With fond memories of a double against Whittlesey Athletic last season, which involved our coming of age 8-1 stormy weather performance (who could forget that night) and a 4-0 away win, both played in an evening kick off, the omens for a victory were favorable.

The evening began with the sighting of the Green Army Ash mobile, carrying fans both young and old (Sadat with the most white hair was cited as the standard of old!). We managed to get there in good time but our secretary was already seated and had gathered an audience, no doubt discussing if he should tell Sadat that he was definitely old!

There was a great atmosphere at the club and the game had barely started but within two minutes Vitor received a pass from Dom on the edge of the box. I thought “Shoot!” but with a little hesitation and a couple of shimmies, Vitor shifted the ball to his right and planted the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net. An excellent 20-yard shot made it 0-1 to FCP.

It was noticeable that the sound of boot on ball suggested that all the balls being used for this game
were flat and I wondered if the officials had actually checked the pressure of the balls as required. Ruben was looking very menacing on the right wing and a couple of long balls were just out of reach. In return, Whittlesey Athletic fired a couple of long balls at their number nine but Lennon was alert and cleared from 30 yards out (a great example of a sweeper keeper). Dom had a blocked shot on six minutes and Ruben was prowling for a chance but miscommunication lost us the opportunity.

After 9 minutes, the first threat was
a run on goal from about 30 yards out, a clever nudge by the defender and the chance was lost. However, the resulting corner to the back post was unchallenged, Whittlesey made it 1-1 with an easy shot across the goal.

It was a bit of a hectic start and the entertainment was further enhanced on fifteen minutes with what can only be described as a ‘Carry On Football’ style performance from the opposition keeper.

FCP broke down the middle and with a pass to Ruben on the right wing, he cut in Salah style and shot from outside the box. Instead of his trademark shot, save or goal scenario, Ruben scuffed his shot straight at the keeper hitting his chest. Instead of an easy collect the keeper managed to use both arms from a standing position to push the ball over his head and into the goal (Roy Carroll, Man U v Spurs springs to mind!). 2-1 to FCP.

Within a minute, FCP had a corner and Ruben had a half chance to make it 3-1 but shot wide. The game was very direct and it was noticeable that FCP were getting more dangerous play with players in and around the box. However, we were being tested by their number nine who was making excellent darting runs.

Lennon made a save on 28 minutes and then one minute later Mick tested the keeper with a low shot from a free kick. Whittlesey should have equalised on 34 minutes when a long shot hit the crossbar and then another player headed the resulting rebound back onto the crossbar, a rare sequence of events that was worth the ticket price alone!

It was disappointing that Whittlesey were able to score with a quick break. The opposition striker seemed to have three defenders in and around him but a reverse pass led to a lob over the keeper to make it 2-2 on 38 minutes. There was an immediate response with another FCP break, Ruben collecting the ball from about 25 yards out and finishing with a low left foot shot to the keeper’s right to make it 3-2 to FCP.

The first chance of the second half came to Ruben after 53 mins with another cut in and shot to the far post but wide. In the 57th minute, Derrick put the right back on the floor with his array of tricks and then wriggled his way into the box, was dragged down but amazingly no penalty was given.
Arif found his voice with his limited but permitted range of chosen words. Three minutes later, there was another break into the box on the right and another unsuccessful penalty shout. A triple substitution was made after 66 minutes with the introduction of Mo, Tiago, and Romeo. FCP lost the ball in the middle of the pitch three minutes later and Zahid had to race with their quick number nine towards the penalty box.

They were matched for pace but then Zahid got beaten near the goal line and the player cutting in from the right managed to score a goal in the top left corner. A catalogue of errors resulted in a 3-3 score line.

Whittlesey numbers nine and seventeen were causing FCP a multitude of issues with their pace, intelligence, and commitment for the cause. However, FCP continued to create chances with a 40-yard pass to Ruben who beat a player but the keeper prevented a hat trick with a great save. There was a lull in the game after 75 minutes as all the balls went missing with no apparent system of collecting off-field balls. There was a penalty shout for Whittlesey on the 80th minute for a handball on the goal line which was declined but we had our hearts in our mouths as the assistant referee raised his flag for a discussion of the incident and some fans claimed that the ball had crossed the line.

The last ten minutes of the game were as hectic as the first ten. We had half chances but Whittlesey had two great opportunities to take the lead. One from their number ten, who beat two players but was unable to finish and one from a freekick in a dangerous position that was easily saved by Lennon. There was time for a Vitor pile driver which the keeper saved. To complete the evening a penalty was awarded to FCP after a ball over the top which led to another Derrick run into the penalty box and a foul being cleverly drawn. The defender having to be consoled for his rash behaviour.

A yellow card was shown for a Whittlesey player scuffing up the penalty mark, nonetheless Vitor composed himself and scored the penalty into the bottom left corner of the net to win the game 3-4 to FCP.

A visit to Hot Pot with my newly recruited Green Army member Ryan, Chairman and gladiator George with of course the coaching team rounded off a great evening for the club. Not sure if I saw a smile from Shaz, he was no doubt contemplating Dom’s injury and areas of improvement.

A big shout out for the young Layla walking around with the fan camera trying to find words of wisdom, for PK for his enthusiasm, Zammy for not losing hope in me and Raheel and Arif for bringing female voices to the stands. Get well Dom, hope to see you back in action soon. Overall it has been an excellent start to the season with two away wins.

There were questions last year asked if Step Six was too big a jump for a club celebrating its tenth year of existence. These players are making the history that others to come will aspire to be and hopefully go beyond!

The future is bright. It may not be ‘Orange’ but it’s definitely Green, White, Black and Red!

Zahid Bashir

Goals

Ruben x2
Vitor x2

MOTM
Vitor