Six Appeal

It was a game of 2 halves tonight. Fortunately the Red and Blues won both of them. 4-2 in the first game and 13-4 in the second.

Coach Sene picked the teams:

Red and Blues- Little Stevie Spurdens, Sam , Phil A, Lee, Miami, Elbows.
Whites - Thorney, Mes, Greg,Werewolf, Joe, Baz.

Referee Sandoval did a fantastic job of not wearing his whistle out in an attempt to let the game flow - My favouirite moment came when Luis waved play on as Greg executed an eye watering body splash on Steve. 'No foul' proclaimed the Chilean man in the middle to general amazement'

Thanks to everyone who turned up for a really good night's six-a-side tonight.

There goes my 100% attendance record for 2010...

I was optimistic of making it for a post-kickabout beer, but a few niggling work factors have scuppered me. So while I wait to leave, I've learnt a new non-footy skill - how to embed YouTube videos in a post on this blog.  So, enjoy Sonic Youth's mighty 100%... See you next Thursday, hopefully!

A team-mate writes...

“Have really been missing Palace games, the flat, green pitch and the way the glow of the lights skims off Thorney and Greg’s heads, just to name a couple of points.”

Beautiful.  Sheer poetry.

5 a side pitch booked .

Elmers End Goals (pitch 10) booked from 8.30pm for tomorrow. 

The planned 11 a side match v Mott Mcdonald has been cancelled due to short notice 'deep irrigation works'

Please make sure that you let  us know if you were planning to attend the 11 a side match but do not plan to come to 5 a side.

Check out this picture of The Palace Park pitch in happier times. The first 100,000 football crowd watched the 1901 FA cup final  on the Palace Park pitch. Records show that  no Palace FA cup final was ever delayed  due to deep irrigation works, or Disneyshit on ice or Horse shows or paintball....

Archive Dolphin

Possibly it's a blessing that Mes's computer  malfunctioned when he tried to load footage of our recent hiccup against Dolphin. I forgot to  get anyone to film this week's game either, so

to fill the gap here's some clips from yesteryear - looks like an excellent 4-2 game v Dolphin from 2006ish.

Watching the footage i felt quite nostalgic about the games against Dolphin in the pre-Community-Payback-Orange-Bib era. 

Check out good reflex saves from Ant and Young Jason, a great solo effort from Tom Kift, a good goal from Gary White and a bicycle kick from Little Stevie Spurdens.  Also watch out for  the best and best dressed ref we've ever had. Ridiculous to think that she refused to ref us any more because Whitey made a very tiny oppo keeper cry.

Probably the only positive thing to come out of the recent Dolphin game was that we won the sartorial battle at a canter - all credit to Stu for that. Dolphin always did look a scruffy shambles but at least in the old days  they didn't look like the UK Under 21 Bin-man XI*.

*The Accies Blog concedes that Dolphin are very good at football.

Effra 2 MHP 3

What a difference a week makes. Tonight's match was a frustrating one, not because we lost our heads and conceded a hatful of goals, not because we didn't keep our shape or our discipline, not because we didn't close down the opposition, but because we lost a match we deserved to win.

A drastic improvement was required in our effort following last weeks performance, and we certainly provided that. Suddenly, we all wanted the ball again, and when we didn't have it, we bloody well chased after it, and won it back. I saw this happening all over the pitch tonight, and for that I congratulate each and every one of you. We came off knowing we had deserved more, and what a contrast to last week. I daresay some people will feel some aches and pains over the next couple of days, and I am positive this is in contrast to last week too. I said before the game, the only way to reverse our losing streak was to go out and work harder, we did tonight, and we deserved a draw at least for our hard work and determination.

MHP seem like a decent bunch of lads in my opinion, and so I don't think a single one of them would say they deserved to be 2-1 ahead of us at half-time. We switched off for one, and the other was hard on us, as the ball took a couple of ricochets on it's way past stand-in keeper Phil Caldwell. We, on the other hand, deserved at least the one goal we managed to pull back. A scrappy tussle for the ball inside the box led to Simon managing to turn and cross it, it took a couple of bobbles along it's way, and after Perre had managed to get something on it, the ball fell at the feet of Joe Bowkett, who slotted home from close range.

