matchreport - 15-Sep-07 - hotspurs v. gaulois
Team Hotspurs
Author Steve Clark
Mercy
Were I the French manager, I would speak fluent French, enjoy good red wine and be extremely annoyed that I??d lost to the Hotspurs on Saturday. This was a game that could easily have been over at half-time; such was the dominance of the French, and had they been more clinical in front of goal, or met Andy on a bad day, they would surely have won this. In fact Andy takes the man-of-the-match award for making some fantastic saves and keeping us in the game; back to his best!rnrnThe large PSA pitch and the hot, humid conditions allowed the young French side to exploit the gaps that we were leaving in central midfield and put extreme pressure on our back four. This was despite a dream start when Paul Martins was on hand to prod the ball over the line from a throw-in that was allowed to bounce in the area. The French took a deserved 2-1 lead though, and could have gone in at half-time 4 or 5 up. The manager was forced to reorganise the team on the half hour mark to try to stem the tide. We started getting back into the game towards the end of the half and a cleverly dinked corner from Binnsy and a nod from Ali allowed Esad to score a simple equaliser. rnrnAmazingly at the break it was 2-2 and the lads, quite honestly, were knackered. Several were running on empty.rnrnA change at half-time saw Barnsy coming into central midfield, although, ironically, it was a forced change when Paul Ducie decided to give the French centre-forward a ??glasgee kiss??, meaning Binnsy dropped into central defence and Ali came into the middle, that changed the complexion of the game. Despite the one man advantage the French were now coming up against a very resolute defensive unit. With 15 minutes to go Ali played a simple ball to Paul Martin, who hit a match-winning killer-ball through the heart of the French backline to allow Esad to race clear and emphatically win the game for us.rnrnRough justice for this very good young French side, but we are happy with the 3 points. It not often we get a break??although we have now used up our ??Get Out Of ail Free? card!rnrnrn
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