The Albion FC

These freaking afternoon matches never seem to sit well with me. I make my fried chicken Saturday night so I can eat the leftovers for breakfast, damnit, not lunch. It just throws me off my game. But you’re here for a match report aren’t you, not the dietary habits of an aging keeper with a slowly expanding waistline. We played Pelo in the Marcus Lipton Cup semi-final. See below for how we fared…it’s finger lickin’ good!

The Albion got a rare lazy Sunday morning off as the semi-final against Division rivals Pelo in the SSFL’s Marcus Lipton Cup was scheduled for a 2pm kickoff. Many Albiones took this opportunity to celebrate Saturday night, including Albion lead scorer Rich who was too hungover to talk to the 4 men packed into his car but entertained us all with a call to his buddy about the previous night’s exploits (well played, sir).

McPhee: A happier ending this time

Although some players would remember the grounds as where Dave tried his best to avoid marriage by conveniently breaking his wedding ring finger a week before his wedding in a loss to then Division 2 (or 3?) club De Novo in prior cup Semi-Final two years ago, this keeper was intent on burying the demons and earning an Albion place in the final of a major cup for the 2nd straight year. Our opponents on this day were Pelo, a team we had yet to face in the league this season and who started the season poorly but who have been surging of late. This game would clearly be more challenging than the forfeit they gave us in league play several weeks prior because they couldn’t secure a pitch.

Nick was in proper form in the changing room, complaining about anything and everything. Yeah yeah, this is par for the course, but normally he’s too damn hung over to be able to speak too loudly. Unfortunately, the late kickoff ensured he had an extra couple of hours to sober up and that meant more strident complaining than usual. During Jade’s usual dressing room speech, worthy of a stuttering King of England, the absence of the league belladonna Vilem was keenly missed…nothing gets us more psyched up than the death glare of the Gaffer towards Vilem after a perfectly timed bad joke muttered to whatever poor soul is sitting next to the hairest man in the SSFL.

Albion’s prior experience with big cup games seemed to have payed off for us as the usual advanced round game jitters were notably absent. Just another day for the boys in black and blue. While the Albion were warming up, the long legged Pelo squad were chit chatting and noodling around with the ball…not the best way to get ready for a strong start, as we well know. As the wind picked up, we kicked off and the third semi-final for Albion in 12 months got started. While I was tending net, Will, Stew, Dunc, and Don made up the defense. Midfield was staffed by Nick, Matt, Jindy, and Andy while the Dynamic Duo, Steve and Rich, played up front.

The first half was extremely physical with both teams really committing to the ball and going all out. I honestly can’t remember too much about what happened during the first half on the other end of the pitch, all I recall is the Pelo keeper blasting kicks from 18 yard box to 18 yard box and me proving to Jade that 3 months off with a shattered finger and nose surgery wasn’t going to keep me from getting stuck in.

Thomas: Coach Reeves would have been proud of the Black Salmon and the rest of the Albion D

My old high school coach used to yell at us, “It’s a stick o’ dynamite! Stick o’ dynamite! Git that ball outta there!” And he was right….Pelo couldn’t blow up with the way the Albion D shut things down. The best defense in the league played a physical game and repeatedly closed down Too Tall Jones and the other Pelo attackers. The Black Salmon proved that while he’s still not the most comfortable yet at right back, he’s got the willpower and talent to make it work.

The first half ended with no score despite some drama on both ends. I made several saves coming out on long balls which seemed to be the only way Pelo could get the ball past our back four. I went thru one Pelo striker while collecting a high thru ball and then received a boot to the chest and chin (which earned Too Tall Jones a yellow) while clearing another. A third long ball that bounced at the edge of the area was almost a huge embarrassment for me as I was only just able to jump and tip the ball over the head of the leaping 6’6″ Pelo striker, after which my D cleared it.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Albion were putting on a clinic for Pelo. The midfield was passing well with Steve controlling the ball superbly and Rich really teaching the Pelo defense how to push people around. Rich blasted a free kick which was just tipped onto the bar by a diving Pelo goalie, keeping the score nil-nil. It was tough going, but we were giving it hard (that’s what she said) and went into the second half with full confidence.

Lauder: A return to form

The second half was all Albion. The only chance from Pelo came from a flick on which landed at the foot of a Pelo striker who struck the ball off the post. Otherwise the legendary Albion D cleaned house and send Pelo packing. Stew had to take matters into his own hands after receiving a headbutt from Too Tall Jones and accidentally punished him with a crushing late tackle. Vintage Lauder, too long absent. It earned him a yellow card but restored a little place in my heart. Welcome home, Stew, welcome home.

The rest of Albion was really clicking. Matt was running circles around Pelo, despite getting flattened several times. Andy, Nick, and Jindy were all positioning themselves brilliantly and distributing the ball around the pitch. There were moments where we looked like Barcelona to Pelo’s Arsenal.

Albion got on the scorecard after 75 minutes when a Pelo defender flailed an arm in the air and smacked the ball in the box. Despite massive complaints from Pelo, a penalty was awarded and Jindy dutifully stood in for Vilem, burying the ball in the corner of the net, well out of reach of the Pelo keeper. A very worthy strike from the reigning Albion penalty kick champion, runner-up. The Champion (ahem, me) could have done it barefoot, but Jindy did well with his attempt.

Albion had more attempts in the second half but nothing else found the back of the net. At the 80 minute mark, Jade put in Dave and the recently recovered from injury Myles, both of whom had chances on goal. Myles had a good strike slide wide of the mark while Dave had a brilliant run from the half line, cheered on by Papa McPhee, which left him unmarked and screaming for the ball at the top of the area. Rich, uh, couldn’t hear him tho, and Dave didn’t have the chance for glory.

Final whistle blew and Albion won the match 1-0. A big win against a physical and hard playing Pelo squad. We have a regular league matching against them again in a couple of weeks and it should be interesting, to say the least. For now tho, Albion will savor this semi-final win and are looking forward to the Marcus Lipton Cup final in May at Sutton United’s home ground.