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since 01 January 2008

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AS ARTONNE v 1st XI 8th NOVEMBER 2009

view from monts de Combrailles near artonne into combrailles french autoroute bordeaux 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

As I have said before, one thing about following Pionsat's football club is that I get to visit all kinds of exciting and interesting places that I would never ordinarily visit, and I get to see views that i would never ordinarily see.

Artonne is situated on an outcrop of the Combrailles overlooking the Plain of the Limagne and at a certain moment as you climb up from the N144 and Combronde to the top of this outcrop there is a magnificent view of the Combraiiles right behind you. I think that this view alone would be worth the price of the admission.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

The exciting action starts almost right at the beginning of the match. Pionsat break down the inside-right position towards the Artonne goalmouth and one of the forwards puts in a good hard shot. The Artonne keeper has to dive full-length to get to it and manages to get a hand to the ball. He can't hang on to it, though and drops it, but he was quickly back onto it again.

Pionsat have some extremely quick forwards but for some reason they don't seem to follow up any of the shots. Keepers at this level of football aren't renowned for their handling and dropped crosses and shots happen with monotonous regularity. With the speed that some of these forwards can summon up, they should be right after these.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

Shortly after this we nearly have a tragedy in the Pionsat defence. The defenders all stand around waiting for the offside trap to be sprung but the flag doesn't go up and they are all caught ball-watching.

As the ball is played into the inside-left channel François who is on his own facing what amounts to a cavalry charge runs off his line to narrow the angle. The Artonne forward goes for glory and unleashes a rocket of a shot that cannons off the bar.

But I'll keep on saying it until someone from the Pionsat coaching staff takes some notice of me. Playing the offside trap as a tactic at this level of football is nothing short of suicide. Even if the defence become specialists at it (which is some hope) you are then relying on the judgement of an amateur linesman and more often than not an "auxillary referee" and it can be expensive.


The next action was something that I didn't photograph. There was a race for the ball between the Artonne goalkeeper and one of the Pionsat forwards and they have a dreadful collision. The game is held up for quite some time while the players receive treatment and the Artonne goalkeeper has come out by far the worst. He has to leave the field wrapped up in bandages like an Egyptian mummy and one of the full-backs has to take over in goal.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

It doesn't take long for Pionsat to open their account after this. Pionsat have signed a quick little forward this season and when he puts his mind to it he has some talent and quite a considerable amount of speed. He breaks down the inside-left position and two or three Artonne players try cynically to scythe him down. He keeps on going even though he had every excuse to go down, and gets in a low shot on goal.

The replacement keeper forgets that he's a keeper and goes for it with his feet, but the ball gets stuck between his legs and squirts it into the net. The keeper should have grabbed it really but I don't suppose it could be helped seeing that he's not long taken over and he's probably never played in goal before.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

Artonne go onto the attack and put a high ball into the Pionsat penalty area. François climbs to catch it. but four or five of the Artonne players climb all over him and flatten him to the ground.

This Artonne side is a big rough side whose players and supporters are quite vocal if not abusive. The referee is going to have his work cut out to keep this match under control, methinks. We've already had a blatant dive in the penalty area from the Artonne no11 for which the referee waved "play on". He has much more patience than I have. Even so, I can clearly see something dramatic happening here in this match "I dictated that at this particular moment and I am blessed with the gift of prophecy as it turns out as you will discover as you read on" because I can't see the referee putting up with much of this.


But talking of the referee (well, one of us is) he's another one with Alzheimer's Disease and is making copious notes as the game progresses, like the ref did in the Cebazat game . He's also wearing sunglasses but I don't know why - it isn't that bright out here.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

Artonne stop another Pionsat attack just outside their area by foul means and Pierre, who doorstepped me the other day in Brico Depot in Montluçon,steps up to take the kick.

It's one of his trademark free kicks that can turn a game round on their own as they did the other week against the Chimps and this is another one that goes over the wall and over the keeper and then dips at the last minute into the net. Not much the keeper could do here even though we was at full stretch.

But the crowd, such as it is, is beginning to get on my nerves and it will be geting on everyone else's nerves before much longer. The amount of noise that the supporters here are making reminds me very much of the English proverb of "empty vessels".


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

Pionsat commit a foul to break up an Artonne attack up at the other end. One of the many fouls that Pionsat have committed in this match but they aren't alone in that, I hasten to add, as you might probably have gathered.

They line up a a wall of five players and as the kick is taken they jump up to try to block it, but the Artonne player, cleverly anticipating this, shoots the ball underneath the wall. Luckily François is on his toes and manages to scramble around quickly to get his hands to the shot.


During the interval the yokels have another opportunity to stoke themselves up at the Pie Hut, which increases the level of noise at the start of the second half. And as the clouds close in the referee has put on a luminous lime-green shirt that will make him stand out clearer, but he is still wearing his sunglasses.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

Pionsat start the second half on the attack and there's a lovely ball out of midfied right across the field to the no9, who is totally unmarked.

While the Artonne players stand around waiting for an offside flag that never came (and quite rightly so - I was level with play) the no9 sets off towards the Artonne goal. He's rather wide of the goal which is a shame and the Artonne keeper rushes off his line to narrow the angle and force him even wider. The Pionsat forward cleverly decides to go for the lob as the keeper advances and the ball clears the keeper but also clears the bar.


Playing in defence for Artonne is the no6 - big and mouthy who is hurling abuse at the Pionsat linesman every time he fails to give an attack offside. Not only that, he's hurling abuse at his own linesman each time that he flags for offside against his team. The Artonne linesman is returning the abuse with interest and I don't see much of a future for this kind of behaviour. This has gone way beyond what I consider to be reasonable or acceptable behaviour, even among a group of highly-charged sportsmen (and in this case I use the term advisedly).


