Wimbledon District League

Merton Orient 1-2 AFC Cubo 3rd XI

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Date: Saturday 26th November, 2011

Starting Line-Up: Busy, Lye, Ingle, Nathan, Antonio, Turner (C), Lukas, Jeph, Hennerz, Field, May.

Sub: Smith

“I think a curse should rest on me — because I love this war. I know it’s smashing and shattering the lives of thousands every moment — and yet — I can’t help it — I enjoy every second of it.” – WINSTON CHURCHILL, 1916.

And so it was that on a blustery afternoon as far down the map as the Northern Line takes you both sides packed the central midfield, and knuckled down to it. Yes Merton and CUBO lined up like for like, both with three central midfielders a piece, two wide men and a big fella up-front. For Merton this was clearly the best way of arranging the talent they had at their disposal, for CUBO it was the only clear way of getting Captain Matt Turner into a midfield that already contained Lukas and Jeph.

Both sides started brightly, Merton visibly switched on and focussed from their extensive high energy pre-match warm up attacked the ball with vigour in the early stages but found the CUBO boys (similarly full of well conserved energy due to their total lack of pre-match warm up) to be just as solid and competitive.

And in the early stages this was how the game continued. The ball often bouncing up on the firm surface and taking off in the strong cross field wind was very difficult to control, both teams in periods gaining some possession and trying to create but being batted back by numbers and good work rate from the opposition.

When CUBO got their foot on the ball they did begin to look more and more dangerous, both Lukas and Jeph getting the ball down and bringing in Field and Neville on the flanks, who in turn were feeding passes into the increasingly dangerous looking Paul May up top.

This pressure eventually told when the second or third corner from CUBO in a matter of minutes was cleared to the edge of the box, and as the ball sat up Lukas showed impeccable technique, guiding a left foot volley into the bottom right hand corner of the net – 1-0 CUBO.

Merton fought hard to regain parity and fed more and more balls forward, but perhaps for the first time this season, the CUBO backline remained very solid dealing with every attack be it on the deck or in the air. The back four of Lye, Ingle, Nathan and Antonio kept a good shape, and with Turner in particular racing into every challenge with gusto just in front of them, this was perhaps the most solid the CUBO boys have looked all season.

“All warfare is based on deception” – Sun Tzu (Chinese philosopher)

And with 35 minutes on the clock a throw in from the right landed at the feet of Merton’s talented, Jimmy Bullard haired centre forward inside the box. As he tried to turn a tightly glued Nathan he hurled himself to the ground, and a penalty was given. I’ve seen them given, but then i’ve seen Matt Turner sleepwalk over to a living room chair and urinate on it until it’s drenched, then calmly climb onto it again and go to sleep – it doesn’t make it right. It was slotted home and the game was all square.

That looked like how the first half would end until Paul May, who had caused chaos in the Merton backline the whole game latched on to a pass, muscled off a defender and from a seemingly impossible angle, drilled a shot through the Merton keeper into the net. A great solo effort and sent the CUBO boys in 2-1 up at half time.

The second half took on much the same pattern, with Merton squeezing up the pitch looking for the equaliser and CUBO fighting hard in the middle. James Ingle was confidently marshaling the new look back line and was imperious in the air as the ball was knocked up with ever increasing regularity towards the Merton front man. CUBO weren’t just sitting back though and were hitting Merton hard and fast on the counter attack. Jeph in particular was regularly latching onto balls in the centre of the park and striding up the pitch, and May should have had a free kick awarded as he was set free towards goal in the right hand channel and was seemingly hauled to the ground, a lucky escape for the Merton centre back who could have seen red.

As a dud corner was played back out to him by Ingle, Neville rounded the Merton covering man and cut a ball back to Matt Turner who fired over, and another cross from the right hand side saw Jeph force a smart save from the Merton keeper. Then a sweeping move from CUBO saw a smart interchange of four or five passes at full pace leading to a centre from Turner towards May, he took a touch and tried to slide the ball past the keeper who made another great save. It was unlucky, it would undoubtedly have been team goal of the season.

As Neville got cramp in both calves (he didn’t get his 33% extra from his Powerade before the game) CUBO’s team work ethic didn’t drop and the final minutes of the game were seen off in confident style.

A great result from the boys in baby blue, showing a certain know-how and will to win that wasn’t evident last season. This team should go into the New Year full of confidence and still in with a genuine shot at the title.

Final Score: Merton Orient 1-2 AFC Cubo 3rd XI

Goals: Lukas, May

Man of the Match: Stand out performers on the day included Paul May who played the role of lone front man very well, Matt Turner who put in an assured and high energy performance in the middle, and James Ingle who looked confident and impermeable at the back.

