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3rd XI v BEAUREGARD VENDON 6th MARCH 2010
This match has all the air of being a calamity for the Pionsat 3rd XI. They are near the foot of the table and ony 10 players turn up for the match against the league leaders. And one of these players (Damien) has to leave at half-time for work.
And if this isn't bad enough another one of the players, the local ambulance driver, is summoned away by an emergency. A cricket score looks on the cards here.
But Christophe Larue from the first team appears at the ground and as he isn't available tomorrow he offers to turn out. And Beauregard come with a spectator who I've seen before playing for them and who I always thought of as a useful player. He's not doing anything so he offers to make up the numbers for Pionsat.
I like the Beauregard team and their set-up. Pionsat play a lot of matches there and they are a friendly and sociable bunch. This spirit of co-operation sums it up and I wish more matches could be played with this spirit.
The opening goal isn't long in coming and it's scored by Pionsat, which is a surprise. But it's scored by Christophe so it isn't really a surprise at all.
There's a good ball down the inside-right position that puts Christophe through into space. He dribbles his way through the entire defence single-handed until he's one-on-one with the keeper. Putting the ball in the back of the net is the easy part of it all.
Now this guy who came with the Beauregard team - I've seen him play a couple of times and I've no idea why they didn't pick him for their team tonight - he's always had a good game for them whenever I've seen him play and tonight he seems to be carrying on where he left off.
He's combining pretty well with Christophe up front and they have a good one-two in the Beauregard penalty area that puts them clean through on goal but the referee blows for a foul.
Not long after this Beauregard equalise, and I wasn't quick enough to take the pic. I was taken by surprise just like everyone else including Damien in the Pionsat goal.
Beauregard win a throw-in and one of their players takes it quickly to a team-mate. He looks up and notices that Damien has come a-wandering a long way off his line so he simply takes one pace forward and whallops the ball over Damien's head into the goal.
It's true that keeping goal is not easy and one of the issues is keeping your concentration for the full 90 minutes. Damien is not alone in losing his concentration - you'll be amazed at the number of keepers who wander off their line and go forward when there appears to be little danger and then come unstuck - just like at Effiat a few weeks ago. That keeper at Effiat threw away the game single-handedly.
Stay on your line, Damien!
And blow me down if Christophe doesn't go and do it again! This time Damien, who has the ball safely in his hands, hoofs a long clearance downfield. And instead of the usual "putain!" as he slices it into touch, this one goes where he intends it - right downfield.
One of the Pionsat players gets to it first and passes it on downfield and Christophe does really well to get it under control. The keeper has come wandering off his line to see what is going on and this is easy meat for Christophe, who lobs it in over his head.
What did I say five minutes ago?
The Beauregard players are also having their moments in this match and Pionsat have a lucky escape. There's some good play by Beauregard down the right side and as usual the Pionsat defence couldn't clear the ball.
It ends up with a Beauregard player right in the centre of the penalty area with the goal at his mercy yet somehow he manages to put it into the side netting when it would have been far easier to score.
And once again the Pionsat defenders find themselves under the cosh and this match is beginning to take on a familiar air. They are once more having some difficulty in clearing the ball upfield or out for a throw-in and eventually manage to get the ball out for a corner.
But look at the positions. There's not a single defender on the far post to cover the ball that sneaks in round the edges and there are two Beauregard players totally unmarked right on the edge of the goal line. Then we have three Beauregard players unmarked on the edge of the penalty area while five Pionsat players are doing nothing at all.
Yes, the marking is woeful and it's really no surprise that the team comes unstuck so often. They really need someone in the centre of defence or in goal who can take command of the back line.
But instead, we are back up the other end with the Pionsat attack. Christophe works hard down the wing who takes the entire Beauregard defence out of position. He puts a cross into the area and this Beauregard player playing for Pionsat takes the ball round the keeper but unfortunately goes too wide. His cross-cum-shot is intercepted by a Beauregard defender who has rushed back and he puts it out for a corner.
What a good move that was.
And it's Christophe again! This time he pairs up with Eric, who can also have his moments, and they do some really good work in midfield - a couple of one-twos and all this sort of thing.
Once the Beauregard loanee joins in they have the Beauregard defence in all kinds of confusion and the result is a foregone conclusion. Christophe breaks into the area, takes the ball around the keeper, and puts it into the back of the net.
Now in my notes on the Effiat game where Gregory played for the 3rd XI I made the point that if only a couple more 1st and 2nd-teamers would help out every now and again with the 3rd XI whenever they were unavailable for their normal teams it would change the 3rd XI's season around. You can see the difference that two decent players are making.
