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With the air as warm as the hopes and dreams of mothers awaiting some quality free time away from the kids, Finchampstead Vets took a team to Elstead with either incredibly clever or stupid partners looking for success on the football field. Would the day of neglecting Mother’s Day prove to be worth it? Or would the travelling risk takers have a double dose of misery on their hands?

After a thorough warm up led by John Wilson, Finch Vets seamlessly took control of the game. The starting 11 passed with ease, shut down players, and were creating opportunities in the early stages.

With George starting in CM, wolfy and James playing there too and breaking up play, he laid the ball to Stu who sent it wide to Rishi on the left. With some dazzling feet, Rishi swept the ball across goal for both Neil and Martin to be only inches away to putting the ball into the net! Martin knowing he had more pace if needed it, just not now!

Finch dominated in possession and with Gazza upfront, some good link up play was seen between Gaz and Oli who had obviously revised his ‘long shot policy’ and played balls in behind for fun! The goal was coming…surely!

Amid this first half it was also overshadowed by controversy, how has our youngest player injured himself, especially with such a through warm up? George was struggling and made massive impact in the game, this was going to be a big miss!!

After 15 minutes and Elstead dazzled by the play of a team averaging 92 (or just the sun in their eyes) the ball was lashed home by Stu at the edge of the area, 1-0 Finch, and more to come they thought! The first half followed the same trend and with Christian, John and Tom at the back keeping Elstead at bay the Vets knew this game was theirs!

With the ref straight from the set of dad’s army and needing his half team tea, the game was stopped for the interval.

Now, with such a good half it seemed there was not much to be said at half time, apart from take more chances and shoot on site! Maybe we should have talked more and shouldn’t have been so cocky!!

Second half began, and Elstead came out like a new team, rejunivated by some miracle to compact the midfield and spray balls to wings that finch found hard to cover! Had they seen our team sheet with ages, did they have the same tea as the ref, what ever it was it was working!

As finch struggled to break up play, and James and Wolfy working overtime in the middle, it was clear a goal could be coming. As finch looked to counter Elstead managed to scramble the ball back, and as one of their players looked to slice the ball high and wide from 30 yards, it eventually ended up in the eye line of the sun and spun its way into the back of the net! 1-1!

Maybe with the sun in their eyes or the thoughts of angry wife’s at home, Finch were struggling to get a foothold on the game! As the team made some substitutions (4358 substitutions into total) the teams energy and shape started to resemble jelly, and boy o boy, these Elstead players thrived on a bit of pudding!!

Finch pressed hard and were leaving gaps in behind for Elstead to find! But, with Neil back on and upfront he found himself 1 on 1 with the defender! A slight dip of the shoulder (or fall) he got in behind the back four and found himself with just the keeper to beat, this is it,…surely……he can’t miss…..just place it…..AGONISINGLY OVER!

With Finch fitness struggling and the shape with so many substitutions becoming like a chess game for masters, Elstead went straight up the other end, and from a wide position delivered a tailored cross into the box for their attacker to header it as hard as he could into ground, and for the ball to trickle into the back of the finch net…2-1!!

Finch knew they had to go for it, and in the 89th minute, Martin declared to the team that he can be speedy, just when it mattered! Well Martin, it mattered! With this, he closed down the back four and placed a last chance pass across the box, but with the team in awe of his pace and shellshocked none could react and the ball trickled out!

The ref now partial to his tea and needing a pick me up, ended the game, and finches dream of an away win when the men needed a decent excuse to be away for the day from their wives were gone! But, all Vets worked for each other, got a run out, and got away from the kids for 5 hours with a well located fixture in the middle of nowhere, so not all bad!!

We go again!! Up the VETS!!

MOTD - Christian