We have played the young lads of Eynsford FC a few times over the years, and it has always been very challenging. However we were optimistic going into this fixture as our squad has strengthened and our football has improved. There was a cold north wind at Westminster Fields which didn't put off our supporters, with the bus leaving Eynsford at 10:10 bringing Stevie White, Neil Bancock and a director's chair. Great to see Neil there so soon after his operation, leaning on his crutches watching sagely. Meanwhile the chair proved useful for getting my boots on as Tom R was running late. The crowd grew, with Pete Allen, Vince, Lindon, Stu and child, wee Gav's wife and wee child among others, and a cameo appearance from Tim looking immaculate in his work gear.
Pete Mendeita's Eynsford fielded a very young and mobile side, with big Sean Bruschett the anchor at the back. They started brightly with their left winger flying in on goal a couple of times at a searing pace, leaving Martin and Jamie for once looking a bit slow like the rest of us. Fish made a great decision and pushed wee Gav and Jamie into the full back positions, which nullified that threat. Nevertheless Ollie needed to play out of his skin, making save after save as Eynsford looked for the first goal. The breakthrough came after about 15 minutes and we feared it would be more. Playing a 4-5-1 line up we were asking a lot of Bash, and he put in a lot of early running to try and work some half chances. It was a big blow when he rolled his ankle when just about to shoot. He lay on the floor like Vitruvian man in clear pain, he normally gets up quickly to be ready for his next goal. He had to come off and I went on for him, replacing a Thoroughbred with a Highland pony. Martin and Gav were having a busy day in defence, screened by Els, Tom (55) and Terry (61), but they held their shape well. Eynsford were getting frustrated and resorted to more and more long balls to try and get us for pace. They won a lot of corners but we were superior in the air. They did have young legs though, and Ben Allen (17), son of Pete scored on his debut, a shot from outside the box that went in off the post. A bittersweet moment for Pete to see his beloved Wanderers go 2-0 down. Things got worse for us as Danny H got whacked on the left ear and couldn't hear out of it, and went off for Rich who then strained his thigh within 5 minutes and Danny came on again.
We were glad of half time, changing ends to shoot downwind and downhill, with the feeling that we were still in the game. Eynsford brought on the bomb squad, with Pete M going up front. Big Gav was ready for him though, with honours even after some heavy clashes. Eynsford seemed to lose their shape and we began to play some great football. Down the right wee Gav, Tom C and Kris had acres of space and started some excellent interchanges. Without the pace to run through Eynsford we built the play round the edge of the box. I had a shot tipped over after a clever Tom C ball. We won a free kick and Kris hit the post from 25 yards. Tom C hit a trademark shot just wide. A flowing move started by wee Gav playing 1-2s through their midfield gave Els a clear shot at goal which was well saved. Most remarkably, Terry (61) was running the midfield by the end, and Eynsford were glad of the final whistle.
It was a good clean game, played very fairly with very few fouls, an excellent way for the ref to start his 40th birthday.