nice through ball from Jordan put Alex in who rounded the keeper nicely only to be dragged down. But another bad decision by the ref meant no penalty was forthcoming. Soon after Ross broke through but just couldn’t squeeze his shot in under pressure from 3 defenders. Late chances were then had by Jordan and Nick K but somehow the second goal never materialised and it finished 1-1 after 90 mins.
In extra time the Pacer’s were the more confident team and started to ping the ball around the pitch and another neat passing move put Jordan clean in again. He slotted a second with another cool finish to put the Pacer’s back in front. Game on! Well for a couple of minutes at least. A long throw from Acton resulted in a shot on goal that bounced up and caught Noonan on the hand from a range of about 5 mm.
Cue another rubbish decision from the ref – PENALTY! 2-2. Subsequently for the first time in the game the Pacer’s temporality lost their cool and some miscommunication and a missed tackle in defence let Yaya into the box to round Alessio, 2-3.
However the Pacer’s refused to go down with-out a fight but despite a string of half-chances they just couldn’t force another goal to save the game.
Eventually with a couple of minutes to go and Putney pushing forward Acton found themselves with a 4 on 1 at the back and converted the chance to make it 4-2 – the final scoreline.
So all in all a disappointing morning but one the Pacer’s can be proud with strong performances across the whole squad especially Kev Drake who seemed to have Yaya in his back pocket for most of the game (think you can let him out now Kev!).
MOM – Kevin Drake
Ross M
Being a mixed bag of Scottish and Lebanese genes, it’s surprising that Ross is any good at football at all.
However, the man with the least cranial hair and the most bodily hair on the team (contentious -ed), has had a stormer of a first season with the Pacers, proving to be a deft striker.
Shame all of his prowess was gained during the pre-season friendlies, and now won’t count towards the Golden Boot award.
Drafted in by Nick K, whom he met studying birds and booze in France, Ross proves the theory that no more than 2 or 3 Pacers originate from the same connection.
Recently dropped down to a part-timer due to his Saturday North London football commitments, but will remain a valued occasional when available.
Average Ratings : Top 5
All change at the top of the averages after some very strong recent performances.
Tim Rea sneaks in there for his one appearance in goal.
So does Ash after finding the net twice against Artis, edging out several more talented squad members!
Man Of The Match performances from Chris N cement his position in the top 5 as Alex holds on to top spot with consistently solid shows.
Ever-present skipper Nick E completes the top 5.
Pacers V Artis International : Match Report
By Nick Kearns
One of the warmest October mornings known to man saw Pacers travel further than usual to youngest Pacer Alex’s new stomping ground of Very-West London.
A nice, flat pitch was to be the battle-ground of two teams that, in the first few minutes, seemed quite evenly matched.
Alex K put us ahead midway through the first half with a neat header from a Nick K throw, Jordan’s flick on-dummy (miss) proving vital in throwing the defence, allowing Alex to poach à la Hernandez.
Chris N then darted infield from the left flank, past at least 3 defenders and calmly slotted past the keeper for our second. HT 2-0 Pacers.
Despite Pacer pleas to hold possession for the start of the second half, Artis immediately pulled back a goal from a well hit (but hopeful) long strike which proved too powerful for Alessio in the top corner.
Alex K then had to then retire due to injury (suspected unnecessary roughness from the opposition midfielder), and with our only sub used, Pacers were forced to fight on à la Man Utd (with 10 men, although in this instance, the undermanned squad came away with 3 points).
Straight from the free-kick, Nick E put the ball into the end zone for Jordan to flick it into the keeper’s arms, who then proceeded to let the ball slip from his grasp and roll behind him, for a chasing Nick K to poke into the net.
With an important, and confidence boosting 2 goal cushion, Pacers again began to settle down and attack well.
Number 4 quickly followed with Ash getting his nod onto the end of another Nick E zinger of a free kick.
Number 5 was a Jordan solo effort, playing a little one-two with the oppo keeper before slotting past him.
Number 6 came from the spot, with Ash converting after Jordan was fouled in the box by the oppo centre half.
There was some pedantic arbitration throughout, attracting laughs of disbelief from both teams, one notable incident involving Ash being told to plaster up his knee (The ref must have worked at the Centre for Disease Control, and feared an outbreak).
But any ref would take one look at Jordan’s massive swede, and think that to get him to the ground must have involved excessive contact (I’m sure the “f#cking hell ref!” that came out of him may have helped matters).