Match Report: Henry Neville

AFC Cubo 2nd XI 0-0 Partizan Wandsworth

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Date: Sat 19th November, 12.30pm KO

Starting Line-up: Stevie T, Noodles, Darlington, A. Clark, Rutting, Salty (C), Hoops, Trev, Denno, PeteHill, Keegan.

Sub: Haddon

After assembling for an early 11.30am meet for their league fixture with Partizan Wandsworth, Cubo 2s were in the unusual position of having to wait for the Baby Blue kit to arrive. As it happened, it never materialised, as the players were surprised to learn they were in the changed strip of Crimson shirts, Navy shorts and Crimson socks. Admittedly the colour of the kit could also be described as ‘Red’, but we’ve never settled for ‘Light Blue’ and Lord knows we’re better than just….Red.

A slightly reshuffled team was assembled in the absence of Player Manager Pally (wrist knack) and Goalkeeper Clark (1s), while Bradders’ good form for the First Team also saw him once again missing. Utility Man Hooper and Darlington returned to the squad, while Steve ‘Box Office’ Keegan made his first appearance since becoming a Father earlier in the year.

The home side started the game particularly brightly, snapping into challenges and getting their wide players into the game immediately. In midfield, Moody was the player instructed to break and give support to Keegan who was leading the line on his own. Despite their relative comfort, Cubo weren’t quite able to fashion any real goalscoring opportunities, with the final ball or pass slightly below what was needed to really unsettle the Partizan defence.

At the back, the new partnership of Darlington and Clark looked strong, protecting Stevie T (in a Matt Cardle train drivers hat) with a number of strong aerial and ground challenges. In fairness to the soon-to-be-painter-and-decorator-who-is-currently-masquerading-as-a-pop-singer-even-though-it’s-not-actually-Matt-Cardle-it’s-still-Stevie-in-a-cap-and-a-luminous-yellow-goalkeeper-jersey (with baby blue under armour long sleeve turtle neck, Ugg boots and grey joggers for afters) when he was called upon to make a couple of saves in the first half, often from a long throw threat, he looked very natural between the sticks. In fact the only thing lacking from the midfielder’s goalkeeping performance was the ability to kick the ball – the watching Alanis Morisette, enjoying an Autumnal stroll through Barn Elms, was heard to remark on the irony of the Barnsley Beckham’s aforementioned shortcoming.

With the score at half time locked at 0-0, Cubo remained convinced that if they could remain composed in the final third, and continue to press Wandsworth on the small pitch, they would have enough in their locker to win. A nice piece of play that started from a wonderful piece of control by Keegan, saw Hooper switch the ball to Dennison in the right hand channel, but with a narrow angle to work with his low drive was straight at the keeper. Keegan later went close with a back post header which he couldn’t quite direct on target.

Cubo suddenly were swarming over their vistors like a… swarm of bees, Pete went close with a stinging 25 yard free kick that was pushed around the right-hand post by the keeper, before the best move of the match saw the visiting keeper make an even better save to deny a 20 yarder from Moody. The keeper was male not female, but if he was the latter ‘she’ would have been relieved to keep the ball from hornet. If there was a crowd they would have been buzzing. If this section of puns goes any further it would be disastrous.

Haddon replaced Noodles at Right Back around the hour mark, while Keegan, after putting in a typically gutsy shift, took over from Steve in goal. He was welcomed up front by being smashed in the back by Partizan’s moustached left back – possibly aggrieved at Rebecca Ferguson being denied victory in X-Factor last year.

Despite Cubo coming close to scoring in the second half 0-0 is obviously a dangerous score line and it would be disingenuous to suggest that Partizan did not have their moments to break the deadlock themselves. Keegan was relieved that a header was only slightly to his left, while another effort following a dangerous cross from the left hand side was again handled confidently by the stand-in sticksman.

With the game becoming increasingly stretched Darlington thought he had capped a dominant performance with a looping header from a corner, only to see his effort cleared off the line. With both sides fully committed to securing all 3 points, there was a lot of huffing and puffing, but neither team found that bit of composure or opportunism to snatch a win.

Final Score: AFC Cubo 2nd XI 0-0 Partizan Wandsworth

Goals:

Man of the Match: Steve Keegan took it for his efforts in leading the line. When he was able to bring the ball down and involve the midfield Cubo looked very good. He also brought out an outrageous trap using his arse. Welcome back mate! Joe was runner up although all of the back line played well with Rick and Clark getting deserved votes.

