Winter 1998
After a six week break from serious competitive five-a-side football, Alltraders returned to the Crawley Leisure centre to meet their first opponents in this tournament, True Blues.
The team had to be hurridly re-organised due to the absence of Neil Leppard, who had a rush heating job to attend to. Graham Fiveash was also suffering from a bad cold and Kevin Burton hardly able to walk with a groin strain. Just the start needed for the all important first game of the season. Luckily, Ricky Fitzgerald was available to play, this being his first game for Alltraders.
So, the lineup was as follows:
Warren Fiveash - Goalkeeper
Paul Burton - Defence
Kevin Burton - Defence
Tim Leader - Midfield
Ricky Fitzgerald - Attack
Graham Fiveash - sub
The game started briskly with true Blue's settling quickly into the game. The opposition were very well organised and played the ball around well in the early stages of the game. Alltrader's lack of organisation was apparent after about a minute of the game when a huge hole appeared in the defence allowing a True Blue attacker no resistance as he advanced on goal and scored with precision.
From this point on, Alltraders struggled to get a grip on the game. However, they managed to match True Blues attacks and came close when Kevin Burton, still visibly struggling with a groin strain, managed to limp past the last defender and stab his shot against the post.
This move seemed to spur True Blues into immediate action, and stretched their lead two minutes later when Paul Burton was robbed of the ball with no covering defence. Again, the finish was clinical.
The game was slipping away from Alltaders. The opposition exploited the weakened side with some excellent moves always resulting with shots on target. Warren Fiveash in goal pulled off some dramatic saves to deny True Blues advancing their lead. However, two more quick goals followed before half time as Alltraders finally started to collapse under the pressure.
With Alltraders now four goals down, and the second half just about to start, True blues afforded the luxury of fielding two substitutes, one of which looked (and played) just like Ryan Giggs, just to rub more salt into the wounds. With almost immediate effect, the two new players made their impact on the game by creating a flowing move down the left flank leaving Alltraders stranded at the back with only Paul covring the defence. Again, the finish was clinical.
From the kick, Alltraders finally managed to create a move that cut through the True Blues midfield. Paul Burton took a quick throw to Ricky Fitzgerald who performed a cunning back flick perfectly into the path of Kevin Burton. With just the keeper to beat, Kevin cooly sidefooted the ball into the net for Alltraders first goal of the competition.
However, the celebrations didn't last long as almost immediatly from the kick, True Blues extended their goal tally to six to finish off a miserable night for Alltraders, this being their worst ever defeat.
Our only hope is that True Blues continue to play excellent football throughout the competion and take points off of all the other teams.
Hopefully Alltraders should be back to a reasonably strong side next week with the return of Neil Leppard and a rested Kevin Burton who suffered thoughout the whole of this game.
Final score: Altraders 1 - 6 True Blues
Scorers: Kevin Burton
Man of match: Ricky - first game for the team and created some good openings.
The game of football is a complete mystery to me. As we turned up in preparation for tonights game against Inn in the Park, we watched True Blues get beaten 1 - 0 to Air 2000, who fielded the same team that we comprehensively stuffed 6-1 last season. Is there any logic to five-a-side football?
Bearing this in mind, Alltraders entered the arena to face their latest opposition knowing just about anything could happen. There were a few new variables in tonights game just to add a little spice to the proceedings. Firstly, the weather. It was raining persistently to add a little zip to the playing surface. Secondly, Warren Fiveash (goalkeeper) decided a night at the base would be more fun than football in the rain. His dad valiantly accepted the challenge, recently recovering from an attack of the 'Flu. Thirdly, the long-awaited return of Neil Leppard with his wicked left foot. Could he deliver?
Tonight's team:
Graham Fiveash - Goalkeeper
Tim Leader - Defender
Paul Burton - Defender
Kevin Burton - Attacking midfield
Neil Leppard - Forward
Alltraders won the toss and attacked the Three Bridges-to-Crawley line end first half. This week it was decided to take a more defensive approach to the game with Tim Leader staying behind the half-way line in a covering role. Kevin Burton was still struggling with his groin, so his job was to push on the last defender and confuse him by limping from one flank to the other. The last thing we wanted was another 6-1 drubbing...
As expected, the pace in the early minutes was quick. Alltraders seemed more organised this week, and the early opposition attacks were well covered by their re-structured defence. The pace of the ball on the wet surface caused problems for both sides in the early stages, causing many missed chances for both sides.
The game was very tight until around the fifth minute when a through pass from Tim Leader found Neil Leppard on the left flank in a bit of time and space to bring the ball under control and launch a shot with such pace the keeper could only observe the ball skim past him into the back of the net. One nil to Alltraders.
Inn in the Park refused to let this set-back affect them, and continued to attack with strength. However, Graham Fiveash looked comfortable in goal denying the opposition any chance of an equaliser.
