Old Boys report 11/15 State Cup Rd 2 - by Sheero

BOB – 3 Manhattan Kickers – 5

If ever there was a game of two halves, this was it. The Old Boys bowed out of the State Cup after being unrecognizable in the first half – the faces were the same, but the football being played by them was nowhere near the standard we’d become used to. A combination of sloppy play and basic mistakes made the Kickers look good and by half-time they were flattered by a 4-0 lead.

The half time talk was of preserving some pride, but we did more than that. We showed that when do think about it, we can play as well as anyone, and by the 70 minute mark we were back to 4-3 – a first Barnstonworth goal for Jason and two from Colin, who has really stepped up to the plate this season to boss the center midfield.

Chasing the equalizer, we went to three at the back and had a couple of chances to level the match, but we were caught out late on – poor communication between sweeper and goalkeeper when the latter should have taken control of the situation, let the Kickers in on goal for a simple tap-in to close the game out. A real shame because a tie in the next round of the cup against Rovers Premier beckoned.

Tough to know how to feel afterwards. On the one hand, a diabolical opening 30 minutes effectively put the game beyond us, but the spirit shown by the team to almost get back in it is very encouraging and an indicator of how the team has progressed this season.

Back to league action this weekend against probably the most whiney cynical team in the division – Greek Americans. We’ll need to keep our heads to return to winning ways.

Bad news during the week is that Joel has joined our ever-growing list of long-term injuries, so the squad is further reduced as we head towards the winter. A mid-season recruitment drive may be in order…

BOB – Sheero, Rocco, Greg, Scooby, Billy, Macca, Colin, Bryan, Luxury, Jeff, Matt, Joel, Jason.