Recap
A rain lashed morning greeted the sides for this top of the table clash and FCB lined up with Rob in goal, Chaz, Sean, Ally and Zaed the defensive quartet, Emeka, Olivier, Chris Parker and Alex in midfield with Ish and Nick up front.
Under tricky conditions FCB started well as usual against a side who played very direct so much so that, of the two, FCB looked more like the Spanish side. CM’s ageing and somewhat ’round’ defenders were having difficulty containing the likes of Olivier, Alex and Ish so it wasn’t long before the superior football paid off and Ish, back in the team after an exam last week, lobbed in a bizarre looking shot that dropped in under the bar. Shortly afterwards CM won a free kick and yes, you guessed it, punished FCB by arrowing it into the corner 1-1. The brewery men then spanked in a second within a minute from long range which did not go down well on the FCB bench. This setback plunged the lads into a 15 minute horror show as their play became littered with mistakes and players visibly flustered. However, as is becoming more and more evident this season, FCB regrouped, refocussed and fashioned an equaliser that left Chris Parker’s boot but cannoned off Alex’s back to fly into the net 2-2. There were no changes at the break as Rami and Lee felt things were stable enough and this faith was repaid as our French maverick put us into a 3-2 lead with a fine shot from outside the box. Ally then signalled to the bench that Chaz was complaining of feeling unwell which prompted a change, on came Silky as his replacement at right back and Zaed made way for Ben. It was a seamless change as Olivier struck his second and FCB’s fourth of the game to just about end it as a contest, however, he went from hero to villain as he picked up a second yellow card shortly after for an innocuous looking challenge in the centre circle and may have stayed on the field had he not manhandled the referee by patting his cheek (Olivier insisted he was just checking to see when the ref last shaved) but the red was shown and in Zinedine Zidane fashion he trudged from the field taking flak from CM’s players and gesticulating with the ref. The game wasn’t finished there though as CM scored a third from a ridiculous long range lob that caught Rob out and made the final 15 minutes or so a nerve jangling time for FCB who were of course down to 10 men. Further bookings were handed out to Silky (dissent), Emeka (retaliation) and Chris Parker, Nick and Alex but in fairness the lads didn’t deserve them as the ref was clearly making life difficult for FCB and CM were starting to try all the dirty tricks in the book, elbows, leg breaking tackles and even pushing Ally into Rob who went down from a heavy blow to the head but the brave, strong Scot showed CM how its done by getting to his feet and continuing. It was heart stopping drama then as, with about 5 minutes to play, CM whipped in a corner and the striker had a free header on the penalty spot which was going straight in but Silks, guarding the back post, stuck a leg out and deflected the shot away across the face of goal and out for another corner which this time was dealt with. This versatile defender who can score and stop goals should really have Jose Mourinho knocking on his door!! 3 point saver then as FCB went on to win the match and leapfrog CM in the table.
Man of the match Ally Renucci for a commanding, solid performance.
Also thanks to the guys who didn’t play but continue to support the team, everybody’s time comes.