After around eight minutes Tim Leader received a kick from the stand-in 'keeper and launched a pin-point pass with the outside of his right foot to find Kevin Burton poised in front of the opposition goal. His finish was perfection, increasing Alltraders lead to two.
With half-time beckoning, and the ageing Alltraders beginning to feel the strain of the fast pitch, an Inn on the Park attacker decided to take on the entire Alltraders team. Initially it looked like Tim Leader had robbed the young hopeful of the ball just before he had the goal in his sites, but a wicked deflection put the ball back at his feet with just the keeper to beat, and he finshed with style to pull one back for the opposition.
The second half started at the same pace as the first. At this stage it would have been a brave man to put money on either side winning the game.
With around two minutes of the second half gone, Paul Burton managed to snatch the ball from an opposition attacker and advance on goal. Initially his attack was smothered, but this time the luck was to be with Alltraders as the ball fell to his brother who clinically finished the move to restore their lead to three-one.
However the match was a long way from completion, and the speed of the game was beginning to have it's affect on Alltraders. The opposition had the pace to exploit the weakenesses in the Alltraders team, and they clawed a goal back shortly after when the same player that carved his way through the Alltraders team in the first half pulled off the same stunt mid way through the second with a shot skimmed under Graham Fiveash to make the score three-two in Alltraders favour.
Not learning from their previous mistakes, Alltraders failed to defend their lead and shortly after allowed an opposition player to stray into an unmarked position and finish calmly to level the score. Again, Alltraders had lost control of the game just as they looked to be in a strong position to take both points.
With just a minute left, and the game appearing to be heading for a draw, a miracle happened. For some bizarre reason, an opposition defender cut across the 'D' to defend his goal from a Neil Leppard attack. The referee was quick to signal the penalty followed by the usual protests.
Neil stepped forward and launched a left foot power-drive to restore Alltraders lead.
With only a few seconds left, there was still enough time for some more action. Kevin Burton snatched the ball away from an opposition attacker and run unchallenged toward the Inn on the Park goal. He cut past a last-ditch lunge from a retreating defender leaving just the keeper to beat. Normally, you'd bet your lottery money on Kevin finishing from this angle, but for some reason he tried to round the 'keeper and gently slot it home. By this time the whole of the opposition team had managed to get behind the ball and smother it away for a corner.
At this point, the referee had decided enough was enough and blew his whistle for the end of tonights proceedings.
Bearing in mind True Blue's defeat tonight, this result has helped to gain a bit of respectability to Alltraders start to the competion. However, Kevin will not be available for next weeks clash against the old rivals Horley Town Casuals, so for the third week running Alltraders will have to field an altered side...
Final Score: Alltraders 4 - 3 Inn in the Park
Scorers:
Kevin Burton (2)
Neil Leppard (2) (1 pen)
Man of the Match - Neil Leppard - returning to his best!
Credit to Kevin Burton who can still turn the game despite injury.
Alltraders arrived at tonight's game knowing that they had conceded more goals in the first two games of this season than they did in the whole of the twelve games of the summer competition. This may be due to Alltraders inability to field the same team twice, or possibly that the standard of the opposition in the winter league is always much higher.
Tonight was to be no exception on both counts. Yet again Alltraders fielded a different team due to the absence of Kevin Burton. Warren Fiveash made his return between the sticks, and tonight we welcome the return of our Summer superstar, Jamie Fiveash. What with Graham fiveash on the bench, there's a strong chance the team may be renamed in the very near future.
Horley Town Casuals are a team we have played many times n the past, and they have nearly always beaten us. The best we could manage was a nil -nil draw in the winter of 1995. Although the team are made up of players in their mid to late forties, they come from league background and always do well in these competitions.
So, tonights team lines up like this:
| Warren Fiveash: | Goalkeeper |
| Jamie fiveash: | Attacking defence |
| Paul Burton: | Defending defence |
| Tim Leader: | Midfield - cover for Jamie on attack |
| Neil Leppard: | Attack - occasionally returning to his own half |
| Graham Fiveash: | Sub |
It was clear that a combination of the high wind and the earlier downpour was going to have an effect on tonights game. The ball refused to stay still before the kick could be taken, and the cameragirl on the gantry feared for her life as huge gusts of wind whipped around the stadium.
The game started at a lively pace. Alltraders held onto the ball for long periods frustrating the opposition. Tim Leader and Jamie Fiveash linked up well for several attacks on the Horley goal, but the finish was either 'just' wide or covered well by the keeper.
It was left to Neil Leppard to open the scoring in the fifth minute after a fine run on the left was met with one of his sweet left-foot specials that skimmed wickedly on the wet surface under the keeper and into the net.
Up to this point in the game, Horley town had troubled Alltraders very little, the only exception being a fine move on the right that ended with an excellent save from Warren Fiveash in goal.
At around eight minutes into the game, a quick throw from Paul Burton was met my Jamie fiveash who flicked the ball over his marker and advanced on goal. This drew Tim Leader's marker away from him as he tried to stop Jamies run. With Tim now unmarked on the right, Jamie gently pushed the ball into his path and he cracked a shot into the far netting to notch his first goal of the competition and Alltraders second of the night.
