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3rd XI v CHATELGUYON - 10th OCTOBER 2009
What with cup matches and rearranged fixtures and the like we haven't seen the 3rd XI in action for a few weeks so it's nice to go down to the ground and see them in action. I haven't seen this Chatelguyon team before. They weren't in the same division as Pionsat last season although one Chatelguyon side - maybe the first team - had beaten Pionsat's 1st XI in a cup match last season.
Damian is in goal again for the 3rd XI and he's in action almost straight away from the kick-off.
There's confusin in the centre of the Pionsat defence as usual and one of the Chatelguyon attackers pounces on the loose ball. He lets off a snap shot on goal and Damian dives full-length to save a shot. He's a big guy is Damian and he does extremely well to get down to this one. It's nice to see him so athletic and agile.
And badger me if a couple of minutes later Damian doesn't do it again!
Once again Pionsat are caught messing around in the centre of defence and they lose possession. Chatelguyon win the ball and whack a shot goalwards and once more Damian goes full-length to make the save. This time he pushes it over the bar.
But will the Pionsat defence ever learn? at this level of football the safest route to take is to whack it upfield and if you can't do that then you whack it out of play. Anything else can only lead to disaster.
It's not all one-way traffic though and Pionsat are on the attack. There's a really good ball played forward and Christophe who is playing for the 3rd XI this evening got himself onto the end of it.
He pushes it into the penalty area and theres a horrible collision between him and the goalkeeper. Both players are quite badly knocked about and the game is held up for quite some time while the players receive treatment.
The outcome of all of this is that Bernard who is refereeing tonight blows for a penalty in favour of Pionsat.
Pionsat's no3 shows everyone how such a kick should be taken by planting it firmly into the side of the goal. It's hit with such force that the Chatelguyon keeper doesn't even have time to dive off his spot. As the ball goes in the no3 lets out an incredible whoop of victory and I'm not surprised. Even I would have done if I had taken a kick like that.
The equaliser wasn't long in coming, though. It's a grubber from just outside the penalty area right through the gap in the centre of defence. Damian misjudged the speed of the ball and dived a little too early, and the ball went underneath his arms.
He might think that he could have maybe done better than that with that shot. It's a shame beacause he had been doing quite well up until then. He'd done all the difficult bits and had been quite impressing the members of the 1st XI who had come along to watch the match.
Chateguyon are awarded a free kick and the decision is hotly debated. And rightly so in my opinion. I'm down the far end of the field and I'm convinced even from where I am standing that the Pionsat defender got the ball first.
Still, I'm not refereeing this match, Bernard is. The kick is taken from about 35 yards out and it's a real stinger right over the wall. Damian gets both his hands to it and pushes it over the bar. I dunno what he's been putting in his tea just now but this was another good save from Damian.
And he's keeping right on going is our Damian. There's another snap shot from Chatelguyon from about 25 yards out. Damian goes down for it but he can't hold it and so knocks it wide which is the next best thing to do.
A Chatelguyon player running in totally unmarked from the left wing gets on the end of it and fires one off on the volley. This time Damian gets right behind it and hangs on. Good play again from Damian.
And then Xavier scores an absolute belter up at the other end to put Pionsat back in front. There's a rather elderly gentleman playing centre-half for Chatelguyon and who is calm and composed (although I'd like to see him under some aerial pressure) and ruling the back line. But for once, quite surprisingly, there's a misunderstanding btwen him and his colleague in the centre of the Chatelguyon defence.
The ball is loose for just a second, and Xavier absolutely pounces on in and he's off up the field and no-one is ever going to catch him. The keeper comes off his line to narrow the angle and Xavier whacks it as hard as I have ever seen anyone whack snything. The keeper gets both hands on it but the force of the shot is such that the ball goes clean through them and nestles into the back of the net.
It's a good goal for Xavier because he really deserved that. Since Christophe had that bad collision in the first half he has slowed right down and Xavier is almost on his own up front with no support at all.
And Chatelguyon equalise just as quickly. The ball is played down to the by-line where Chatelguyon win it in a vital position.Pionsat miss two crucial tackles which leaves a Chatelguyon player with a clear ight of goal and his shot goes into the net.