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

We have a clear foul committed by Artonne in their own penalty area and the referee waves "play on" - I'm not sure why as the sound of crunching bone emanating from about 2 feet away from the ball could be heard all round the ground.

Artonne break upfield with the whole Pionsat side out of position and burst through what remains of the Pionsat defence. Franç does his best with a despairing dive but the ball goes underneath him into the net and Artonne pull one back. That was a really unfortunate moment for Pionsat who are clearly on top in the footballing stakes.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

There's a break down the right wing by the Pionsat no9. He's pretty quick, this lad. He beats all of the Artonne defenders and to the by-line, and from there drives across the goalmouth.

It passes right in front of a rather stranded Artonne keeper but also too far in front of at least three onrushing Pionsat forwards. This was a beautiful move and it was quite a shame that nothing came of it. Another inch or so further back and it would have been an almost-certain goal.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

And finally our friend the Artonne no6 finds himself in the referee's little black notebook. And not before time too, I reckon. It was a dreadfully late challenge on one of the Pionsat fullbacks down on the nearside touchline right in front of the "crowd", who make their views known to the referee in no uncertain terms although I've no idea at all why they are complaining.

But you can see what I mean about the referee's luminous lime-green shirt and his sunglasses. Somehow they don't go too well together.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

There's a good diving save from François as ha manages to get to a well-hit Artonne shot and put it high out of danger. He's definitely earning his money here today is François as he has had his work to in this match. It's not been all as one-sided as you might think.

He recovers the ball pretty quickly too, which is always a useful thing to do, and he and whacks it well upfield with most of the Artonne defenders well out of position ....

fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

... and this leads to a Pionsat breakaway down the inside right position. There's been a lot of action down there today.

Once more the Artonne keeper comes off his line to narrow the angle and the Artonne centre-half rushes to the goal line to cover. The Pionsat forward once more goes for the aerial route and clears the keeper comfortably. It also clears the defender too and just about sneaks in underneath the crossbar.

What a good goal that was. It came out of nothing. This is the kind of "route one" football that pays dividends in matches like this.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

But it's not all over yet by any means. Pionsat loose the ball in midfield and an Artonne player picks it up and runs right through the defence. It's François' turn to run out and narrow the angle and he forces the attacker wide and down to the by-line.

Nevertheless the Artonne player gets round François and pushes the ball right across the goalmouth from the narrowest of angles. Luckily for Pionsat there's no Artonne player running in to get onto the end of it. This could have been such a simple tap-in for a quick forward and Pionsat have had quite a let-off.


We finally have a sending off in this game, and not before time either. There's a loose ball in the area and François gets to it first, and quite comfortably too. But an Artonne player slides in, horribly late, and takes François right out by the legs. It was a horrific tackle and it's no surprise that François expresses his displeasure to the Artonne forward in no uncertain terms.

The attacker responds by .... well .... attacking, and grabs François by the throat. A red card is almost inevitable in the circumstances.

As the attacker leaves the field, François receives a stern lecture from the referee which further enrages the crowd, which feels for the most part that François should have been sanctioned too (although I'm not sure why as he was the victim of the foul and didn't use his hand to express himself).

fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

This prompts the no6 to rush over and have some kind of dialogue with the referee who is by no means amused either and if the no6 doesn't behave I'm not sure that he will have much of a future in this game. He's already been booked once and he must be skating on very thin ice right now.

All this took place in a matter of seconds. You can see the Artonne player still trudging to the sidelines. He has't had time to leave the field of play yet.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

There's a calamity right now in the Artonne defence. The Artonne centre-half wins a good ball in the air and powerfully heads it forward, straight into the back of the head of one of his colleagues. The ball rebounds back towards the goal and lands fortituously for the Pionsat no13 who blasts in from about 10 yards.

The replacement keeper instinctively sticks out a leg and and makes contact with the shot, deflecting it over the bar. A full-time keeper would have been pleased with that save and this keeper can be proud of himself. You can see how hard the shot was hit by the height that it attained.


fcpsh pionsat st hilaire football club de foot as artonne 8 novembre 8 11 2009 copyright free photo royalty free photo

If Pionsat were in the ascendency before, they are really making the pressure felt with the one-man advantage. It's a relentless tidal surge of violet towards the Artonne goal even though they are continually straying offside, which puts an end to most of the moves.

But after many attempts they finally get one to stick and the Pionsat no9, who seems to have won this game for Pionsat all on his own, gets in a one-on-one with the Artonne keeper, and finishes in some style. There isn't anything that the keeper can do about it.


And in probably the most predictable action of the entire match, we have a second red card and it is indeed shown to our friend the no6. He's had a right old go at the Pionsat linesman about a disputed offside decision and the referee tells him to shut up and get on with the game.

The no6's response is unprintable in this kind of electronic medium, especially if I want to avoid an age-related classification for my website, and earns him a second yellow card, which is of course followed by the automatic red card. The abuse that the no6 utters as he leaves the field will probably mean that he will hear more about the matter in due course.

There was absolutely no need for any of this. He's been trying the patience of the ref all afternoon and the yellow card for the foul didn't seem to calm him down. One of his team-mates interjects "Of course the referee is right - it's the second yellow card" and urges the no6 to leave the field so that the match can continue. The response of the no6 to this is to take off his shirt and hurl it to the ground in a fit of temper.


Later, while browsing the internet I came across a chat forum that discusses a player from AS Artonne. I cannot confirm of course that it it the same player but it does refer to "the captain". It discusses his behaviour in detail and finishes by saying "personnage n'ayant rien a faire sur un terrain de spor", or for the benefit of those without any French - "someone like him has no place on a sports ground", a sentiment with which I can thoroughly agree.





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