With Horley beginning to look disorganised, almost immediatly from the kick Tim Leader pushed forward again and hit a shot that was smothered by the Horley defence. The rebound fell kindly for Jamie Fiveash and he took time to pick his spot to increase the lead to three nil.
Alltraders were beginning to control the game, but there was always the fear that Horley would sharpen up their game in the second half.
The game restarted with a Horley kick. The pace of the game stepped up a little as Horley started to put some good attacks together. However this left holes in their defence, and one or two of their attacks broke down leaving the last defender facing the pace of Jamie and Neil on the counter attack. Alltraders should have increased their lead several times, but the Horley 'keeper was having an inspired game thwarting Tim Leader and Jamie Fiveash on more than one occasion.
Alltraders seemed to let their guard down midway through the half and allowed a Horley attacker to run unmarked behind the last man. As the ball was pushed through to him just outside the 'D' he cut the ball under Warren Fiveash to claw one back for the opposition.
This seemed to perk Horley up, and they started to pressurise Alltraders at the back, looking more like the team of old. Alltraders battled hard to keep them out, but a fine one-two cut a hole in the middle of the Alltraders defence as the attacker finished in style to reduce Alltraders lead to one.
Things were now looking decididly dodgy for Alltraders. Horley were now fired up, and knowing that there was only one minute of the game left they pushed everyone forward, frustrating Alltraders as they kept posession of the ball waiting for the opportunity to strike the ball home for an equaliser. Fortunately, Alltraders held out long enough to win the game by the odd goal.
Yet again, Alltrdaders conceded uneccessary late goals putting themselves under pressure in the last minutes of the game. On a more positive note, with three points for a win this victory must have elevated Alltraders into the top third of the league with six out of a possible nine points.
Final Score: Alltraders 3 - 2 Horley Town Casuals
Scorers:
Neil Leppard
Tim Leader
Jamie Fiveash
Man of the Match - Jamie Fiveash
Officially, Alltraders arrived at tonights game in fourth position. However, a cockup by the guy responsible for the league put Alltraders in seventh place with only three points. Obviously adding three and three was a tad too difficult for him.
Yesterday, Alltraders were set to field their strongest side of the season, with Jamie Fiveash and Kevin Burton leading the attack. Two quick phone calls put paid to that - Kevin Burton stuck on a tiling job 200 miles away, and Jamie ringing 40 minutes before kick-off with a twisted knee. God knows how he managed that.
So, yet again it was panic time. At least Kevin gave enough notice to field Graham Fiveash. Jamie's replacement proved harder to fill as half an hours notice for Ricky Fitzgerald was just a little too tight. Fortunately we found a late replacement in the form of one of Warren's mates.
So, game four was about to start with the fourth change of side. The lineup tonight was as follows:
| Warren Fiveash | Goalkeeper |
| Paul Burton | Defence |
| Graham Fiveash | Defence |
| Tim Leader | Midfield |
| Warren's mate | Attack |
As for the opposition, the less said the better - run away leaders of the league with pace, fitness and excellent control. Tonight was to be a challenge, to say the least.
The game started with an Alltraders kick. However the ball was easily robbed by the opposition, who incidently started the game one player short, and two advancing attackers pierced their way through a hole in the Alltraders defence and smashed the ball past Warren Fiveash with only around 15 seconds of the game gone.
Things got even worse a minute later. The speed of the Hilton front two caused serious problems for Graham and Paul at the back as a left foot screamer went under the keeper for number two - All this with less than two minutes gone, and only four players on the pitch.
At this point Tim Leader decided to stay back to try to help stem the seemingly endless advances on goal by the Gatwick Hilton outfielders. By this time player number five finally arrived, and they took full control of the game. However, Alltraders started to look a bit more organised and held them up until one minute from half time when the smallest gap in defence allowed another attacker through to increase the lead to three.
The second half started just as badly as the first. It was only a matter of time before the lead was stretched even further. In fact I'd rather save the effort of writing any more of this, short of saying that they scored two more quick goals to take the score to six nil.
Alltraders actually managed to have a shot about a minute from the end when Warren's mate stabbed the ball through to Tim leader on the edge of the D who pushed it under the keeper to get the smallest of consolations on a miserable night all round.
Fortunately the camera girl was at a sleep-over tonight, so no pictures thank God.
At least it wasn't raining.
Final Score: Alltraders 1 - 6 Gatwick Hilton
Scorers:
Tim Leader
Man of the Match - Tim Leader - for no other reason than someone has to get it and he scored the goal.
After conceding 17 goals in their first four matches, it came as some surprise to find Alltraders in sixth place at the start of this game. Having been stuffed last week by Hilton, leaders of the league, tonight we were to meet the second placed team, Air 2000.