Match Report: Thom Hoops

AFC Cubo 3rd XI 3-1 Kiwi FC

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Date: Saturday 19th November 2011, 2pm KO

Starting Line-up: Ash, John, Jonesy, Antonio, Luke , Henners, Lukas, Jimbo, Timmy, Lenny, Billers

Subs: Jeff, Dan Cucos, Bushy

With anticipation feverish before kick-off, both for those new to playing with Jeff and for the arrival of new stash, it was easy to forget we were playing the run-away league leaders, Kiwi. This however was made clear to us upon watching Kiwi’s warm-up, consisting of elaborate and well-rehearsed drills, sprints and a game of touch rugby. The boys in baby blue elected to prance about and stroke the ball to each other, remarking on how nice the pitch was and wondering aloud what ‘stud’ to wear. Classic Cubo.

With Jeff running late, lost and not speaking much English, Cubo kicked off into the sun, the match progressing at a frenetic pace. The Kiwi plan of constantly smashing high balls over the Cubo defence almost paid immediate dividends, and the back line was looking shaky, unsure of how best to deal with the Kiwi direct, fast and aggressive style. The first real chance came from just such an attack, with the Kiwi no. 9 through on goal. Glenn just managed to toe poke the ball away from him before he shot, diverting it onto the post. Calamitous defending from Jonesy (literally 2 minutes after chewing Glenn out for not releasing the ball quick enough), resulted in the no. 9 again going through on goal, and rounding Ash before harmlessly passing it into the side netting. Unfortunately the back line could not hold out under this constant pressure, and Kiwi finally broke the DEAD LOCK after 8 minutes. As Jonesy ran back to make yet another clearance over our heads, he was unceremoniously fouled and tripped up, allowing the Kiwi no 10 to lift the ball around the onrushing Ash to go 1-0 up.

An erroneous call of ‘home’ from Ash to Glenn resulted in a header back to him being intercepted by the no. 9, who cleverly won a penalty from the outstretched keeper. Saving Glenn’s blushes, Ash confidently palmed the penalty away from the aforementioned striker, leaving Jonesy to smash it over the bar from about 6 inches off the line.

Kiwi however had not had it all their own way, with Cubo looking sleek and dangerous on the break. A strong run from Haddon on the left wing saw him sandwiched and brought down between two Kiwis inside the edge of the box, and the referee unerringly pointed to the spot. Billers confidently despatched the penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way. Unfortunately it was to be one of his last contributions, coming off with a dead leg to be replaced by Jeff. Cubo’s second came not long after, after some excellent pressing from Timmy resulted in an unforced error from the Kiwi left back, leaving Lenny to storm through and expertly lob the keeper.

Without Turns present to slag everyone off, the half time team talk was actually a positive experience, and Cubo kicked off the second half in good spirit. The back line was much improved, and Cubo were able to soak up the Kiwi pressure, Antonio and Jimbo impressing on the ground and in the air after Jonesy had been forced off. With the two talented midfielders of Lukas and Jeff now running the show and spreading it wide at every opportunity, Timmy and Henners began to see a lot more of the ball, both comfortably beating their men and whipping in dangerous crosses. One chance from Kiwi saw Cubo clear the ball off the line, and the resulting break through Timmy, Lenny and Lukas nearly saw a goal scored immediately, in some of the best football we’ve played this season. Cubo finally scored their deserved third after some excellent solo work from Jeff, who battered the ball confidently under the Kiwi keeper. The game finished without further incident in either goalmouth, Lukas impressing after a magnificent 60 yard dash to make an important slide tackle.

A good win against a physical and mentally strong side, in an incident packed, chaotic match. The thirds move to third in the table with a game in hand on the leaders. Props also to Ash and the back line for keeping out a New Zealand International, Daniel Ellensjohn off the scoresheet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ellensohn

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/daniel.ellensohn

Final Score: AFC Cubo 3rd XI 3-1 Kiwi FC

Scorers: Billers (pen), Lenny, Jeff

Man of the Match: Ash – for his penalty save and constant chat to the Kiwi no. 9 who left the field a broken, shell of a man. Props to Jimbo and Henners for playing in 3 different positions, and Lukas and Antonio who were superb throughout.

Match Report: John Glenn

AFC Battersea 3-0 AFC Cubo 2nd XI

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Date: Saturday 12th November

Starting Line-Up: Clark, Noodles, J. McGeown, A. Clarke, Denno, Salty, Moody, Dan C, Cheggars, Hill.

Subs:

Pally’s succinct thoughts:

Saturday was a difficult day for the second team against AFC Battersea, a strong team.

