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Ash Allarakhia Heads Down Under

For those of you who don’t know, Pacers’ all-time leading goalscorer, Ash Allarakhia, has been released on a free transfer.

The decision was taken by the men in Pacer suits due to Ash’s recent groin injury and the likelihood that he will never recapture his best form.

I am sure you will all join me in wishing Ash all the best in his new life down under and thanking him for his efforts as both a player and manager.

Ash, you are a Pacer legend and an inspiration to millions.

Please leave your personal tributes to Ash in the comments below.

The Management

TEFA 3-2 Putney Pacers (0-0 HT)

21st October, 10am, Southfields

By Matt A

On a hazy Sunday morning, with a slightly earlier kick off, the Pacers kicked off against TEFA in Southfields. The team had a very attacking line up due to a severe lack of recognised defenders.

The early exchanges saw some good football from both teams with neither side creating any clear cut opportunities. The Pacers were dominating the game in the middle of the park, but unfortunately couldn’t find the final killer ball. As the first half drew to a close Alessio made a fantastic save from a deflected TEFA shot, that kept the score at 0-0.

The Pacers had the worst possible start to the second half, after some lapse defending they allowed TEFA’s number 12 to slot away a loose ball. Then only 5 minutes later the Pacers were 2-0 down, this time a TEFA long ball that seemed to be leading to nothing hit a bobble and wrong footed Alessio.

With the interesting choice of having no linesman it seemed that offsides didn’t exist, this meant the game became stretched. The increased workload took its toll and Curtis had to come off injured with Ian coming on, this change meant a re-shuffle at the back.

The change at the back meant the Pacers became increasingly sloppy and a mistimed pass allowed TEFA to tap in and make it 3-0.

The Pacers didn’t allow their heads to drop and continued to press on, this saw TEFA place more men behind the ball as the game became one-sided. As the clock passed the hour mark the pressure finally told, Albi kept a cool head to convert a loose ball in a busy penalty area.

With the wind now in their sails the Pacers pressed on, forcing the opposition goalkeeper to make some impressive saves. Some great build up play allowed Sean to play in Alex, who smashed the ball in to the top corner. Now only 3-2 to TEFA.

The Pacers continued to pour forward in search of a late equaliser, but the TEFA goalkeeper pulled off a number of great saves. The closest the game came to an equaliser was when Jordan forced the keeper to push the ball against his own crossbar.

The final whistle came too soon for the Pacers, and TEFA held on to seal a 3-2 victory. It was a disappointing score line, but the Pacers can take great pride in the second half comeback.

Fishblood Stiffs 2 – 0 Putney Pacers

By Sean

This Sunday, the Putney Pacers made the long journey to Purley to take on the Fishblood Stiffs, whose home pitch was as sloped as Mount Everest. After waiting for 30 minutes for Fishblood’s final member and kit to turn up, the game got under way with Pacers kicking down the hill in the first half.

We were still asleep in the first 15 minutes, giving the ball away needlessly and letting Fishblood maintain control of the game. It wasn’t long until we found ourselves 2-0 down. The second being a last gasp attempt from Matt Ashcroft who tried to prevent an onrushing striker from scoring, only to put the ball in the back of his known net.

After our shock start, we started to push on and got back into the game. After some solid defensive work by Nash and Kevin, the ball came to Oli in the middle of the park who released Nick down the right wing. Jordan controlled Nick’s cross and was set to score, but the goalkeeper managed to push it round the post.

We came close a few times after that and Nick continued to receive the ball down the right wing. Albi was unfortunate not to convert one of Nick’s crosses, going close on a couple of occasions. After some great passing play on the left, the Pacers carved a chance through the defence but Albi’s shot went just wide. The 35 minutes ended 0-0.

Half time saw the introduction of Curtis, replacing Albi upfront. The Pacers began the second half in better style and put the pressure on Fishblood Stiffs. Nick was unlucky not to break through when a chipped ball from midfield found its way into the box. Curtis also came close in the second half when a through ball found its way to his feet in the box, but his shot came off the post.

Fishblood then came close a couple of times, breaking downhill, but some solid defending from Matt, Ed, Kevin and Nash, and some great saves by Alessio kept the scoreline at 2-0. The Pacers continued to press, but could not overcome the uphill struggle. Things fizzled out towards the end, with neither side improving the scoreline.

Overall it was not the best Pacers performance, conceding two early goals that could have been prevented. The game was plagued by sloppy passing and poor ball control, making it quite a scrappy affair.