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Fellow Pacers,
As you know, Good Friday marks the anniversary of the formation of the Putney Pacers.
Each year we celebrate this anniversary in some style, with a massive piss-up in Putney. Usually by about 8pm the entire squad is completely shitfaced and heading home, it’s great!
This year will be no different.
This Good Friday falls on April 6th, just a few weeks away now. So, put it in your diaries, cancel your plans and tell your girlfriend/wife that Easter Saturday is going to be a write-off.
As ever, the starting venue will be the Coat & Badge pub just off Putney High St. They serve a wide range of ales and a fine selection of top-shelf pints and punishment shots!
Check out some photos from last year in the gallery.
Please indicate your availability below, and I will send an update once we have an idea of numbers.
Kevla
By J-Lev
Hurlingham park was flooded in early summer sunshine as the mighty Pacers welcomed a less than eloquent Jolly Gardeners Reserves.
In typical Sunday morning fashion, Ash came straight to the pitch from Sydney and Ollie from the old bill station.
The game started as a cagey affair, neither team managing to get a strong hold.
But, with the first half-chance falling to an uphill Gardener head, after a
flick on from a long throw, it looped up and over a stranded Alissio, 1-0.
Not a fair start after the pacers were strong in defence and putting in some bone crunchers all over the park. Most notably, the big number 8 was on his arse more than his feet because Alex couldn’t help himself.
However, the second goal came soon after when an unmarked up hill Gardener powered home a corner.
2-0 after 30 minutes didn’t tell the whole story and pacers felt aggrieved, none more so than the Italian stallion who, after an innocuous challenge, proceeded to keep pushing the centre forward in the face while screaming” Lo puedo creer, somos usted no mirando a árbitro que este delantero central es claramente una jarra pequeña” until the ref had enough and decided to book the pair of them.
“Whats your name keeper?” the ref asks,
“Well dear boy, I go by the name of Christopher Evans”.
Alessio’s ruse fell on deaf ears and he was told to leave the pitch.
Noonan donned the gloves and Ash was subbed on upfront in his place.
Ten minutes before the break pacers got a carbon copy of the 2nd uphill gardeners goal when Jordan rose to head home a Nick Kearns corner into the roof of the net and stuck a sneaky little elbow into the neck of the gobby centre back in the pocess: “take that, mug”.
2-1 half time.
The up hill Gardeners we’re restricted to long shots as again the pacer defence was solid in the second half as they we’re in the first.
With pacers a goal down, a long kick from noonan was flicked on by Ash, just as white now as he was when he left, into the path of Pacers’ leading goalscorer.
Bearing down on to the pygmy grandad who was donning the uphill gardeners gloves, he looked calm and ready with the job in hand.
Pygmy looked nervous, it was make or break time in both men’s footballing carers….. lashed into orbit, Houston we have a problem, goal kick awarded.
Pacers we’re in the ascendancy and grabbed the equalizer with Jordan heading home another Nick kearns assist, this time by way of a long throw.
Then, with the best move of the match Ash found himself with the ball under his feet again, but managed to dig it out and send a slide rule pass through to our own Duracell “killer” bunny Alex who smashed in a left foot drive to send one man and his dog into raptures. 3-2 to pacers.
With only 7 minutes left on the clock all we had to do was park the bus, but unfortunately we couldn’t reverse it on in time and The uphill Gardeners nicked a leveler at the death.
A great game which was maybe a fair result, a 3-3 draw….
By Nick K
With a squad size typical of our occasional forays into deepest West London, we arrived in the rain to a car park of football pitches.
3 pitches long and 3 wide, it could have been mayhem, had we been good enough to play on Saturdays.
As it was, we were the only game of the morning, which meant we could concentrate on our game to come.
Pacers battled particularly well for the first 20 mins, with defence and midfield alike working together well to provide ball out to the wingers and up to the strikers.
A (moderately) talented opposition midfield worked well to produce a few chances early on.
The first goal of the match was from a corner, their big bald lump rising to beat our goalie.
Pacers immediately responded with some pressure of their own.
Sheepskin-ditching former manager Noonan tried to become the first Pacer to appear on SoccerAM goals highlights with a 30 yard bullet effort, only to slice it way off along the ground to the right.
Fortunately, the power of his shot was all in the spin, and it spun out to the right hand side of the goal.
Missing an outstretched defender’s foot by inches, it fell to Nick K 10 yards out who calmly side-footed passed the keeper at the near post.
The oppo took the lead again shortly after half time, when some confusion at the back led to an intercepted back pass being taken round Noonan and into the goal.
Pacers were lucky not to be 3-1 down when the ref waved away Nathan’s hoisting of the offside flag (leaving the oppo striker clean through) only to change his mind and call him back 10 seconds later for the free kick.
Some increasingly heavy rain was coupled with some good pressure from Pacers, with numerous corners, and a few free kicks all giving way to some chances in the box.
Then in the dying minutes, Jordan put Kevin “I won’t stop moaning until I play up front” Newton through on the left edge of the box.
A great left-footed strike from the northerner as he slotted the ball passed the keeper from a tight angle to level the game.
During a post match interview with the Putney Herald, Newton credits his pre-match tar-like Yorkshire tea for giving him the cutting edge needed to get the goal.
“Man’s Tea” is released in Kev’s preferred supermarkets, Waitrose & Whole Foods, for like-minded men. Available next month.
MOM was a tight one between Spracks and Jordan, but as Jordan gets more goals, and Spracks needs something to tell his newborn about the match following their birth, Spracks wins buy a nose.
Putney Pacers 