On Saturday morning we had 9 players! Last minute phone calls allowed us to put out an 11.

Played pretty well considering!

Dissappointing that Cubo could only get 23 players on a saturday in November!

 

AFC Cubo 2nd XI 0 – 2 UCC Diaspora

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Date: Saturday 29th October 2011, 3pm KO

Starting line-up: Mango, Haddon, Alan Clarke, Pally, Rick Utting, Denno, Bradders, Salty, Pete Hill, Hoops, Stevie T

Sub: Seb Brain

On a roll from an unbeaten start to the season, the mighty Cubo came up against a resilient UCC Diaspora side; fresh from promotion from Division One last year and rolling along nicely at the higher standard. Discussion pre-match focussed upon Luke’s alchemy and Alan Clarkes estimation that if his lateness continues he alone will have contributed nearly £100 to the 2nds end of season bash.

With Haddon sporting a very nice new pair of boots (with his name cockily scribed along the side), Cubo started with the now standard 4-4-2. The game was evenly matched, and had a frantic pace, with Salty and Bradders fighting like teenage looters for the ball in the middle of the park. For the first time this season, Cubo hadn’t warmed up with the obligatory netball, and Denno wasn’t too happy with that. Just as the game was settling down into a steady rhythm after a high octane first 5 minutes, the Diaspora right midfield whipped the ball across to the penalty spot, and as Denno attempted to clear the ball, it kicked off ‘a massive divot’ and struck him on the left bicep. Penalty: Diaspora. Try as he might to guess the right way, the Diaspora spot-kicker placed the ball in the left corner, Mango dived the wrong way. 1-0 Diaspora.

Cubo then attempted the fightback, playing the ball nicely along the ground on the left hand side. Decent one-touch football, but never quite finding the killer pass that would open up for a chance to equalise. Even when the ball wasn’t on the floor, Cubo used the returning ‘big players’ of Thom Hoops and Stevie T up front to great effect, with balls flicked from one to the other and vice versa. A decent chance to pull level always on the card.

Midway through the first half, the first great Cubo flashpoint of the game. Unfortunately not in the oppo half. With the Diaspora number 15 proving a handful for the Cubo centre halves, as he was clattered to the floor under a cruching (yet wholey legal) challenge from Pally, he decided to have a good fondle of the ball while moaning like a bitch about what he saw as a foul. Cue a secondary challenge from Pally that looked likely to puncture the number 15’s balls. High, forceful, scary. Luckily for him, once the ensuing drama of the Diaspora players having their bit with the stricken Pally (for he got wiped out by a wave of Paddies), the referee was (possibly) poor and let Pally stay on the pitch.

UCC were clearly up for it now and 35 minutes in, the ball came to the advancing left back around 30 yards out. One touch, and without a Cubo player applying pressure, he struck it past the helpless Mango into the top left corner. For a man who has a bit of a temper when he’s beaten in five-a-side, let alone in full size goals, the strike left Nick speechless.

Half time. Two down, but playing well, and definitely still in it.

The second half proved to be much the same as the first, with Cubo winning the ball well upfront and forcing Diaspora to give away free kicks which Cubo never quite punished them with. A number of times, AC was able to climb above the Diaspora players in the box with a few headers flashing past the far post and crossbar.

Twenty minutes from the end, and Pally had to leave the field with his wrist proving too painful to play with. Seb came on, and Cubo switched to 3-4-3. An interesting back line of AC, with Rick and Luke either side of him. The game opened up. Cubo moving the ball well on the ground and finding the gaps with the extra player further up the pitch.

With the aerial approach working well for Cubo, two minutes from the end, a ball went up for Seb (admittedly not the tallest centre forward in the world). Wiped out in the air, he clattered to the floor face first. Cue the drama.

Knocked straight out, he lay on the floor, getting mildly slapped by the Diaspora linesman in a foolhardy attempt to get woken up. The oppo Goalkeeper did do a great job though. A passing ambulance from the rugby was flagged down like a London taxi, with the previous occupant kicked out despite his own dislocated shoulder. Seb had by this time come round, but things were clearly not all there. Blue lights, and boarded down, he was rushed to Charing X Hospital (nowhere near the station). After a number of hours, he was released to go home with a number of zygomatic fractures. Surgery has been arranged for next Monday.

All in all, not a good day for Cubo 2nds.