Maybe Damian might think that he should have done better with this one again but he's been doing well-enough up to now and his defence ought to start to become more involved in the match. They can't leave Damian to play the game for them all on his own.
And once more Chatelguyon go on the rampage downfield. This one is right down the inside-left position and the Chatelguyon attacker lets off a good shot. Damian gets right down and gets his body right behind it. He can't hang on to the shot and the ball bounces up in the air so he grabs it again on the way down under a little bit of pressure.
Considering he's never played in goal until this injury crisis, Damian is definitely looking much more like it in goal tonight and he can be pleased with what he's done so far.
It's still all Chatelguyon right now. This time one of the midfielders has a go at a long shot from distance and Damian gets right behind it. He hangs right on to it too.
I dunno about what anyone else in the crowd thinks about this but I'm just totally astonished.
Chatelguyon are still going forward and they attack down the right wing. The Pionsat defence shudder to a halt and wait for the referee to respond to the linesman's flag that is quite clearly raised for an offside.
But Bernard doesn't see it at first and so play goes on. The ball is crossed into the centre of the penalty area for the unmarked centre-forward who goes for the simplest of tap-ins but somehow Damian hurls himslef across goal to get to it and he pushes it round for a corner.
It's one thing that I've noticed quite a bit at this level of football, whether with formal referees or with club officials, but they never seem to give half a glance at the linesman whenever the ball is played forward, to see if the linesman is flagging for an offside - they are too busy watching the ball. This little half-a-glance at the right moment could resolve so many misunderstandings.
And with just minutes to go, Chatelguyon take the lead. They've been threatening to do that for most of the match.
The ball is played down the inside right channel and crossed into the centre, where there is a dearth of Pionsat central defenders. There's a surfeit of Chatelguyon attackers and one of them has a go at goal. The ball hits Damian on the arms and bounces into the net. What a major disappointment for Pionsat - they'd been looking like they might just cling on for something here.
Pionsat lose the ball almost straight away from the kick-off and Chatelguyon race away upfield. The attacker lets loose a shot from fully 35 yards and it sails right over Damian's head.
Luckily it clangs off the top of the bar and soars off upwards and out for a goal kick. But it wasn't half an impressive shot.
And the excitement still continues. Chatelguyon surge upfield once more towards the Pionsat goal. The ball is played up to the front and the linesman's flag goes smartly up for a clear offside.
Astonshingly, Bernard doesn't see it and with all of the Pionsat defenders waiting for the whistle the unmarked Chatelguyon forward puts in an excellent shot on goal. Damian once more manages to get something onto it and pushes it round the post for a corner.
I didn't get a picture of that action. Like everyone else from Pionsat I was waiting for the whistle for what I considered to be a clear offside.
There's just minutes to go in this game and Chatelguyon are still pressing forward to find another goal to make the match safe. And a desperate tackle from a Pionsat defender on the edge of the penalty area concedes a free kick.
It's another schreecher right over the wall but it's one of those that fails to dip and it clears the bar by a couple of feet. For once, Damian doesn't have to make a save. Mind you, I'm sure he would have got it.
And it's no surprise that the final action in this match is also up at the Pionsat end. The Pionsat defence once more have a lot of difficulty in clearing their lines - why don't they simply whack it upfield or out of play - and the ball in the centre field breaks to an umarked Chatelguyon player on the edge of the penalty area. He gets in a shot on a more-or-less open goal and Damian slides in. He gets right behind the ball and hangs on again. An excellent save.
I spoke to Damian after the match. he was quite disconsolate about the game
"I got to all three of those goals" he said
"Yes", I replied. "And you got to a lot of other shots as well"
With the absence of a goalkeeper for the 3rd XI Damian has been brave enough to give up his left-wing spot and go between the sticks for the last 12 months and he has had to learn quickly. In this match he put in a performance that many habitual goalkeepers would have been proud to have made and it's a tragedy for him and the club that they didn't get anything from this game with all of his heroics.
One swallow doesn't make a summer of course but I wonder if this is the match in which Damian comes of age.
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