We all knew at half-time that there were more goals to come from us. Unfortunately, we were lacking a touch of composure in the final third, and managed to only claw back one more goal during the second period when Simon Mesner slotted home a penalty awarded to us for a foul on Phil Caldwell. By this stage we were 3-1 down, and it was, sadly, a case of too little too late as only a few minutes later Palace did what they do best, and switched the lights off before 10pm.

There were some terrific performances all over the pitch tonight. Joe B scored a well deserved goal, Luis Sandoval made a storming come back to the team with a stint as the holding midfielder in a 4-1-4-1. Sam Herbert and Skipper Thornes ran themselves to a virtual standstill in central midfield, but nobody personified the guts and glory attitude we had tonight more so than Man-Of-The-Match Perre Heath in his best performance in an Accies shirt this year.

I'd like to send a blog-asphere pat on the back to everybody who played their part in a terrific team performance tonight. The level of running, chasing, tackling and challenging we put in tonight will reap rewards in the future if we manage to maintain it at a consistent level.

Keep the faith!

Joe

What really matters

Some strange shenanigans over the past seven days.  Firstly, and rightly so, some reflection across the whole squad in the wake of a rare drubbing.  Looking back at the stats, it seems that Dolphin are always on hand to dish out a thrashing when we play below par – last July we were 6-0 down on the Bar Pitch before some controversial player-swapping precipitated an unlikely 6-6 draw.  Before that, 8-0 last May, 9-1 last January and 11-1 in March 2008 – so at least it was nothing new... Anyway, it meant some self-examination of our fitness levels and of our ability to do what we know we need to do for 90 minutes a week.

Then some odd 'anonymous' discussions on the blog.  I have allegedly had a sense of humour bypass – well, that's nothing new either, is it.  Ah well – up to a point I enjoyed the 'healthy debate'.  Free speech is a marvellous thing and this blog is for all Accies and friends of Accies, so I'm pleased to see so many people taking part in proceedings.  I do find it odd that any comment on a blog such as this among teammates would need to be anonymous, but there's nowt so queer as folk I suppose.

Before I publish this post and head for the True Theatre Of Dreams, I'll just take this opportunity to mention (again?) something that Elbows once said.  When I'm down there tonight, warming up on that impressive surface, I will once again thank my lucky stars that I'm able to play footy on such a great pitch – easily the best grass pitch that any team at our level is able to play on.  Not only that, I get to play footy alongside a bunch of truly terrific blokes.  Yes, we've lost three in a row and we played poorly a couple of times.  And yes, I am going to do everything I possibly can to contribute to a good performance tonight – and I should be substituted if I let the side down!  But what really matters, when push comes to shove, is that we make sure we enjoy ourselves.  It just so happens that I passionately believe that the best way to enjoy ourselves is through hard graft and teamwork, plus the occasional moment of genius skill.  Surely even anonymous visitors to this blog won't disagree with that...?

Up the Accies.

You Are The Ref

See if you can spot any infringements in this never before seen clip from the 5-0 first leg victory against the Dutch in 2006. Clue - keep an eye on the Accies no 14.

Blue Flag

Check out this rare clip of Blue Flag in action against Southbank B from the 2006-7 season. 

Did Werewolf play for Southbank back in the day?

Effra 1 Dolphin Riders 11

I am deeply saddened to have had to type out that headline. It's humiliating and I hope I'm not the only person who feels that way.

We actually started the game brightly last night, and I was pleased to hear in the pub afterwards that most players felt the same way. We KEPT OUR SHAPE, KEPT OUR DISCIPLINE, AND tried to PLAY SIMPLE PASSING FOOTBALL. We were unfortunate to go 1-0 down, when a LACK OF SHAPE, LACK OF DISCIPLINE and a LACK OF CLOSING DOWN meant that Dolphin nicked the first goal of the night.