Man of the Match: Thom Hoops

Match Report: Luke Haddon

AFC Cubo 2nd XI 3-2 Goldfingers

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Date: Saturday 15th October, 2011

Starting Line-Up: Clark, Haddon, A. Clarke, Pally, Utting, Denno, Bradley, Salty, Burt, Brain, Hill

Subs: Hooper and Jim M

It was a case of déjà vu at Barn Elms on Saturday as Cubo faced a Goldfingers team on another balmy summer’s day two weeks after knocking them out of the cup. Cubo have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season and came into this game full of confidence having won their last 3 games 1-0. Having watched Wales lose to the French that morning, Pally turned up sporting his London Welsh top and looking to take out his frustration out on Goldfingers. Given the weather conditions it would be interesting to see how many of the translucent members of the squad would deal with the hot conditions. Utting was seen applying a thick layer of sun cream before the game as the tree in the corner of the pitch would only offer him shade for one half of the game. With all strikers at the club seemingly unavailable it was left to the imposing duo of Seb Brain and Pete Hill to lead the line. Otherwise it was the regular back four in front of Neil ‘clean sheet’ Clark and a midfield of Bradley and Salty in the middle and Denno and Andy Burt offering some quality out wide.

The first half was not a vintage performance from Cubo. The team seemed very lethargic and Goldfingers were first to most balls and looked dangerous on the break. xHowever, Cubo did manage to go ahead through a sloppy defensive effort from the away team. From a Cubo throw on the left Andy Burt managed to slide in on the edge of the area to divert the ball towards goal. Seb and the Goldfingers’ keeper went for it but both managed to miss the ball which ran through to Alan Clarke to another goal to continue his good start to the season.

Despite going ahead Cubo continued to live dangerously by giving the ball away too easily and then allowing Goldfingers too much space on the break. A free kick was given away on the edge of the Cubo area in a threatening position. The dead ball was poorly stuck though straight at keeper Clark. Unfortunately the prospect of getting married next week just before his 39th birthday was playing on his mind and he forgot key coaching point of all goalkeepers of getting your body behind the ball and let it go through his legs. So the team’s record of not conceding a goal since moving to a flat back four back in their opening game of the season had now been ended. The only other thing to note from the first half was the referees increasing habit of offering commentary on the game but not being to receptive to any constructive criticism offered by either team.

The half time whistle was welcomed by Cubo and gave them a chance to regroup and hopefully address their lacklustre first half. The second half started with Cubo in the ascendency and trying to pass the ball around positively. Seb and Pete were causing the Goldfingers back four problems with their pace and the quality of the final ball was the only thing missing. Cubo retook the lead midway through the half. A corner from the right was delivered with pace to the far post from Burt and Denno managed to head the ball into the goal through a melee of defenders and goalkeeper. Cubo had deserved the lead through their positive start to the second half. Goldfingers still looked like a threat and it took a few last ditch interceptions from the Cubo defence to prevent their strikers being clear through on goal.

In the 75th minute the referee blew up for a foul committed by the home team on the edge of the area. Unfortunately the referee was not having his best game and this was a shocking decision as it was clear to everyone except the man in black that a Cubo foot had got to the ball first. The wall lined up and the Goldfingers player managed to hit it over the wall and also over the stranded Clark to get them back level. The crowd were now looking for a reaction from the Cubo players as their winning run was now under threat. Cubo remained positive and looked to release Seb at any opportunity. Hooper had also replaced Pete Hill up top to offer his considerable frame to the frontline. The third and decisive goal came from an unlikely source. Mark Bradley made his first successful pass of the game to release Seb whose pace kept him away from the defenders and he calmly slotted it home to give Cubo another 3 points. The home team managed to hold on with Clark pulling off a great save towards the end. With another win under their belt the team headed off to the Red Lion for a debrief and then onto Chez Saltdog for a few home brews.

Final Score: AFC Cubo 3-2 Goldfingers

Scorers: A. Clarke, Dennison, Brain

Man of the Match: Seb Brain for a coolly taken winner and offering a constant threat in behind the Goldfingers defence.

Positives: 

  • Great team spirit to react to conceding the second goal and get the winner
  • Scored three goals
  • Late fines are building up nicely for the end of season drinking session

Negatives:

  • First half performance was very sloppy. We are not good enough just to turn up and collect 3 points.
  • Still need to work on our finishing
  • Bradders and Luke suffering heatstroke after not applying enough sun cream before the game

Match Report: Rick Utting

AFC Cubo 3rd XI 2-3 Inter Old Boys

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Date: Saturday 1st October, 2pm KO

Starting Line-up: Ricardo, Revill, Ingle, Noodles, Rosoman, Neville, Turner (C), Hooper, Smith, Field, Griffith.

Subs: Glenn, Lye, Cucos.

