No.19 - Sat. 7th November 2009; Middlesex County Football League Senior Open Cup Round 2; 2pm at the Zoom Leisure Centre, Kodak Sports Ground, Harrow View, Harrow, Middx.
Matchday images (20) >view> Kodak (Harrow) FC (2) 4 Indian Gymkhana (3) 4 6-6 AFTER EXTRA TIME - 1-4 pens The cup floweth over!
Seeing is believing!! As we arrived at the Zoom Leisure Centre no-one could have predicted what was in store for us today: not even with the largest telephoto lens! Without doubt this was one of the most surreal hopping trips we have made in ages and will last in the memory for a long time. Before continuing I make no apologies for the photographic references enclosed in this action packed ramble - after all we are talking about football grounds in focus here! Many of you will have already been here before as part of the recent highly successful Saturday morning Middlesex County League Hop matches so I will add a minimal ground description. Decked out in contrasting colours of black and yellow (matching the company's logo) the sports facilities are only a stone's throw from Harrow and are most impressive. Access through the Leisure Centre complex leads to a tidy Social Club complete with well-stocked bar and trophy cabinet, laden with shiny pots in one corner. The dressing rooms are found outside in a separate building running at right angles to this building. There are several pitches (some mini) on this multi-sports site with the main one on the far side of the large playing field. Sadly there is no dedicated cover apart from the dug-outs near the half-way line. As the players came out of the changing room rooms we made our way from the patio area across the field to our chosen pitch-side seats (well the top of the willow tree lined grassy bank) to the right of the dug-outs. Panning around from this idyllic setting you get a terrific panoramic view of the playing area, landscape and the skyline on the horizon. Appropriately to the left a large yellow flag was flying proudly at full mast above the clubhouse behind which the large Kodak factory made for a striking contrast with its imposing backdrop, an apect that was to feature later in many of the match photos. Whilst scribbling down the essential match facts on our FGIF Stats Card we ear-wigged on the home players' team talk, the likes of which we have never heard before and will seldom ever hear again. In an effort to polarize their efforts the manager gave a rather different motivational speech to his charges. It didn't sound good as they tried hard to process his thoughts into a more intelligible form. The players looked to have switched off already. The language was choice and colourful, punctuated with plenty of f stops thrown in for good measure. In fact at one point we tried hard not to attract attention to ourselves by laughing out loud as the f count grew in a predictable transparent manner! Amongst other things it was a real eye-opener to learn that only five players had turned up to training earlier during the week: 'As individuals you're OK but as a team you're s**t!' roared the unhappy boss. In fact this is the only phrase that I can highlight here without geting into trouble with the PC police. In essence I can safely say that the gaffer saw victory for his pupils as a major priority setting. It seemed that some of his players still had an element of red-eye about their persona, no doubt still feeling the effects of a good time on the ale the night before! Some did look off colour and in need of a dark room to lie in. It didn't create a great image before play started I must say. It seemed on paper that the visitors who were flying high in the Premier Division would clearly ease through this Senior Open Cup second round tie but as things developed this didn't turn out to be such a black and white contest as we had first imagined. Kodak had the best of the early stages with a series of shots on goal. It was appropriate then that Peter Neal (19) broke the deadlock when he put the K's ahead after a well-placed shot beat Derrick Smith in the visitors goal. The lead was doubled moments later when, against the run of play, the burly striker lobbed the keeper from a tight wide-angle on the right (23); it was a composed effort. The gaffer was looking much happier by now but this didn't last very long as Gymkhana made a miraculous comeback in a frenetic ten minute spell just before half-time. Young Tessfa Lowe (remember this name), built with a superbly honed athletic frame, showed lightning refexes by creating a perfect opening to pull one back from close range (33). It didn't take long for him to bag another when he made a late run to meet the ball from a corner with a superb diving header giving Worley, in goal, no chance of getting down to it. The Kodak defence was starting to lose its shape when the lads from Osterley took the lead. Again it was another snap shot from inside the six yard area, this time from the bearded Khalas who, quick as a flash, took advantage of some poor defending to slide in and shoot through a group of players and put his team into the lead for the first time. As expected the respective half-time talks were a repeat of those already previewed. In sharp contrast the visiting manager was most upbeat, positive and measured in his words unlike his counterpart who had returned to his predictable rant and rave style. This time his players retaliated to his negative threats and responded with more of the same foul and abusive language: it only seemed to magnify things as they were all now suffering from a blurred vision! Within minutes of the re-start it was the bullish, shaven-headed Lee Worley (48) who led a mini revival when he snatched an equaliser with an easy tap-in that cannoned off the post. Ten minutes later and the game swung back in the favour of the hosts when Peter Neal shrugged off his marker and shot from the edge of the box. He couldn't hide his feelings as he peeled away in celebration after scoring what was his first ever hat-trick for the club. Could his side hang on to their lead this time? You've guessed it: no! With some woeful defending it was the influentual Lowe (71) wearing the number ten shirt who got on the end of a cross with a side foot strike from ten yards out to put his team back in the tie. It was a gift of chance - with so much daylight between him and his marker all he had to do was point and shoot. With deserved praise from his colleagues he had notched the second hat-trick of the tie and in doing so grabbed an important leveller in this see-saw game. At 4-4 this was unbelievable, breath-taking stuff!! We needed a cuppa to re-charge our drained batteries. With things in the balance an added bonus of thirty further minutes was necessary as the sides entered extra-time. It was such