When asked for his take on the penalty decision, the Artis manager said, in a dodgy French accent; “I didn’t see it.” Where have we heard that before….
Special mention to Laurin and Alex battling in midfield, Capitano Nick E remaining sturdy in defence (and bagging two assists) and Jordan getting his big head all over the place as usual.
As I’m sure you’ll all agree, MOM this week goes to Chris N, who was seen all over the left hand side of the pitch, covering in defence, and devastating in attack, nabbing a lovely individual goal for his troubles.
Pacers 6-1 Artis International
Pacers 2 – 1 Willoughby
By Jordan Leveridge
On a beautiful Autumn morning, a strong pacer side faced up against a really poorly dress-sensed Willoughby.
A tense start from both sides was rudely interrupted by some of the worst refereeing since Fatpards disallowed goal in last years world cup.
After blowing his whistle then deciding the ball didn’t go out he waved play on to the dismay of the backtracking Willoughby rear guard.
Soft fouls, not playing the advantage and yellow cards were starting to ruin the game for everyone, but the worst was yet to come…
A hopeful lob into the heart of our defence was cleared and everyone was getting on with the game only for four eyes to bring it back for a push.
No one knows who did or received the pushing but a penalty was given.
A week penalty was nearly saved after Alessio went the wrong way but still nearly got a hand on it. 1-0 Willoughby.
The old “kick it to big head” tactic was on show again and after a flick on and some typically rumbustious play from Alex, Ash found himself one on one with Grandad in between the sticks.
You could see the fear in his eyes as Ash the man mountain bore down upon him. Ash, with the burden of being manager and his team one down looked calm and focused on the job in hand.
No one could do anything apart from watch as two heavy weights had their moment to shine……….Then Ash just kicked it off. Goal kick awarded.
A replica up and under was flicked through to the pacey Jordan to get a one and one of his own, only to watch his effort crash back off the bar.
Pacers pulled one Back after one of a succession of decent crosses from either flank was converted coolly by an on rushing Chris Norfield after some good work by Ash and Alex in the box. 1-1 half time.
The second half was one way traffic in favour of the mighty Pacers, apart from some speculative efforts Alessio was hardly needed.
At the other end Pacers were bombarding the box left right and centre and after a melee the ball looked to be dropping nicely for Kevin Newton. He wasn’t put off from the nose bleed he received from being so high up the pitch, but a Willoughby player was there on hand to get knocked into next week by the hardest tackle I’ve seen since Ron Jeremey’s tackle in Debbie does Dallas.
The fella screamed like a girl and shouted “Ref Ref” while Ash and Kev were playing on around him searching for the winner. “Argh my shin….. no wait…..my knee cap” shouted the bemused center forward, with Kev walking off saying “that fooker is having a laugh like”.
The game was heading towards a draw, but someone needed to stand up and be a man, step out from the crowd of normality and give their team the 3 points.
After some neat work from Popo the clown and Alex, Ash was unleashed down the right and put in what can only be described as an average cross into the middle.
With pace and power Jordan snuck in front of his man and with his first touch of the season with one of his feet, he toe poked the pigs bladder into the top corner, Grandad was left helpless.
This could have finished 8-1 but for some desperate defending and the ball not dropping favourably to the Pacer attackers.
And when Dave got a touch of the Popos and had a swing and a miss when well placed, you could see that the game was headed towards a 2-1 victory, and thanks to the defence that’s exactly what happened.
Pacers back to winning ways and the All Blacks through to the final – perfect morning’s work in our house, didn’t get sucked off as hoped though.
AFC Wandsworth 2 v 0 Pacers
By Ryan Nash
Whilst the weather may have dropped off during the last week, the same could not be said for the effort of the Pacers as they ended up battling losers in a 2-0 defeat to a very tidy Wandsworth side.
Pacers lined up with Ryan Nash between the sticks, a back four of Oli, Nathan, Nick E and Dave, Ben on the left, Evans on the right and Laurin and Alex in the middle of the park. Up front were Jordan and Ash.
In a game of very little goal mouth activity, it was Wandsworth who made the brighter start.
They dominated possession and pegged Pacers back into their own final third, only to be met by a resilient and hard-tackling Pacers’ back four that constantly cleared the danger and let very little through.
It was when Pacers started to get into the game slightly that they were then undone.
After a series of corners and getting the ball into more attacking territory, Wandsworth were able to counter.
They were given too much space as they passed the ball forward and their number 10 struck an absolute beauty into the top corner. 1-0.
