Pakefield Re-United Notes 4th October.

The match against Tudor FC on Saturday started in a very unusual way for Pakefield Reunited in a state of disorganisation; Harvey was delayed by having to make the return trip to Ellingham from two weeks ago to pick up his boots! With “Bambi” Michalski out for the next two months after twisting his knee, “Dippy” Dale away paintballing and “Skrimshaw” Scriggins also unavailable changes had to be made to the starting line up. “Tillsy” Tills came in for a start, picking up the moldy captains armband that had been left abandoned over the summer, and “Blue” Balls finally coming in from the sidelines to start as centre half. The fact that Tudor FC were also laughing at the state of disarray in the changing rooms seemed to sum up the day’s potential for a slip up…

However, “Crafty” Craft, living up to his name, showed a remarkable turn of phrase in the pre-match talk and set out what needed to be done. Using a game plan is something that always seems to flummox Pakefield but this week it appeared to be different as it seemed everybody was actually listening. Throughout the first half a disciplined performance from everybody saw some excellent football being played. Pakefield allowed Tudor to press forward and tackled well, even if “Tillsy” Tills did start suffering from oxygen deprivation as he closed on the half way line once or twice, with strong performances from all the back four to recover the ball. They then passed out through the active midfield of “Piglet” Graham and “Magic Rabbit” Harvey (A well deserved promotion after pulling his boots out of the hat) using “New Town” Harlow and “Blubber” Whale as excellent outlets. This was all very well but it relied on “Baldy” Coote to play a strong game in the centre up front. This he did with a match winning performance; two excellent finishes from good team approach play and many other strong challenges and good distribution belied his claims of a pulled “walking stick”. Yet this two goal lead was established in the first half with a strong following wind.

Therefore, the second half was sure to provide a totally different proposition (Fill in the appropriate cliché if feeling deprived of a real match report). The hal time team talk was again an opportunity for “Crafty” Craft to eruditely sum up the commitment of the whole team. Pakefield continued to be well organised but the long ball provided Tudor FC with several good chances. The defence held up well until a misjudged challenge at worst led to the award of a penalty. “Boris” Becker’s efforts to save the penalty again led to calls to the National Geological Society to confirm that an earthquake centred on Lowestoft was felt at about 3:42pm on Saturday 4th October. That Pakefield were shocked to see the success of his efforts may have led to them being flat footed and the rebound was scuffed in! However, the continued defensive effort, and good use of the out ball meant Pakefield ended the game with another good win on the road.

The debrief at the Ducthmans was got off to a good start as “Boris” Becker forgot the bridge was closed in his drug addled state, “Crafty” Craft was kept indoors for being a naughty boy and the first social of the year was finally organised. Next week, after a game against Lowestoft International at Normanston, will see an “Evening with the Lads” kick off at 4:30pm(ish) with the England game and food at the Dutchmans. Maybe “Micky” Broxup will stay around long enough to get the full picture of what happening this year – all welcome!!

TEAM: Becker, Tills, Punt, Ball (Coote), Chapman, Whale, Harvey, Craft, Graham, Harlow, Coote.

RESULT: Won 2-1 GOALS: Coote (2)

COMEDY VALUE: Changing Rooms, Referee’s “Hurry Up” Routine, Crafty being kept indoors

Thanks to all!