MATCH REPORT : RED at Gracemount, 4th September 2010

Followers of the P5 RED team will know from experience that supporting the REDs is not easy.  Some things will always be - night follows day, chickens lay eggs, dogs chase cats and RED team like a challenge.  At half time on Saturday the RED team gave themselves their biggest challenge to date.  What followed was quite incredible.  Take a seat and hold on tight...

First game of the season, nice warm up, team looked good.  Spoilt for keeping choices today - Danny started in goals, Ollie and Alex A in defence, Struan, Kjartan and Eyvindur in midfield and Ali the Goalie starting as the striker.  Things looked great.

A brisk start from Gracemount saw RED team under some early pressure.  Great tackling from Ollie and nice support play from Kjartan kept things at 0-0 but very poor marking from a throw deep in RED half gives Gracemount a chance which they take.  0-1 GRACEMOUNT

Another poor start from the RED team.  More Gracemount pressure and the RED team are hanging on.  Danny was busy and pulled of a couple of fine early saves.  Suddenly a quick break from Struan sets up Ali, who calmly runs in on goal and fires home.  Against the run of play but we like it.  1-1

A nice goal against the run of play, RED team started poorly but quickly got themselves back into the game.  No more mega-comebacks required.

Wrong.

Gracemount tore into the RED team, which collapsed, lost its shape and in a blur lost a pile of goals.  Six to be exact. 1-6 GRACEMOUNT.

A shellshocked coaching team constantly rearranged the team to try to stem the flow but it was hopeless.  Danny moved into midfield to try to shore things up, Ali took over in goals, Sasha joined the action as the tough tackling midfield enforcer, Struan moved upfront but it was utterly hopeless.  RED team fell apart.

"You are a wee bit better than the team we played last week", said one local "we score 18 against them but at least you have been in our half a couple of times".

Actually REDs had a couple of chances but the Gracemount goalie was in fine form, saving anything that came his way.  Sloppy finishing and poor defending from the RED team saw the half end with Gracemount leading 6-1.

Halftime 1-6 GRACEMOUNT.

At half time the RED coaching team tore into the RED team.  At one point Neil might actually have been shouting.  Too many players walking around dreaming rather than getting back to help in defence, too many pretending to mark players but not really doing anything, too many players deciding to be strikers, too many problems to list here.  One quick roasting later followed by a "come on REDs" huddle and the second half was underway.  "We will win the second half..." said Eyvindur with a smile as he trotted onto the pitch.


What REDs needed was a nice early goal and if they got another a 3-6 scoreline wouldn't look too bad.  Ali was on goals, Ollie and Sasha at the back, Danny, Kjartan and Eyvindur in midfield and Struan up top as the lone striker.  Kick-off and the ball breaks to Struan who flies through the Gracemount midfield, round the last defender and...hits the post!  The rebound...oh just past the post.  What a chance!


Suddenly the RED team were alive.  A minute later great work from Evyindur puts Struan through and this time the ball is in the net and the celebration a simple "COME ON REDs".  2-6 GRACEMOUNT.


Alive and kicking.  Sasha was everywhere looking for the ball.  Kjartan was working hard and snuffing out danger in midfield.  Ollie was looking to bring the ball out sensibly and Eyvindur was a constant threat.  Another great passage of play in midfield resulted in Struan having the ball on the edge of the box.  A great one-two with Eyvindur and Struan slots the ball home. 3-6 GRACEMOUNT.


That looks a lot better.  Alex joins the midfield and is in fine for tackling anything that moves and setting up some dangerous attacks with some strong running.  More fine play from Danny and Kjartan sets up Struan who holds off two robust challenges to fire into the net. 4-6 GRACEMOUNT.


This couldn't be another one of those epic fightbacks - could it?


Another wave of RED attacks follow but the Gracemount goalkeeper is in excellent form.  Kjratan and Danny have great shots well saved.  Eyvindur fires just past the post and Sasha has an effort cleared.  Nice pressure from RED team.

A great run from Danny results in a RED corner.  A nicely worked move between Danny and Struan results in Struan shooting home from a tight angle. Wow. 5-6 GRACEMOUNT.


It wasn't all one-way.  After this whirlwind start to the second half the RED team dipped a little.  Ollie was outstanding, tackling, passing and organising the defence.  Ali the Goalie had two excellent saves and Kjartan cleared one certain goal - a great reward for working hard in midfield.  But suddenly the comeback was over.  A great run down the left from Gracemount midfield drew three RED players over to him.  An excellent cross then found three free Gracemount players at the back post and the ball was fired home. 5-7 GRACEMOUNT.


The RED team looked disappointed and a little tired.  It took a huge effort to get back to one goal down but with time running out that looked to be the winning goal.  An exhausted Danny swapped with Ali who looked to give the midfield some renewed energy.


One final effort.  Ali played the ball out to Eyvindur who cut inside and passed to Struan.  A great run from Kjartan confused the defence, Struan controlled the ball and fired it into the bottom corner.  6-7 GRACEMOUNT.


The referee indicated that we were now in stoppage time (some meaty clearances had rolled miles down the big hill).  We needed one more chance - would there be time?  Gracemount charged forward.  Ollie tackled.  Alex cleared it up the pitch to the halfway line.  Struan collected the ball, skipped passed the defender and through on goal.  Please...oh what a save from the goalie! The rebound? Blocked.  The rebound from the rebound?  Struan prods it to the edge of the area...and the fast arriving Eyvindur smashes it into the net. 7-7!

(Seven - Seven !)

The ref blows for full time and the RED coaching team sit down exhausted!


A fantastic comeback from the RED team - extremely poor in the first half and unbelievably brilliant in the second!  Well done to Ali, Danny, Struan, Kjartan, Alex, Eyvindur, Ollie and Sasha.

But how do we solve the poor first half performances that have become standard for RED team since beginning of P4?