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CUP MATCH v CHATELGUYON 21 SEPTEMBER 2008
I knew that the club existed - in fact when I was down here in 2001 I attended a match or two. But I stumbled across this football match in the Auvergne Cup or whatever quite by accident when I came to Pionsat for the annual carnival on the 21st of September.
I'd promised a few people that I would do a few things at the carnival so I couldn't hang around. In any case, there were dancing girls in attendance in the town and there is no way that footy can ever compete with a group of scantily-clad young ladies of the female sex, no matter who they are playing against. So I stayed to watch the kick-off and then wandered off into the town.
Last season the club finished 7th out of 10 in the division, and that appears to be about their level. Anything more than that is something of a bonus and that's only to be expected. Today's opponents, Chatelguyon, come from a large town with much more of an opportunity to do some income generating.
When I returned, it was already 1-0 to the visitors, but Pionsat soon pulled a goal back to equalise. It must have been me bringing them some luck. Especially as a couple of minutes later, Pionsat went 2-1 ahead.
But Chatelguyon were far too good a team to take that lying down, and it wasn't long until they returned to the attack. A couple of high balls into the area put Pionsat on the back foot.
Chatelguyon quite impressed me, even though they weren't very highly placed in the Classement. They were a big team and pretty well marshalled. And that says a lot for teams at this level.
Sooner or later after a spell of sustained pressure, an equalising goal had to come. A series of corners saw another high ball into the Pionsat penalty area, and a shot from close range that left the Pionsat keeper with no chance at all.
Quite a shame really, for he had played quite well during the match even though his team were struggling at times against a bigger, fitter team.
Chatelguyon maintained their tactic of pumping high balls into the Pionsat area, but Pionsat's big centre-half dealt comfortably with this effort. It would though have been more impressive had he gone for length and not height.
But then again, this is the 11th level of the French football pyramid, so I don't suppose you can expect perfection.
And I missed the winning goal while I was changing batteries in the camera. Chatelguyon played with a forward whose ethnic origin was from the African colonies. He was awkward and clumsy, but certainly keen enough. And he took the ball on the left-hand edge of the penalty area, stepped inside to get the ball onto his right foot, and unleashed a shot across goal right into the far corner of the net, beating the Pionsat keeper's desperate dive. The shot had "goal" written all over it from the moment it left the attacker's boot, and would have graced any stadium at a level much higher up the pyramid.
But never say die, Pionsat. They carried on attacking all the way to the final whistle and could easily have snatched an equaliser at the death. But of course pressure counts for nothing if you can't put the ball in the back of the net.
Have a look at Pionsat's no12 on the right of the picture. A young lad with curly hair and an Alice band. He played for much of the match at right-back and quite impressed me with his performance. I didn't see enough of the game to give a "man of the match" award, but I'll be looking forward to seeing him playing again.
A couple of things about the match. The ref - he was even older than I am. He was certainly ... er ... bigger, and certainly more unfit. And I was disappointed with the number of spectators, though. I suppose that having to compete with a bunch of dancing girls down in the village square - they had no chance.
Modern UEFA regulations insist upon proper medical attendance, trained first-aiders, stretcher bearers and ambulances. The guidelines for new stadia include a requirement for provision for a helicopter landing pad somewhere close by to evacuate any injured player.
Some football leagues follow these rules slavishly, but others adopt a more relaxed attitude to this kind of thing. I bet Sepp Blatter would die if he saw this method of removing an injured player from the pitch.
But then again, these are real men who play football in this kind of league. I've seen enough shirt tugging, pushing in the back and elbowing, all going unpunished, and I've only seen four games so far this season. I've yet to see a player burst into tears and run howling to the referee. That's why I'll much rather come and watch a game at this level of football rather than pay 20 quid ($35, € 25) to watch a group of overpaid ballerinas ponce around in an anodyne and antiseptic stadium.
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