The ideal solution of course is for the 1st XI and the 3rd XI to play simultaneously and the 2nd XI to play on the following day. That way there isn't such a big gap to cross for any of the players. 1st XI players unavailable on Saturday could play for the 2nd XI on the Sunday and the 2nd XI players unavailable on the Sunday could play for either the 1st XI or the 3rd XI on the Saturday. That kind of arrangement might encourage them more.
But it's all really down to the coach and the club officials, who should be telling players to make themselves available. Do you know - I was at the ground one Wednesday evening at a training session and the coach had to ask someone else how the 3rd XI had gone on in their match the previous weekend. He was so disinterested in the 3rd XI that he hadn't even troubled himself to look up the results on the League website or to telephone the team captain to ask him - never mind coming along to watch them and give them the benefit of his advice and support.
It's been a long time coming but Beauregard eventually pull one back. The ball has been scrambled off the line twice by the Pionsat defence and finally manage to get the ball out for a corner.
From the corner the play the ball out of defence but only as far as the inside right position. A Beauregard player drives it in and one of his team-mates diverts it towards the goal. A despairing lunge by a Pionsat defender just helps it on its way into the top corner.
Christophe is running rampant at the moment up in the Beauregard end of the field. This is a movement that starts in the Pionsat right-back position and the ball is played on nicely down the wing.
The Beauregard loanee is the first to the ball and puts a good cross in. Christophe sells a dummy to the entire defence and finds himself in a one-on-one with the keeper. He was rather spoiled for choice here and goes fot the waist-high curler but the keeper gets just enough onto the ball to stop a certain goal.
Believe me - it was not as comfortable as it looked in this photo.
And we are now in the second half and almost straight away Pionsat, and Christophe, score a fourth goal.
They win a throw-in and it's quickly taken to the Beauregard loanee who puts in a beautiful cross to the centre of the attack. The entire Beauregard defence stand around like Easter Island statues watching it work its way over to Christophe. he simply dribbles his way around the static defence and slots it past the keeper.
But Beauregard are still dangerous, especially with Pionsat's fragile defence, and they pull another goal back.
The ball is passed around inside the Pionsat half with no-one from Pionsat being able to intercept it. It's ventually passed out to the right winger who puts in a lovely cross right through the centre of defence to a player lurking in the inside-left position totally unmarked. He pushes it into the net past a despairing dive from the keeper.
And Christophe is on the attack yet again and again wins the ball from a lucky rebound, with Beauregard's defence messing around with the ball just like Pionsat's defence usually does.
Christophe is again spoilt for choice and instead of going for the blast or the lob this time goes for the curler around the keeper. He goes for the full-length dive and just manages to get a hand to it to push it round the post for a corner.
This keeper is somewhat erratic but he is having his moments!
But Christophe isn't to be outdone and goes nap with his fifth goal, which is an extraordinary goal to say the least. Beauregard are still messing around with the ball still not clearing their lines and there's all kinds of fancy stuff going on around the centre circle. Suddenly and for no apparent reason at all one of the Beauregard "defenders" - and I use the term loosely, rather like Beauregard's defence, makes a suicidal backpass to the keeper.
And I mean "suicidal" - the keeper has to run out almost to the edge of the centre circle for the ball but he's never ever going to beat Christophe and this is a foregone conclusion.
But Pionsat can't keep it up and are tiring quickly. They now have a static midfield and a static defence against a Beauregard team that show no signs of tiring. This one-man advantage is telling.
Beauregard are on the attack and a couple of weak tackles from the Pionsat team can't get the ball. It goes all the way through the defence to a Beauregard forward who has an easy task of scoring against no opposition at all.
For 80 minutes or so this match has been nicely weighted in Pionsat's favour thanks to Christophe but the team has now run out of steam. The Beauregard defenders, who now seem to have the message hoof the ball long upfield to the corner flag.
It's won with some ease by the Beauregard winger who puts in a good cross. The keeper goes to intercept it but calamity! He misses it! It's a simple tap-in for one of the Beauregard forwards.
And while I'm changing the batteries in the camera (for that has run out of steam as well) Beauregard get their noses in front.
It's a typical Pionsat defensive manoeuvre - messing around with the ball far too close to danger and failing to clear it or get it upfield. It's intercepted down the right wing, a simple pass infield and that, I'm afraid, was that. Pionsat, having led for so long, simply ran out of energy.
But thanks are due to Christophe whose one-man show made a good fight of it.
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