We equalised thanks to a thunderous volley from Greg Rainey from the edge of the box, and suddenly we were looking much brighter again.

We trudged off at half-time - inexplicably - 3-1 down. A LACK OF SHAPE, LACK OF DISCIPLINE and a LACK OF CLOSING DOWN meant Dolphin had grabbed another two goals before the half-time whistle, but I genuinely felt we were still in it. I explained at half-time, as clearly as I possibly could, that our LACK OF SHAPE, LACK OF DISCIPLINE and a LACK OF CLOSING DOWN was again proving to be our undoing, for the third consecutive week.

The second half couldn't have started any worse than it actually did, when, from our own kick-off, nobody seemed to want to receive the ball. At this point, we had 9 players behind the ball, all in our own half. The ball ran back to Lee Clifford, who made a good connection with his long range clearance. Unfortunately, it was collected by a Dolphin CB, who had the time and space to take a touch, steady himself, and smack a bouncing ball from clearly inside his own half over Lee's head and in to the back of the net. From this point on, we literally fell apart.

If it wasn't for the never-say-die attitude displayed by Andy Thornes and Phil Caldwell (our makeshift CB pairing), we would have undoubtedly lost by an even bigger margin. We were reduced to following shadows. Some people, I will happily admit, actually chased shadows, but mostly we were following, and were virtually pedestrian at times as we watched Dolphin play around us and hit the back of the net with virtually every shot they had.

A late second half re-shuffle saw us change to a 4-3-3, in a vain attempt to give the strikers some more support and to put Dolphin under some amount of pressure. For 5-10 minutes, we made it work, and some good play up front could easily have led to a goal or two on another night. What that change eventually led to though was an overruning of our midfield and subsequently our defence. Our general fitness and sprinting speed was simply not good enough from most of the 14 who played, myself included. I can't force people to lose weight and/or get fitter. But after last night's performance people will surely realise that this is a necessity in some cases. I said last night, with, yet again, players lining up on the side of the pitch to get on, that everybody should run their socks off for as long as they can. As soon as they feel they can't manage any more, then come off for a breather, safe in the knowledge you'll get back on again. We all need to be more honest in this regard.

There aren't many positives to take out of last night. I'd like to ask everybody who played to think about their own performances. Trying to ignore/forget this performance means we'll be setting ourselves up for another big fall next week. Everybody must have a desire to play better, run further, tackle harder, jump higher, close quicker, control better and pass more accurately if we are to get back to winning ways.

Keep the faith!

Joe

Hand jobs and other cobblers

Some handballs get you to the World Cup.  Some are jolly nice to look at.  Some are mad moments that torture you until the next time you get to play football to exorcise the demon (I think Barry's working next Thursday, so the poor fella might have to wait fully a fortnight before making amends.  Ouch!)  Anyway, just wanted to say that crazy incident or no crazy incident, Bazza your apology was welcome but it's a team game and when things go wrong, we take collective responsibility and collectively try to put things right.  We didn't do a very good job of putting things right on Thursday, but roll on next week so that we can have another go!

The view from full-back was that for a lot of the game we didn't do what the Coach had asked us to do.  The previous Coach and the Coach before that will no doubt agree that this is the most frustrating thing about that job.  We deserved the criticism we got after the game, just as much as we'd deserved the praise after recent good performances.  The thing that Joe said post-match that most resonated with me was "teams won't give you a 2-0 lead just because you're the Accies".  We have to really earn those good results ("and here's where you start paying. In sweat"). Also, with six subs available to be called into action at any given moment, plus a pacy forward having to miss out because of the high turnout, when you're lucky enough to be on the pitch, you have to work your socks off.  Don't conserve any energy!  Use it all up, then have a breather and let someone else come on and work their socks off!  As Phil says in the previous post, work for each other - especially when we haven't got the ball.

Up the Accies.

Lowlights

  

Bit rubbish this film - not (m)any highlights this week in a game notable for Sam's defection to the oppo and for Coach Sene giving way to despair - Hopefully both  temporary situations.

I think we do best when we focus on playing for each other and enjoying  the game so lets put in a good performance next week and put a smile back on Joe's face.