This was to be the fifth change of team in as many matches. This week we were to lose Paul Burton - the first game he has missed for over a year. However we welcome the return of Kevin Burton and Jamie Fiveash.
The usual last minute phonecall came as no surprise - Neil Leppard rang one hour before the start of the game stuck at a heating job. Graham Fiveash took his place.
So for the first time, all three Fiveash's were to play together in the same team in a competitive match!
The lineup tonight was as follows:
| Warren Fiveash | Goalkeeper |
| Tim Leader | Defence |
| Jamie Fiveash | Attacking Defence |
| Kevin Burton | Midfield/attack |
| Graham Fiveash | Defence |
Before the start of tonights game, we watched Hilton comprehensively destroy XL5. It looks like nothing is going to stop them winning the league, so a defeat tonight for our opponents could push them off of second place and give Alltraders something to play for.
The game started with an Alltraders kick. Right from the start, Alltraders looked more composed than of late and within fifteen seconds of the start Jamie Fiveash ran into space on the left and slammed a shot against the Air2000 post with the opposition defence stranded.
Air2000 looked uncomfortable every time Kevin Burton and Jamie Fiveash advanced on goal, and twice more in the early minutes the goal post denied Alltraders the lead with the keeper well beaten both times.
However, the luck was to be with with Air2000 tonight. With only two minutes of the first half left, a sweet move down the center of the pitch found an unmarked Air2000 attacker who hit the ball with such pace it left Warren Fiveash with no chance as it slammed against the back of the net. This goal came completely against the run of play.
The second half started with Alltraders continuing to dominate the game. Air2000 were well aware that they were fortunate to be in front, and kept all four outfield players behind the ball stifling each Alltraders attack. Time and time again, the opposition outfielders had to rely on the skill of their goalkeeper to keep them in the match.
As Alltraders pushed further forward, the inevitable counter attack caught them out as a three-on-one move ended with another goal for the opposition after another blistering shot could only be parried into side netting. It was a well finished move that Warren Fiveash could do nothing about.
With time running out, Alltraders pushed harder on the Air2000 goal. Another quick move put Kevin Burton clean through one-on-one with the 'keeper. With his scoring record it seemed certain that he was going to score, but yet again the keeper made an excellent save with his feet and the ball flew away for a corner.
Shortly after, Graham Fiveash found himself in space and his shot was deflected agonising close to the crossbar and away for another corner.
The pressure continued on the Air2000 goal with both Tim Leader and Jamie Fiveash having shots well saved by the keeper. However, Air2000 picked their moment to make one last push on the Alltraders goal. With the defence stretched, another fine strike skimmed under Warren Fiveash to take their lead to three-nil.
Even by their own admission, Air2000 were lucky to have won by such a margin. The major difference between the two teams was the excellent finishing of their front two, and probably the fact that they field the same team each week - something Alltraders have failed to do so far.
The only consolation now is that Alltraders have played (and lost to) the top three teams. There are another six games to go, and if they can find their old finishing there is no reason that they couldn't finish in the top four, even with their appalling defensive record.
Final Score: Alltraders 0 - 3 Air 2000
Man of the Match: Jamie Fiveash
Game six - team six. Tonight Alltraders lose Graham Fiveash who's away on business. Neil Leppard was unavailable.The good news is tonight we could field the same five players that made up the mildly successful summer league.
XL5 also played in the summer league, finishing seventh in a very tough group. Made up of ex-Crawley players, they are currently mid-table along with Alltraders in this winter league. A very tight game was on the cards tonight.
So, tonights team:
| Warren Fiveash | Goalkeeper |
| Jamie Fiveash | Attacking defense |
| Paul Burton | Defending defense |
| Tim Leader | Midfield - defensive cover |
| Kevin Burton | Attack |
Alltraders returned to their white kit tonight as by a bizarre coincidence, XL5 played in an equally hideous green kit.
The game started with an Alltraders kick. As last week, the first move of the game saw Jamie Fiveash launch a fierce drive that skimmed off the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
The same pattern of the last game seemed to be emerging - Alltraders keeping most of the posession but failing to finish. Tim Leader, Kevin Burton and Jamie Fiveash all had shots either just wide or well saved by the XL5 goalkeeper in the first few minutes.
About half way through the first half XL5 found a gap in Alltradrers defence as an attacker advanced un-challenged on the Alltraders goal. His final shot was hit on target with such pace that only a superb save from Warren Fiveash denied the XL5 attacker from opening the score. Maybe the luck was going to be with Alltraders tonight?
In fact, almost straight from the throw a move involving all the Alltraders team resulted with a Kevin Burton shot that squeezed between the outstretched leg of the XL5 'keeper and the post. At last, Alltraders had taken the lead.
Although XL5 had good scoring opportunities, the solid defending of Paul Burton and Tim Leader kept the threat at bay.
With about a minute of the half left, an excellent move between Jamie and Kevin resulted in a superb finish to increase Kevin's goal tally to two. Both Tim Leader and Paul Burton stood and watched as the two of them passed the ball to and fro cutting through the XL5 defence before Kevin's final shot found the smallest gap between the keeper and the post.