The goal certainly did not change the momentum of the game, however, as Pacers started to get the ball down a bit more and put their defence under a bit more pressure, pressure which was well coped with as Putney were never quite able to get the ball in a position to really test the goalkeeper.
The highlight for Putney was when Ben picked up the ball in a great position and with acres of time to take the keeper on one-on-one, only to hit it too early after nobody shouted to him that he had enough time to take it on.
At half-time heads were certainly not down and Pacers went out in the second half with the intention, and belief of getting at least a draw out of the match.
The game continued to be tight and with most of the game being played in the middle of the park.
It was due to the lack of space in the middle that Pacers were forced to play diagonal balls into the box, aiming for the heads of the two big strikers.
Unfortunately, despite all of their toils, the runs never came and chances were again limited.
On one occasion Ash wriggled and cut inside in the box but some very solid defending from Wandsworth meant that the keeper was not challenged.
Wandsworth did score a second goal – an unlucky deflection ion the midfield meant the ball bounced to their number 10 again who only had to run through and knock it past the keeper.
2-0 and with not enough time on the clock to get back into it, the full-time whistle blew and Pacers left the pitch with heads held high, Wandsworth knew that they had been in a very tough game.
Comments after the match confirmed that despite losing, it may have been the best performance of the season.
It is certainly the case that those type of performances will certainly stop the rot eventually.
Pacers Fussball Championships 2011 : Results
A great evening on friday chaps, what is remembered of it anyway.
A well attended event saw Nick K & Ash’s ‘Bench Warmers’ beat Chris & Tim R’s ‘Sporting Abeergut’ in a dramatic final, coming back from 8-4 down to win 8-10.
In the singles tourno, Doubles winner Nick K was blown away in the final 10-2 by Kevlar. Obviously a hangover from his doubles success, but no amount of complaining about fixture schedules will change the result! 😉
I took some great pics of the doubles action, unfortunately they appear to have disappeared from my phone, no idea what’s going on there. Does anyone else have any pics for the site?
Putney Pacers 0 – 3 North Sheen
By Nick Earl
The Pacers took to the field on what was the hottest day ever recorded for a sunday league match at Hurlingham Park.
The line up featured Tim Rea for the first time this season in the unfamiliar position of keeper, but he looked the part with his goalie top nicely tucked into his shorts.
North Sheen started brightly and swung in a couple of dangerous corners that flashed across the 6 yard box but fortunately missed everyone and went out harmlessly for goal kicks. Pacers then got into the game and competed well, matching their opponents for skill and the physical battle. The main threat from North Sheen in the first half was their keepers huge drop kicks but the defence handled these well and chances were kept to speculative long-range shots. Tim Rea looked assured in goal throughout the first half.
The second half began with a fine Pacers move down the right culminating with Evans unlucky to hit the crossbar with a first time shot.
After that is was all North Sheen as the Pacers failed to deal with the opposition playing 3 up front. Their first goal came about when their forward made an unchecked run and received the ball from the Sheen number 14 and finished well in the bottom corner. 2 goals followed that could have been prevented although with ball bobbling around the box it fell nicely for the oppo to score.
Pacers struggled to string more than one pass together, and too many players went hiding when we needed to man up and dig in. Massive improvement required for the match on Sunday.
MoM – Tim Rea.
Kev Newton
Many great enlightened British scholars such as George Orwell, Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron are well renowned for their literary genius, have had a library worth of books written about their life’s work, and been subject to the analysis of thousands upon thousands of academics over and over again.
Kevin Newton on the other hand can be surmised in one sentence “the reverse Kevlar!”.
Kevlar is a combative defender who never shirks a challenge (unless the guy is really really big), and likes to get stuck in, as in the mould of traditional northern sexy football – or aptly named Up n Under tactics.
Can nick in with the odd cheeky goal and finish like a Pro when the opportunity arises.
Still bigging up his one and only league goal from last year (despite the fact we were losing 5-1) which saw him leap above Rob ‘never score again’ Delaney in the scoring charts last year with a grand total of 1 goal for the season.
He has a strange fascination with lighthouses, and once found his way home from Norwich to Boro purely by paddling his rubber dingy along the shores of our great country.
After a few drinks Kevlar has a strange, yet charming, inclination to hang like a monkey off the nearest person, putting all his weight on you.
If ever on a European Tour with Kevla and he asks you to get out and check one of the rear tires……Don’t, You’ll end up having to hitch all the way home.
A man of many curiosities.
Stand and Deliver.
Putney Pacers 