New Year Same Consistency
GPR 1 Chiswick Celtic 3
Back from Qatar and we’re ready to get back into it all over again. We may have continued 2023 as we left its predecessor but few can deny we are boring doing it. Then again, we keep doing the exact same thing, so who’s to say anymore? Yesterday’s Old Firm derby proved that we really are the most consistent team in the greater Middlesex area.
We started off brilliantly, keeping Celtics pinned back in their half with the home crowd making plenty of noise. A few new recruits were looking good and getting plenty of chat going, much to our delight. Sure enough, we made good on our early dominance as reliable hitman Rory rounded the keeper and smacked the ball home for 1-0. It was hard not to get carried away as the promise of a fresh beginning, topped off with a well-worked goal, seemed to loom over an as-of-yet underwhelming season. And then, it just kept getting better.
Celtic got into their groove and some high balls over the top led to some pressure, eventually resulting in a penalty for the away side. Michael Jordan once said that he would sometimes watch the same game footage 100 times if he thought it would improve his performance. Sunday’s captain, the ever-present and never-bashful Greg can be proud of himself for channelling Emi Martinez as he saved a penalty in fine style. Plenty of chat, putting off the player - football really did feel like it was coming home.
After that, the game was tight and frustrating for both sides as either could have put one in the back of the net. Brazilian maestro Bruno sat down one of the opposition with a nutmeg so filthy he decided to keep attempting it for the rest of the game. Some brilliant link-up play and commanding defending from new boys Dan and Julian made sure that we went into the half on top.
And then we got torn apart in the second half and, yeah, you can figure out the rest. We play brilliantly in spells but need to work on our stamina and discipline if we’re going to climb off the foot of the table. A lot of key injuries are looking like they might return soon enough, so with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work I will eventually be able to present a winning result, which is good from a personal perspective because writing a blog about losing every week is hard. But the love for The Salads never dies and we go again in two weeks.
MOTM 🏆 = Greg’s penalty save, adding to some phenomenal shot stopping on any other day would probably earn him the prestigious award, but for a newcomer Dan took control of the skies and led the team impressively, so we’re giving it to him this time round.
DOTD 💩 = our mentality. Honestly, so few individual mistakes, just need to keep our heads up when we concede and play on. If we did, we will start getting points to justify some of the performances.
