Chiswick Is Blue II: Hell Freezes Over

GPR 6 - 3 Chiswick Celtics Reserves

The mighty Salads did the double over friendly rivals Chiswick Celtic (Reserves) in a strange encounter that included goals in record time, early morning drama and a friendly two fingered salute from the ref after a handball was waved away. The conditions didn’t make it easy, but after dominating the first 15 minutes, the result was a foregone conclusion before half time.

Having been told by my boss that “I walked the dog in Gunnersbury the other day, there’s no f***ing way you can play on your pitch”, I was in cheerful spirits as I made my way down to the ground.

Despite the warning of freezing temperatures, the sky was a glorious blue and I welcomed the sun’s intensity as a counter to the bitter chill.

I wasn’t the only one. The ground beneath our feet was half frozen. Defrosting the surface in time would be a challenge, but not impossible. Things were looking up. That was until we saw our pitch.

Imagine the ripples you’d see on chocolate frosting. Now swap it out for mud, and half-frozen pools of water, and you can start to get the picture. It was tragically unplayable.

The ref agreed. A new pitch was located and the race was on to take down the nets, move to the new pitch and get it ready.

It definitely affected our pre-game warmup, but you wouldn’t have known it. From the kickoff, we pressed high, and Marcus won the ball, passed to Rory, who slotted through to Jeff. He dispatched his first bite at the cherry with ease to put us 1-0 up in seconds, a club record.

Within five minutes, it was 2-0. A long free kick from Oli landed at Marcus’ feet via a flick from Andre. His first touch lobbed two defenders, and, 25 yards out, he whacked the ball on the volley to score his best goal in a GPR shirt, a goal of the season front runner. The keeper stood rooted to the spot.

We were looking unplayable. Andre and Josh commanded the ball, with the back line (save for Aman, who must have upset the rest of the lads, as he barely got a touch of the ball in the first half) pushing high and squeezing Celtic into their half.

And it paid off. When the keeper tried to play the ball out, Rory was alert to it, and it bobbled straight to him. No surprises for what happened next. 3-0.

It could have been four without reply before long. Josh and Robin were finding plenty of space on the left, and their crosses into the box almost connected with the forwards on a couple of occasions.

Things turned however, as Celtic used their impressive counter attacking ability to clinical effect. A long ball found their striker, and he darted in for a good finish.

We were still the dominant side, although we had been given a strict warning. Rory almost flicked Marcus through on goal, but to no avail. Some link up play between Andre and Robin almost put Marcus in again, but the keeper was equal to it.

Gavin, Alan, and Dan all had chances to score before the half, but two sharp saves and a goal line clearance meant we went into the break knowing things could turn at any point.

The next goal would be crucial. We wouldn’t have to wait long to find out who it would go to. Shortly after the restart, a deep corner from Robin fell to Marcus’ boot, the keeper parried it, and it sat up in the danger zone.

Alan reached it first. He stuck out a leg and this time, it went in. It may not have been the most glamorous goal, but they all count and this one was crucial, as it settled the game.

Having made the point at half time that he was in fact on our team, Aman was next up to impact the game. He won the ball high, and darted into the box. A sharp ball across the face of the goal escaped Marcus’ outstretched boot, but not Rory’s. 5-1.

The game had lost a bit of the intensity of the first 15 minutes, with the final result seemingly accepted by both sides. Despite this, Celtic made the most of the few clear cut chances they had, and after another break it was 5-2.

The game held like this for a while, but a smart through ball from Rory gave Jeff plenty of open road to run at the keeper. He didn’t need a second invitation, and buried the ball into the net for our sixth.

With the last kick of the game, Celtic scored again. A couple of the goals could have been avoided, but between a few hangovers and the impressive overall performance of the team, we’ll gladly take it.

We’re on the charge now, and will need to keep taking full points with the fierce competition around us. Today was a good response to the defeat last week, and we’ll be ready to go again next time.

MOTM 💫 = With his impressive performance in attack and defence, including a through ball that made the entire pitch look on in awe, Andre gets MOTM in his first competitive start for the club.

DOTD 👀 = Our usual pitch.