On the hottest October day since Henners unveiled the 10th month of his 2008 calendar, a table topping Cubo side, shorn of a number of key players, hosted the visiting Inter Old Boys. The Away side were inexplicably sporting a light blue and white vertically striped kit, causing Cubo to revert to the White-Puma-Sleaze-Strip-with-Tyre-Track-detail, white shorts and I-I-Italia stockings.

John Glenn and Geremi Lye were caught in some unexpected traffic and arrived at the fairly late time of 1.58pm for a 2pm KO and had to settle for a place on the bench with the returning Cucos.

The match started at pace that was perhaps a little frantic given the 30°C temperature but despite the hard ground and noticeable height advantage enjoyed by Old Boys, it was The Baby Blue Army that began to get on top, despite Ros departing within 5 minutes after suffering a bout of ankle knack. He was replaced by Glenn who slotted in at LB.

Henry Neville was at the heart of most of Cubo’s highlights, enjoying plenty of space behind his left midfield opponent, and linking up nicely with Revs and the hard working duo of Field and Griffith up front.

After scoring an own goal the previous week, which was a small blight on an otherwise strong performance, Jimmy ‘Jingle all the way’ Ingle was doing very well at the heart of the defence with Noodles slotting in alongside as if he’d never been away.

However, midway through the first half, slightly against the run of play, Old Boys took the lead. A whipped in corner was attacked, and converted, by one of several 6 foot plus imposters sporting the Argentina stripes.

Cubo were able to hit back almost instantly. A sweeping move from back to front saw Turner, on the gallop down the right channel, upended. Henry stepped up and delivered a magnificent cross that begged to be abused and his roomate 4lyf (if we did away trips) Jimmy duly did so, rising unopposed to crash a downward header into the net.

2 set-piece goals then became 3, as another NVLL outswinger, this time from a corner, was not attacked by a static Inter backline or ‘keeper and Griffith duly notched his 3rd goal in as many appearances with a determined nod, akin to greeting an acquaintance you tolerate but do not consider a friend.

Despite reaching the break a goal up, and appearing to be the more fluid side, there was a definite feeling of frustration that Cubo were not reaching the heights of previous weeks and Skipper Turns, back into the fray after some expanding ankles of his own and a tennis holiday, delivered a bit of a salvo, clearly looking for a response.

Edd Smith made way for Lye and the boys from Barn Elms started the 2nd half brightly, somewhat appropriately given the UV rays that were descending with increasing force from the cloudless Cubo coloured sky.

Despite the efforts of Turner, and a couple of sweeping passes from his midfield comrade Hooper, to fashion a really clear cut chance, the home side were unable to do so.

Hoops failed to catch one of two half chances cleanly and with Cubo narrowly failing to make a final ball tell after good approach work, Inter sensed that 1 point, and maybe even all 3, was suddenly a feasible haul.

A point blank header forced a great save from the home Goalkeeper before, in retaliation, Turner’s chicken dipper of a 30 yard volley was athletically fisted over by the Inter keeper, belying the extremely basic jogging bottoms he had opted for.

With approximately 10 minutes to go, the away side drew level in strange circumstances. An incisive move down the right saw a ball pulled back from the by-line into the path of a player arriving from midfield. With the goal very much ‘”Up for grabs noooooow” he wretchedly sliced his effort across the face of the 6 yard box where the left winger followed in at the back post. With the target at his mercy, he elected to also try out the newly in-vogue ‘slice shot’ and the ball trickled, like an overflowing Calippo most of the players were desperately craving, into the far corner.

With the match now all square, Jordan picked up a knock and after a bit of (self administered) treatment, was also unable to continue prompting a bit of a reshuffle. Cucos came on at right back but with Revs one of a few players struggling in the heat, he switched to upfront with Field moving to left midfield and Geremi switching to the right flank.

In my experience what gets a group of Old Boys buoyant is when your younger sister’s mates come round to get ready for a night on the tiles. However the aforementioned equaliser had similar effects and Inter were on the prowl for a winner.

Cubo pressed forwards themselves but a clear sight at goal continued to elude them. Hooper’s back-post header from another Neville set-piece went over the top and Noodles and Ingle intervened well to snuff out an opposition opening.

With seconds to go, Inter produced a sucker punch. A well assembled raid saw the ball pushed into the path of the left winger by the opposition striker. With Cucos trying to get across from a narrow starting position to shut him down, the Inter player was able to open his body and sweep a right footed shot into the far corner. The celebrations of the vistitors were considerable, no doubt fuelled by the 100% record Cubo had entered the match with.

With seconds to go the referee blew up, a dejected 3s reflecting on their first dropped points of the season.