2005 Cup drama

There's loads of footage from past Anglo-Dutch Cup encounters.

Here are some high/lowlights from the epic  2005 tie.

Next i'll unearth some footage from  the notorious  topsy turvy 2006 clash;

fights, great goals and the not to be missed sight of Jimmy, Billy and Steve all singing the Mitcham National anthem before going into battle.... watch this space...

do as I say, not as i do

Check out this great header and even better save from a few years ago. Only Joe Sene knows why he arrowed a header at The top corner of the Accies goal.

Struggling for the ideal Mother's Day gift?

Look no further! Click here!

Effra 1 Sporting Brixton 3

In what was overall a fairly one-sided game, I think we can count ourselves lucky to have only lost 3-1 tonight. We continued to not do the simple things right, much as we did last week, in gifting the opposition time and space on the ball, and thus allowing them to literally pass their way through or around us. I meant what I said after the game, this was by far our worst performance of the year.

We went 1-0 down due to a penalty conceded by Barry Gardener. I think only Barry can explain why he did what he did in giving away a penalty. His rash handball has been the only black mark against his name this year having performed so strongly previously. Barry has made himself a first choice at centre-back recently, and there's no doubt we miss him when he's not there.

There was a collective effort during the first-half to weather the storm, and I think we can count ourselves somewhat fortunate to have gone in to the half-time team talk only 1 down. Unfortunately, my half-time team talk took on a familiar sound, with me having to repeat the same comments I made a week earlier. "Get tighter, don't let them turn, keep our shape, close them down quicker," these are all well used terms in football, but our inability to do these things quickly and efficiently tonight was our undoing.

All due respect to our well organised opposition. There's no doubting that Sporting Brixton are an effective team. They were cohesive, calm in possession, and made their passing and movement count. These were things that I could recently say about us, and it is this style of confident, assured football that we all must strive for on a weekly basis if we are to carry some promising early signs in to a full blown rout of the teams we come up against this year.

Our consolation came courtesy of a Caldwell cross and a Mesner finish. Those two, along with MOTM Marney, worked tirelessly during their time on the pitch, despite the fact they very rarely received the service their hard work deserved.

We all have to up our game for next week if we are to reverse what could become a horrible run of winless matches. We all - I hope - would agree that we can do much better. Certainly our run of victories earlier this year saw us play some of the best football ever produced by The Accies. We need to get back to that winning philosophy, which is built on the solid foundations of a tight defence, and a cohesive team that is working its collective socks off for each other. We lost our way in the final third tonight and didn't create anywhere near as many goalscoring chances as I've come to expect this year. The remedy for this is to keep possession of the ball, and return to our "control, pass, move" mantra.

We can, and we will, do better next week against Dolphin I'm sure.

Keep the faith!

Joe

Tension mounts over intra-Accies handshake

Just five days after the now infamous Wayne Bridge/John Terry blah blah handshake that never was blah blah blah, once again the eyes of the football world are on two men's right hands. As it were. After months as a splitter, travelling to Palace on his own in a car (carbon footprint!), tonight Miami Dade will return to London Bridge and the more eco-friendly confines of the 19.08 train. But teammate Shaky Mesner, still seething from the snub, is threatening to refuse to shake the hand of the Accies right-back on meeting him this evening.

"Who can blame him?" asked one ill-informed pundit. "If Miami thinks he can just waltz back as though the past few months never happened, he's sorely mistaken. The wounds of this snub run deeper than some of the puddles on the pitch last Thursday. I don't know if they'll ever press flesh again." Your reporter will of course be there to witness the handshake-or-not, but sadly I've left my camera at home today, so it may not be captured for posterity. Unless anyone knows how to get CCTV footage off London Bridge train station security?

A nation holds its breath...

Here's one I made earlier

We all make mistakes, but just to prove  that my OG header last week was no fluke, here's a mistake I made earlier... about 2006 I think. Neils R&G diagnosed me with a bad case of 50p head years ago, but a diagnosis is no use without a cure.