The second half saw XL5 taking more control of the game. With all of the Alltraders outfielders behind the ball, the opposition pushed harder forward. Fortunately the re-structured Alltraders defence and excellent goalkeeping from Warren Fiveash kept the ball away from danger.
As is normal in nearly all of these games, the counter attack caught the opposition sleeping as Tim Leader robbed an XL5 attacker and instantly pushed the ball forward into Kevin Burton's path. He skillfully pushed the ball to the right of the last defender and ran around his left side to slam the ball under the keeper to round off a well deserved hat-trick. The game looked now well out of the reach of the opposition.
Just before the end of the game, another counter-attack saw a two-on-one on the last XL5 defender as Tim and Kevin advanced on goal. The defender had no option but to try and close Kevin down, but unknown to him Tim Leader had found space on the right to receive the ball and hit it first time out of the reach of the keeper and into the net for number four.
There was just enough time for XL5 to retrieve the ball before the final whistle blew.
This was a much better performance by Alltraders. It was also Warren's first clean sheet of the competition! Hopefully we can keep this team together as it proved successful in the summer league and proved successful tonight.
With five games left, and the top four qualifying, even with Alltraders poor defensive record there is still every chance that they could make it into the knockout stages.
Final Score: Alltraders 4 - 0 XL5
Man of the Match: Kevin Burton - back to his best!
Alltraders started tonights game knowing that they needed to win all of their remaining games to be certain of qualification. The other encouraging factor is that two of the top three have yet to meet Hilton, who continue to destroy all in their path. This also includes Jossie's Giants, who have lost two already.
Tonight was to be a break in tradition. Alltraders had at last managed to field the same team twice in succession. I suppose the permutations had to run out eventually.
| Warren Fiveash | Goalkeeper |
| Jamie Fiveash | Attacking defense |
| Paul Burton | Defending defense |
| Tim Leader | Midfield - defensive cover |
| Kevin Burton | Attack |
Things didn't start too well for Alltraders. After about two minutes of the game, a CLC attacker managed to skip past Paul Burton and side foot the ball under Warren fiveash to take the lead.
Almost immediately from the restart, the ball found it's way to Jamie Fiveash on the right who just about managed to avoid a leg-breaking lunge from the last defender to hit a peach of an equaliser past the static 'keeper.
Although the game was a lot tighter than that of last weeks, Alltraders finishing seemed to be a bit more assured with the CLC 'keeper having to make some acrobatic saves to keep his team in the game. However, his luck eventually ran out when Jamie Fiveash finished a good move down the centre of the pitch to put Alltraders into the lead.
The second half continued much the same as the first. Kevin Burton increased the lead further when Jamie Fiveash slipped the ball perfectly in his path for a typical Burton finish.
Alltraders continued put pressure on the CLC goal right up to the end of the game when Kevin Burton finished a one-on-one with the 'keeper to score his second and Alltraders fourth on the night.
There was no time to retrieve the ball from the net as the referees watch started bleeping to indicate the end of the game.
This was another good win for Alltraders. With Jamie Fiveash now making a regular contribution, the balance that proved succesfull in the summer league seems to have returned to the team at last.
There's still four games to go. Although a lot of hard work (and luck) is needed by Alltraders, things do seem to be a bit more hopefull than they did at the start of the season. The only thing that is likely to prove crucial at the end is Alltraders poor goal difference following the early crushing defeats by Hilton and True Blues.
Final Score: Alltraders 4 - 1 CLC
Man of the Match: Jamie Fiveash - Involved in all four goals
Sorry - no match images tonight. Camera girls didn't want to get wet!
A quick scan of the table saw Alltraders in fifth position prior to this game. It was ironic to see that although they have the second worst defensive record, they still manage to have the third best scoring record. Obviously the team to watch for entertainment value is Alltraders - never a dull moment...
It was a bitterly cold night, the temperature dropping below freezing. This meant that the game was going to be fast with the ball zipping off of the frozen surface.
CPI were placed in eleventh position, which is strange bearing in mind that they were fielding the same team that performed so well in last years winter league.
Alltraders had the luxury of fielding the same team as last week, and were quietly confident of taking all three points to keep them on track for qualification.
This confidence was boosted almost immediatly from the kick-off as Jamie Fiveash cut inside two defenders to toe-poke the ball past the static goalkeeper to give Alltraders an early lead.
Alltraders early play was positive and direct, and they could have stretched their lead further with close efforts from Kevin Burton and Tim Leader. However, with their first attack CPI managed to strike the ball on target out of the reach of Warren Fiveash to level the scoring.
CPI could have taken the lead just before the half time whistle but for Warren's acrobatics in goal to smother a fierce drive from a CPI attacker.