Final Score: AFC Cubo 3rd XI 2-3 Inter Old Boys

Scorers: Ingle, Griffith.

Man of the Match: Jimmy Ingle takes it after performing excellently at the heart of the defence. Runner-up was Henry Neville who had 2 assists but was a constant threat in open play as well.

Match Report: Tom Hooper

South East London 2nd XI 1-2 AFC Cubo 3rd XI

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Date: Saturday 24th September, 2pm KO

Starting Line-Up: Dan Storey, Chris Revill, Jimmy Ingle, Greg Tett, Andrew Rosoman, Seb Brain, Andy Burt, Tom Hooper, Henry Neville, Chris Harding (C), Chris Lendrum.

Subs: John Glenn, Jeremy Lye, Pete Hill.

It was a big test for The Baby Blue Army this week following their perfect start to the season, as fans and doubters alike asked the question,  “Yes it’s all good so far, but can they do it on a sunny afternoon in Dulwich?”

This weeks test was posed by a South East London side who caused Cubo some problems last season and despite the overpowering smell of weed emanating from their supporters, they looked up for it again today.

The game started brightly, with both sides looking to attack but struggling to get the ball under control, the bounce of the ball often causing players problems. Despite some controlled touches in Midfield from Hooper and Burt it was South East London who had the first major opportunity of the game. A lofted through ball caused confusion between the new centre back partnership of Tett and Ingle allowing, i’m pretty sure, George Elokobi, to race through on goal. Fortunately his over muscular physique meant that he chipped the ball well over the crossbar from 18 yards – a let off for Cubo.

That scare seemed to re-focus the Cubo boys, and they began to string some lovely moves together. Neville in a new position on the left side was finding space and linking up well with the central midfield pairing of Hooper and Burt. Combined with the liquid movement up front of Harding and Lenny this began to cause SEL a great deal of problems.

SEL were getting sucked across to the left hand side of the pitch to deal with non stop baby blue triangles, which was in turn was creating space for Seb Brain on the right flank who beat his man on numerous occasions and delivered dangerous crosses into the box.

Half chances fell to Lenny and Neville consecutively. Lenny worked the keeper with a left foot strike after finding space on the turn inside the box, and Neville volleyed over from 25 yards after controlling an insufficient SEL clearance.

The inevitable finally happened mid-way through the half when a lofted free kick into the box from Tett was cushioned by Hooper into the path of Harding, the result was a crisply struck left foot volley which gave the keeper no chance. A few more chances came and went, Neville getting his head to a well delivered Brain cross, but diverting it past the far post and whipped in left foot corners from Burt providing SEL with a regular saturday afternoon headache.

The second half saw a switch in formation for SEL as they tried to counteract Cubo’s dominant ball retention by packing the midfield. It seemed to work as George Elokobi was getting more service and certainly keeping Ingle and Tett busy running down the channels, although no clear cut chances were created. Infact Cubo’s back four of Revil, Tett, Ingle, and Rosoman remained solid and dealt with any threat thrown at them, Biscuit in goal was not a busy man.

The game was effectively put to bed when a sweeping ball out of defence from Ingle found the lively Harding on the right flank, he turned inside and in turn chipped a left footed cross through to Andy Burt who came inside the defender with a wonderful first touch and hit a right foot shot, via a “slight” deflection, into the SEL net.

Substitutions were made, Neville, Brain and Rosoman being replaced by Lye, Glenn and Pete Hill and Cubo battled hard to play out the win. SEL never threatened until a seemingly innocuous ball over the top left Ingle with a problem. With George Elokobi baring down on him, and Biscuit in goal not certain whether to stick or twist, Ingle took matters into his own hands, cooly heading the ball into the bottom corner of his own net. A splendid finish.

SEL threw everything at the Cubo goal and could have drawn level moments from the end when, after a goal mouth scramble, the ball spun perfectly into the path of the hilariously named Gay-tan five yards from goal. But with the goal at his mercy he just sort of crumbled to the floor like a new born deer, and Cubo were off the hook.

All in all a well deserved win and some of the best football The Baby Blue army has produced, they go marching on to the top of the table, three wins from three.

The manager of SEL was also kind enough to give his reports on the match:

 

Final Score: South East London 2nd XI 1-2 AFC Cubo 3rd XI

Scorers: Harding, Burt.

Man of the Match: Defensive colossus Greg Tett deservedly takes it for the second match in succession, with Burt and Hooper joint runners-up.

