On a splendid Saturday in October, Witan 1s took a break from their title aspirations to tackle their first cup game of the season.
Skipper Jonny Baxter was hoping to turn the tides on Witan 1s fortunes in the cup in previous years, recalling that he had only won one cup game in his decades of service for the club *cue the world's smallest violin*.
Nevertheless, the warm ups began in an extra strict manner citing that we need to look "more pro" given the opposition were playing in the league above us. Upon receiving the news of the infamous referee that would be governing the match, Jez was devastated to hear she did not fit the middle aged male demographic he had become so accustomed to flirting with. Regardless, with a wave of good performances behind them, Witan 1s were confident of showing their credentials for the league above.
The match started in promising fashion as shortly after kick-off, Dele floated a delightful ball over the left-back's head for Bangers to chase, who then fired a testing cross/shot for the Seds back line to deal with. For Dele, however, it would be all downhill from here. With 10 minutes on the clock, a scene reminiscent of Bambi on ice unfolds as Dele's studs fail to penetrate the Barn Elms turf (bulking season still needs some more progress), no harm done on this occasion but this would serve as foreshadowing for what was to come.
Meanwhile, sublime tiki-taka passing between Fede, Bangers and Mikey led to a fierce shot from the latter which would be well saved at the near post. Threatening crosses from Jez and Pagey provided heading chances for the likes of Jonny and Bangers, but to no avail. After approximately 25 minutes, Dele proceeds to play a nice pass from the back whilst simultaneously folding his ankle in half under zero pressure from the opposition.
A smart decision would probably have been to get subbed off to avoid risk of further injury, however with Witan's traditional shortage of centre backs at the club, there was no one to replace him so he soldiered on. To add to Witan's frustrations, Deybson struggled to contain his excitement in getting forward leading to being in an offside for the majority of the first half.
Despite the crisp passing and threatening play from Witan, the latter stages of the first half saw a long ball down the right hand side for the opposition striker to chase. In spite of good tracking from Danny, a snap shot across goal took Elliott off guard and it was 1-0 to Seds as the ball nestled in the bottom corner. Witan walk off the pitch at the half-time whistle feeling the opening goal was against the run of play. Additionally, a post match admission revealed that Bangers' deep respect for referees was taken to the next level just before halftime as he elected to shake hands with her.. *clears throat* bosom whilst on the turn. A valiant effort to take over from Jez's usual flirting duties and get in the good books going into the second half behind on the scoreboard.
It may well have worked because amongst the ref's questionable decisions was to award a throw-in to the opposition in the 2nd half when the ball clearly went out for a corner in full visibility of all 22 players on the field. Witan's hopes were further lifted as James and Michael exhibited their 99 rated chemistry with some slick passing to feed Deybson who in turn plays a quick 1-2 with Bangers, charges into the box only to be taken down by the opposition defender. A loud cry of anguish from Deybson got the ref's attention who quickly pointed to the penalty spot. Up steps Deybson to slot the penalty away in ice cold fashion, 1-1.
Witan were feeling confident and on the front foot, and their hard work nearly paid off. Shortly into the second half, the ball found its way to Jonny in front of the opposition goal where a classic Sunday league goalmouth scramble would transpire, including two point blank shots from Jonny blocked by numerous bodies on the line. It would turn out to be one of a number of frustrating moments for Witan that day, a few minutes later Pagey successfully attempted to shield the ball for a corner, the ref decided she wasn't a fan of either team receiving corners and gave a goal kick.
Approximately 60 minutes into the match, a close call for Witan came about as Elliot attempted to claim a ball over the top only to almost have his head taken clean off by the burly opposition striker. Both teams in uproar over the near-disaster, but fortunately there was too much doubt in the ref's mind to give the penalty, goal kick awarded. Adding to the refereeing shenanigans, she also elected to get up close and personal with Mikey during an throw-in aerial battle, maybe she mistook him for Bangers and was trying to return the 'favour' from the first half.
It also wouldn't be a normal Witan match without some shenanigans from Fede who chose to sub himself off with a poorly toe only to change his mind 10 seconds later, all of this unbeknownst to Jonny at the time.
With the game evenly poised, both sides were eager to gain the physical and mental edge. None more than Danny Payne evidently, as an opposition attacker had unwillingly entered a Greco-Roman wrestling match with Danny, wrong place wrong time for this unlucky soul. The yellow card was branded the ref, approved by Bangers also. With the game still in the balance after 85 minutes, disaster would strike at the back against a defensive backline that has been solid all season. A crippled Dele lacking in strength would proceed to poke the ball out of possession of one striker directly into the path of another right in front of goal, leaving little chance for Elliot despite a strong effort to close him down, 2-1 to Seds.
Witan spirits were hurt, but not dead. The pressure was piled onto Seds for the remaining time, who were feeling squeeze and defending staunchly. A long freekick in the dying minutes was crossed in by Ben Wright which somehow managed to bounce over the keeper's head and strike the top of crossbar before going out behind.
A close call for Seds with multiple Witan men eagerly waiting for the ball to drop their way. Alas, the final whistle blew and Witan were out of the cup in the first round, a sight that Jonny was used to but took solace knowing that the game could have easily gone the other way. A disappointing day at the office for the 1s, but fortunately the result does not have an impact on the challenge for the league title in what will surely be a promising campaign.
Written by Ben de La Fuente
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