The pace of the game increased in the early minutes of the second half. CPI's six foot seven, eighteen stone attacker chopped Paul Burton and Tim Leader on more than one occasion, and was lucky to escape without a caution. Yet again we give thanks to Sondico, the patron saint of the shin-pad. What could have been two broken legs was reduced to just the removal of more skin from the knee-caps and elbows of the Alltraders defence.
Alltraders took the lead for the second time after excellent defending from Paul Burton led to a good move down the right, the ball finding it's way to Jamie Fiveash unmarked in the centre forward position. His turn and finish was clinical as the 'keeper stood and watched the ball skim past him.
At this point the game seemed to be in the control of Alltraders, but as seems to be usual these days a gap appeared in their defence as a long-range effort whipped past the outstretched arm of Warren Fiveash and into the net for CPI's equaliser.
With only a couple of minutes now left, Alltraders pushed further forward to try and get the necessary three points. However the CPI goalkeeper decided he wasn't going to let the ball past him as he pulled of three excellent saves in succession from Tim Leader and Jamie Fiveash.
Just as a draw looked to be on the cards, Warren Fiveash hurried his kick-out and placed the ball straight at the feet of a CPI attacker. With no covering defence, the CPI forward placed the ball out of his reach to snatch the win for CPI right at the death.
Four chances, three goals...
Alltraders fate now rests in the hands of other results. It looks unlikely now that they will qualify without three straight wins and further defeats for Jossies Giants and Air2000.
This was another case of missed chances and sloppy defending. Alltraders had their chances to put this game out of the reach of CPI, but yet again they failed to cover their defence adequately after taking the lead twice. Luck was most definitely not on the side of Alltraders tonight.
Final Score: Alltraders 2 - 3 CPI Crawley
Man of the Match: Paul Burton - Solid at the back and created the second goal
No images tonight - 'too cold'
As Alltraders gathered before tonight's game, it was time to reflect on what could have been had they won last week. If they had got all three points they would have started tonight in third position, as opposed to fifth.
What with Jossies Giants and Mr. Buckle is Back back both winning comfortably before tonight's game, it looks like Alltraders' fate seems to be sealed.
The team was to be the same as last weeks.
The game started at a moderate pace, with both Alltraders and Sparkies coming close in the early minutes. It was clear that this was going to be a very tight game with the play being concentrated around the midfield.
Tim Leader seemed to be in dreamworld most of the game, failing to read some good passing from Paul and Kevin Burton. This allowed Sparkies to penetrate down the right, and should have taken the lead but for some excellent work from Warren Fiveash in goal.
The first half finished goalless.
The second half was delayed slightly as Sparkies argued about who was to go in goal, and a floodlight failure just above the gantry end. Eventually the game restarted with a Sparkies kick.
Again, much of the play centred around the midfield area, until finally Jamie Fiveash found an opening and pushed the ball into the path of Kevin Burton who finished with a deft flick from the outside of his right boot.
With only a couple of minutes left the game seemed to be in the control of Alltraders, and they should have extended their lead further when Kevin Burton returned the favour and pushed the ball in space for him to sprint onto only to be denied by a fine save from the Sparkies new 'keeper.
However, in the dying seconds of the game, Sparkies were awarded a free-kick about ten yards from goal. With Tim Leader and Paul Burton in the wall, the ball was placed into the path of an unmarked attacker who placed it just past the outstreched finger of Warren Fiveash to save the game for Sparkies.
So, it looks like a miracle is needed for qualification. The likely outcome is a fifth or sixth place finish for Alltraders should they win their two remaining games. A positive goal difference would be nice...
Final Score: Alltraders 1 - 1 Sparkies
Man of the Match: Warren Fiveash - two excellent saves to keep Alltraders in the game.
As we gathered before the start of this penultimate game of the winter competition, it came as a bit of a surprise to find Alltraders in fifth place with qualification guaranteed if they win tonight and next week. No other result would do.
However, without Jamie Fiveash (out on the piss) a struggle was always going to be on the cards. Tonight, ringer Barry did the honours and covered the midfield with Kevin taking the role of lone striker.
'Mr Buckle is Back' were also aware of the importance of tonight's game, and were jubilant to find Jamie missing from the team. This extra confidence was apparent in the early stages as they probed forward with vigour, Warren Fiveash making a good start with two excellent saves in as many minutes.
It was another bitterly cold night with ice covering the pitch. This made it very slippery underfoot, as well as causing the ball to skip quickly across the surface. The first touch was to be all important tonight.
Alltraders seemed to be more composed on the ball, and following a quick free-kick Tim Leader hit a sweet one-two with Kevin Burton on the left and slammed the ball straight at the opposition 'keeper, the best scoring chance so-far.
At this stage of the game the match was well-balanced with both teams dealing well with the conditions, the close ball control looking quite impressive on occasions. The absence of Jamie Fiveash seemed to be the key as each Alltraders attack lacked any real sting.