compelling viewing we couldn't wait. By now it was almost four o'clock and the light was fading fast. But which way would the game go? You just couldn't hazard a guess. The Gymkhana boys, dressed in their distinctive red and white striped shirts, decided enough was enough and stamped their authority on the game by netting twice during this first period. As before Lowe (102) (adjudged man of the match) showed his class by turning sharply on the edge of the 'D' to drill the ball with a hard drive that easily found the back of the net. There was hardly enough time to say FGIF Album Gallery when Khamal Khan (104) scored an absolute stunning goal (the best of the game in my opinion) with a shot from the corner of the penalty area that bent into the top right hand corner of the goal beyond Worley. It was a curly shot that Worley didn't expect. The homesters dressed in their yellow shirts and black shorts looked stunned: it left them rattled and they started to take out their frustrations on their opponents. Not a pretty picture and completely against the grain of any Respect campaign! With tackles flying in left, right and centre the referee suspended play temporarily as he booked Worley and Khan for obvious dissent. In fact K's keeper was lucky not to get sent off as his anger got the better of him following a one-on-one with the Gymkhana forward. The tackler had definitely got on the keeper's (optic) nerves as his emotion reflected. The league leaders looked to be on their way into round three but Kodak to their credit made one last-ditch effort to restore parity before their opponents could pull their defensive shutters down in this unmissable match. Towards the end of the game and in fading light the manager added depth to their play by pushing more bodies up the field to strengthen the attack and provide more backup. This turned out to be the perfect adjustment to his game plan. It was Ben Tacon (110), a Desperate Dan look-a-like, that pushed up furthest at a free-kick to create havoc in the 'Indian defence. The distinguished figure, with his balding head and large pot belly, managed to haul his hefty frame highest in a goal mouth scramble and with his large forehead, similar in size to that of any contemporary Russian boxing champion, head home. I couldn't quite believe it and had to check with the anxious home physio, pacing in front of me on the touchline, that the score with just under 10 minutes of play left was now 5-6! It was: what a turn on! But the best was yet to come (a bit of an understatement under the freak circumstances really). With only 30 seconds remaining the K's sent everyone down to the far end of the pitch for a corner. As the ball swirled in the air James Geary rose to head the ball downwards past a mellee of defenders including keeper Smith whose vision had been badly obscured by those in front of him. Although it was only a weak connection it was enough. By the time the shot stopper realised where the ball was he could do nothing as it agonisingly, for him, trickled over the line. And so amazingly after just over 120 minutes of play the K's had not only cropped their visitors lead but had ended the game level showing great resolution in the process. Darkness was fast approaching now as the match entered a decider from the penalty spot in the dim light. In the resultant shoot-out the K's gifted their West London opponents with the game, netting only once as keeper Smith made two excellent saves to deny them victory by a three goal margin to help send his team through to the next round. On balance this had been a cracking game of football. It's not every week you get to see twelve goals, seventeen if you include penalties, in a match. Did I just say that? This total equalled my highest ever seen in a game...well almost (if you allow extra time that is)! Travellers to MCL matches well know how charged these physical contests can be. I cannot finish without saying how impressed we were with the match referee today. John Reid is a name you should bear in mind for the future. The young whistler with the distinctive braided hair was one of the best we have seen on our MCL travels. Calm, collected and confident would best describe this talented official who controlled the game magnificently. Any lesser mortal would have cracked under the immense pressure, lost his rag and being unable to diffuse the more difficult situations and would no doubt have called the whole thing off. It really was that close at times, believe me! Thank goodness Mr Reid was in the middle today and so say all of us from racing HQ! The game, played on a well grassed surface in cloudy conditions with some sunny intervals, was attended for the most part by a mere ten spectators. However this number increased after half-time when the players from the Reserves game (also at home on the second pitch) offered their support following a very late call-off. News filtered through that the away team had arrived thirty minutes after the scheduled kick-off time and before they had got changed the referee decided to pull the plug: strange one! I was surprised that a programme wasn't issued for our game but it didn't take the gloss of our visit. I was reliably informed by fellow hopper and FGIF programme expert Keith Aslan the next day by E-Mail that: '...with the notable exception of Southall who issue for all games, you will almost certainly not get a programme at a Middlesex League team for a cup tie. The simple reason being that it isn't compulsory to issue in any of the cups, just the league'. Cheers Keith for the info! With a range of snacks available from the bar during the afternoon we were well catered for. Incidentally these were dispensed by a most enthusiastic barman who we learned during conversation was a fanatical Hull City fan: say no more! As we made our way home we still couldn't quite believe what we had seen. Quite appropriate then that the night sky was filled with colourful fireworks which exploded at regular intervals en route back home...it had been that sort of a day, a most eventful one. Ironically the next day I received an E-Mail from FGIF star snapper Gary Spooner with photos and news from his visit to watch a goalless Southern League game at Soham Town Rangers. Paul Roth, one our leading reporters, had also been in touch having experienced a call off at his MCL game at Southall to scupper his plans. Oh dear, I started to feel a bit guilty now... Hmm, sorry chaps, I can't hide my delight as the joys of free-scoring games make for some wonderful hopping memories! Scorers: (H) Neal (19; 23 and 55); Worley (44); Tacon (110); Geary (118) and (A) Lowe (33; 40; 71; 102); Awan (44); Kharas (104) Attendance: 10; Admission: N/A; Programme: None; Match rating: 5/5; Ground rating: 4/5 edited 13/11/09
