On a really blustery day up at Allen’s West, we took the field against the league champions, Billingham, who had deservedly beaten us the week before. This time Tim and Rog doubly emphasised the need for maintaining discipline, shape and commitment. Before the game even started, however, we were dealt a blow, when Wayne suffered a jarred finger warming up in goal. So Ste Farish deputised between the sticks and Wayne became our only outfield substitute. With three other starting players missing from the week before, winning this game was always going to be a tall ask.

The pattern of the game was quickly established with Billingham dominating possession and displaying skill and confidence on the ball. But like the first 25 minutes of last week’s game, our tactics were paying dividends. Not only were we thwarting their attacking possibilities in the final third of the field, we took an early lead, when their right back played Jamie and Bridgy onside. It was a marginal decision, and to be fair to Billingham, not the only one that did not go in their favour throughout the game. Jamie, clearly believing himself to be offside and expecting a whistle, half-heartedly ambled forward, and by the time what masquerades as brain cells clicked in, he was in a strong shooting position on his right foot, which has the venom and strength of a midgey’s kiss. He let fly with all the might of a butterfly sneeze and fortunately for us, their keeper kicked into the path of a retreating defender, who unwittingly found the ball ricocheting of his shin and into the net. Jamie will want to claim the goal, but there is as much chance of it being awarded to him, as Tottenham have of winning the Champions League Trophy next season: none whatsoever!! (Sorry, Tim, couldn’t resist!)

Rog has stressed all season that teams can be very vulnerable defensively, when they are on the attack and so it proved to be the case for us. From an attacking position in the Billingham half, a speculatively long clearance saw our defence caught napping and in two more touches, the score was 1 – 1. Deja-vu! Billingham now really applied the pressure and were stroking the ball around with confidence and incision. However, we did maintain our shape and our discipline and our resolute and dogged defensive formation stood strong, before we were awarded what can only be described as a fortunate penalty, which Matty H, who was a constant thorn in Billingham’s side throughout, dispatched with ease.

Jamie grabbed a brace of goals, one with his lethal right foot (!!!) and the other with the slightly stronger left, which he deserved for his commanding performance. His touch, control and time on the ball were a handful for the Billingham defenders, which was exemplified, when he decided to do a Bambi on Ice manouvre in the second half and went A over T in front of the Billingham bench, who cheered like they had won another trophy. Billingham always threatened and there was a lot of scrambled defending, but you could see Billingham’s frustrations, not least with the decisions not going their way, beginning to mount. We, as we seem wont to do, could have cleared a ball easily, decided not to, and they scored their second of the game, but it was too little, too late and the final score was 5 – 2.

Did I say 5 – 2? No, what I meant was, that the final score should’ve been 5 – 2, but we are a charitable side and Matty B, who had a superb game in midfield, decided to have a rare foray into the opposition’s 18 yard box (in truth, he probably hadn’t got back yet from an earlier corner) and with the whole goal to aim for, he reluctantly decided not to score, but to head it serenely past the post into the side netting. It was a header judged to perfection seemingly going in all the way until the last second. “Good on you, Matty, is what I say!” A rare demonstration of altruism.

This was a truly excellent team performance. Jinxy was back to his best in an unfamiliar position at right back. Duncan and Kevin were superb in the middle of our defence. Will and John tackled and ran their hearts out. Matty B was a rock in the centre and marshalled the midfield for us. Bridgy and then Wayne, when he came on, defended resolutely. Matty H, as I said earlier, teased and tormented and never stopped running. Ste had a huge game in goal and he will claim that it was an injured everything that prompted him to find touch with regular monotony, like a well-seasoned rugby fly-half, whenever he kicked the ball from hand. And that leaves Tiger; a name now that suits his style of play so well. To my mind, he is our most improved player of the year and his aggression and commitment at left back was simply magnificent.

But I have left the best till last. For the first time in a very long time, this was a team performance; there were no negative comments; everyone encouraged and stood shoulder to shoulder. This was not our strongest team on paper and yet we beat a very good footballing side with a last minute goalkeeper replacement, only one substitute, and players playing out of position and a central defence that has hardly played together. As the Americans would say: “Do the math!” What does it say about our team spirit on the day, our togetherness and our collective will? I’ll leave that rhetorical question in the air.

What Have We Learnt:

Hopefully everything that I have tried to encapsulate in my final paragraph and a point I have stressed time and again in this part of my match reports: together we are strong; divided we are weak. And that is my quote of the week as well.

Let’s finish the season off with a win, lads, next Tuesday against Stockton. Let’s keep the same spirit, the same positivity and the same sense of purpose.