Just before the end of the first half, a very dodgy refereeing decision led to a free kick for Mr. Buckle just outside of the Alltraders 'D'. What followed next was the kind of thing you would see on a 'football cockup' video. Both Tim Leader and Ringer Barry stood in the wall to cover the shot. Just then Paul Burton shouted that only one was needed in the wall as there was an unmarked attacker on the left. Due to a slight lack of communication both Tim and Barry ran in different directions to cover opposition players leaving a completely unguarded shot at goal. The Mr. Buckle striker gratefully accepted this early Christmas present as he gently side-footed the ball into the gaping hole that had so unexpectidly appeared in front of him. The Alltraders team all looked at each other trying to find someone to blame. Yes, it was going to be one of those nights.
The ref was in no frame of mind to add any extra time tonight, already complaining of being 'bloody freezing and starving hungry', and promptly blew his whistle for half-time.
Not being too dis-heartened by this set-back, Alltraders continued to attack well during the second half. The game continued to swing one way then the other until about two minutes into the restart when a good move down the middle led to another shot on target from an opposition attacker. Warren Fiveash made an excellent save but was unable to stop the deflection falling kindly to an unmarked attacker who was fortunate that the stab off his shin hit the target past the 'keeper still on the ground from their initial effort. If Alltraders needed some luck, it wasn't going to be tonight.
Now two goals down, steam eminating from their heads and hands on hips, Alltraders knew that this years competion was over for them. The effort was there, but the luck wasn't.
It was time for do or die tactics. Tim Leader and Kevin Burton pushed further forward to try and get something back from this game, but unfortunately each attack was well covered by the resolute Buckle defence. It was only a matter of time before a kamakazi attack involving all of the outfield Alltraders players broke down and left an unguarded goal for three advancing opposition attackers to race toward. Initially Warren Fiveash saved the shot well, but as the rebound canoned out both Tim Leader and Kevin Burton left the ball for each other as a sprinting attacker slammed it past the prostrate 'keeper for number three.
Almost immediately from the kick, the inevitable failed Alltraders attack led to another opposition attack. With Tim Leader knackered from and earlier sprint down the right, his attempt at a tackle made bugger-all difference to a power-drive of a shot past the 'keeper for number four.
With only two minutes left, the game was well and truly over. However, there was to be one defiant moment of magic left from Alltraders. As Paul Burton advanced on goal, his pass found Tim Leader on the right. Tim skipped past one tackle and cut inside between the two remaining defenders and hit the ball with the outside of his right foot past the outstretched left arm of the Buckle 'keeper against the back of the net to notch his fourth of the season. Even the ref had to admit that this was the goal of the night! Sadly there were no cameras to catch this moment of genius from the Tim Leader of old.
The final whistle blew. Mr Buckle admitted that the score didn't match the balance of play, although they still deserved to win. I think it's still mathematically possible for Alltraders to qualify - a win next week and a 17-0 defeat by Mr. Buckle.
You can stop laughing now...
Final Score: Alltraders 1 - 4 Mr Buckle is back.
Man of the Match: This was a close one - Warren Fiveash for some excellent saves, or Tim Leader for a Michael Owen special. My vote goes to Tim Leader who still managed to keep running even though suffering from the remains of a heavy cold. He's also much older than Warren and needs all the praise he can get.
So, we reach the final game of the Courage Winter fives 1998. Whatever was to happen tonight, win, lose or draw, Alltraders finish in sixth position. On reflection, this is a fairly reasonable position to finish bearing in mind that the leisure centre, in their infinite wisdom, decided to place all the qualifiers from the summer competition in the same group, and stick all the others in the other group. Another example of 'leisure centre logic' at it's finest.
The bad news tonight is that Jamie Fiveash is away on his company pissup in Brighton. Warren Fiveash found a replacement, here on to be referred to as 'ringer Nigel'.
From Alltraders point of view, tonights result was purely academic, and they entered the arena in relaxed mood safe in the knowledge that no-one really gave a damn as to how they played tonight - which was just as well really. However, from Jossies point of view, only a win could seal qualification.
Jossies didn't seem too prepared for tonights game - as the 'home' team they should have provided the ball. Unfortunately all they had was their practice ball, which was not only as light as a balloon, it was a fetching green colour camouflaging itself nicely against the astroturf.
Still, the game went ahead regardless with Jossies battling to penetrate the Alltraders defence of Tim Leader and Paul Burton who seemed to be playing with a bit more understanding tonight. Ringer Nigel didn't quite seem to understand the method of five-a-side football and was content to welly the ball in all directions, mostly off onto pitch three. However, this didn't cause to much of a problem as it meant Jossies were unable to get any real flow to their game due to the long interruptions while we awaited the return of the ball from the other side of the stadium.
Jossies didn't look to be a team that needed to win. Their play was a bit sloppy, and the times that they did break through Warren Fiveash pulled off some fine saves to keep Alltraders goal intact.
Alltraders came close to opening the scoring after around five minutes into the game when a Kevin Burton pass was met by Tim Leader about ten yards from goal. The usual plan would be for him to simply deflect it into Kevin's path on the one-two for him to slam a shot from the right wing. However tonight it was time for a bit of risk taking, and he instantly turned and slammed a shot off the outside of his left foot that curved viciously around the static keeper and skimmed the outside of the right hand post.
Jossies continued to push the ball around well, but their final finish was lacking. Kevin Burton was having another solid game but was unable to hit anything on target tonight.
The one move that did end with a shot on target came without around a minute of the first half remaining. Paul Burton, on a rare sortie into the opposition half, managed to hit a shot that cannoned off a defender straight to the feet of Tim Leader on the left just outside of the 'D'. With the 'keeper on the ground following the initial shot, Tim Leader placed the ball perfectly into the space behind him and started to turn to celebrate the goal. But to everyone's amazement, the 'keeper launched himself backward and hooked the ball away with a fully-outstretched arm just as it hit the goal-line. This was a quite amazing save, considering he was on the ground a good three or four yards away from the goal as the ball was hit. Only Twizzle could have done better.
The second half started in continuous drizzle, the camera girls looking like two drowned rats up on the gantry. It became increasingly difficult to keep the ball under control, being so light the gentless of touches sent it sailing skyward. It also didn't help being almost totally invisible against the surface. If it wasn't for the shadow from the floodlights no-one would have had a clue where it was.
This seemed to stifle the match, with no-one making any real progress. The game seemed to be concentrated around the middle of the pitch with wayward passing and poor control making for a pretty apalling end to the season. On the rare occasions that Jossies did had a stab, Warren was equal them.
Eventually the referee decided enough was enough and blew the whistle to draw to an end the qualifying stages of the competition. Jossies didn't make it, and to be honest didn't look likely to from the kickoff.
Final Score: Alltraders 0 - 0 Jossies Giants.
Man of the Match: This was another close one - This time Warren Fiveash and Paul Burton both deserved it, each having an excellent game. On the flick of a coin it goes to Warren Fiveash who I suppose should have got it last week.
Unfortunately the rain scuppered any plans for video images of tonight's game. It seems the 'damp warning' ciruitry came into play and stopped the video recorder from taking any images. Mind you there was nothing really worthy of sticking up here anyway...
EPILOGUE:
Well, that's it for another competition. It has to be said that this was the toughest yet, and it is hardly surprising considering the way the two leagues were structured. Every team in league B were qualifiers from the summer competition, whereas league A contained teams that Alltraders had beaten comfortably in the past.
If Alltraders had managed to keep a settled side from the start, I'm certain they would have reached the last eight. As it was, they were never going to recover from the two 6 -1 defeats in the early stages. As an aside, the two pacey attackers from Hilton that tore every team apart actually play for Real Betis in the Spanish league. After Christmas they will be returning to Spain to continue training. Let's hope we never have to play against them again.
So, Alltraders will return on January 8th 1999 for the start of the New Year competion. As usual, match reports and video images (if the video equipment ever works again) will be referenced from the homepage as usual. This time Alltraders 'should' field their strongest team from the start, and hopefully Leisure Centre Logic will put us in the weaker of the two groups this time.
Thankyou for your attention, and I hope you have enjoyed following this competion as much as we have playing in it!
And now, a word from our chairman, Colin Brunker, live by satellite from Wahroonga, Sydney:
"I think that football was the real winner this season. We played strong, the lads and me, but the opposition done good. They was equal to it. Full credit to them. They was up to the task. (but not those cheating whingeing arseholes who stole 4th spot.) I want to thank all our fans, worldwide, especially all those female fans who have been giving Jamie the mystery groin strain. I'd particularly like to mention Jamie's performance in the pub the night before the big game. He bought 15 lagers, gave away 5 of them and drank 9 himself. This meant that despite the fact that he had drunk 9 lagers, he could still give Samantha one. The boy has style.
Next year will be our year. Our new sponsor, Rupert Murdoch, has promised us some vital new gear to help our game. One thing he already likes about our game is the fact that whenever Graham is on the ball they don't have to bother with the slow motion replay. Its already in slo-mo. This saves Rupert a fortune and leaves more advertising time. He wants us to train more next year. We can do this. We normally go by car so using the train once a week will not be too tough. Rupert (baby) is confident this will boost our game (but I'm not sure how myself) Another Roopy initiative is the "man of the match incentive scheme". This will lift our game too.
There is a prize for the man of the match involving a trip to Australia with Samantha. He said something about Samantha going down under so I guess that's what he's on about. Foxtel, Sky, CNN and Aussie Optus have all been negotiating with me for the rights to screen our games. Obviously they believe that having got us, then the rest of the league will have to follow. On the other hand they may be wanting to screen our games out, but I doubt that. But thanks for coming along tonight, pretty swish place this eh? I have to sit down now because I can see that Samantha has just moved into position under the table in front of me. Oh the joys of Captaincy, the agony and the ecstasy. The football was the agony but I think my luck is about to change."