Match Report: Henry Neville

AFC Cubo 2nd XI 1-0 Claremont AFC

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Date: Saturday 17th September, 2pm KO

Starting Line-up: Neil Clark, Luke Haddon, Rick Utting, Pally, Alan Clarke, Trev, Denno, Salty (c), Bradders, Stevie T, Pete Hill

Subs: John Glenn, Andy Burt, Banksy

Denno gets his lean on

The 2s and 3s arrived at Barn Elms with the majority of the pre-match excitement focussed on the new kit. It was worth the wait, as was seeing Denno turn up with a 2 inch nail driven through the front tyre of his 1975 racer. It is special; from the sleazy red velvet Lotto patch all the way down to the padded white bit on the socks. Salty completed the look with a fetching white sweat band to win Barn Elms best dressed. The match was played on Cubo’s new pitch, staked out carefully before the game by Pally and Stevie. With a good trim, it will be lovely to play on, which bodes well for the passing game all three Cubo teams like to play (aside from the interference from the Oak at the far end which we have been assured will be cut back).

Taking to the field after a pre-match chat from Pally centred on concentration and getting the ball out to the wide men, Cubo started brightly, releasing Trev early on the left wing to run at the Claremont right back. With Trev linking up well with Pete, Claremont were immediately pushed onto the back foot, and after some nervous early moments from the keeper including a fumbled catch and some poor kicking, it seemed only a matter of time before Cubo went one-up. With Stevie winning nearly all flick-on’s for Denno and Pete to run on to, it was only some desperate last-ditch defending that kept the score level. A salvo of corners from Pete and Denno added to some long-range shooting from Trev kept Claremont on the back foot throughout the opening 30 minutes.

However, with the quality of Cubo’s final ball slightly lacking, Claremont began to gain a foothold, and Luke and Rick were called upon more and more as the half went on to support the excellent Alan and Pally in the centre. The first half finished level, with both sides feeling they could have perhaps done more with a little extra composure in the final third.

With the rain now hammering down, the half-time team talk was taken under the shade of a convenient tree. After Clarkey’s quite frankly pathetic tantrum: ‘onevoiceonevoiceonevoice’, the overall consensus was to keep playing the same way and to concentrate on keeping it tight at the back. With Banksy coming on for Pete, and Andy for Trev five minutes later, Cubo started strongly and exerted more and more pressure on the Claremont back three. Salty and Bradders were performing like a pair of dogs hunting in a pack, refusing to let Claremont play, and Rick and Luke were composed on the ball, feeding the midfield well with passes to feet. When Bradders released Andy down the left who turned his man, he was able to loft in a cross to the back post for Stevie to nod it in to a gaping net. 1-0 to the goodies.

Claremont still pressed and Clarkey was called into action 3 times in as many minutes, making three superb flying stops with no sign of chocolate wrists. It mattered not that all three chances were deemed offside, the saves were still made. Alan Clarke was again unfortunate to have what seemed from the sidelines a perfectly good goal disallowed following a superb leap from an accurate Denno corner. With ten minutes remaining, Glenn replaced Denno, and with Banksy holding the ball up superbly and occupying the Claremont defence almost single-handedly, the clock was run-down for a well-deserved and hard fought victory. With a week off next week, the 2’s can look forward to the rest of the league knowing they have beaten a team who twice caused problems in the corresponding fixtures last year.

Final Score: AFC Cubo 2nd XI 1-0 AFC Claremont

Man of the Match: the composed and hard-working Luke Haddon

Goal: Stevie T

Match Report: John Glenn

AFC Cubo 3rd XI 4-3 Merton Orient

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Date: Saturday 10th September

Starting Line Up: Will Bianchi, John Glenn, Andrew Rosoman, Dan Cucos, Mark Dallamore, Jeremy Lye, Chris Harding, Trevor Moody, Matt Turner, Jordan Griffith, Stephen Doherty

Subs: Edd Smith, Antonio Palacio

With a strong line-up boosted by Moody, and coming off the back of a win against the 2nds and a good performance in a friendly the previous week, the 3rd XI went into this game confidently. Turner won the toss and elected to kick off. Cubo started brightly and applied pressure for 10 minutes, creating several reasonable chances that with a little more composure might have led to more positive results, Doherty especially unlucky after evading his marker at the near post.

Merton began getting into the game, as their centre-forward (normally at centre back) David Luiz/Sideshow Bob/Ray Parlour delete-as-applicable exerted more and more influence. Linking up well with their midfielders, Merton scored just after the quarter hour mark. Slightly rattled after their good start, Cubo conceded again five minutes later, leaving the team a lot to do to get back into the game. Gradually however, the impressive central midfield pair of Turner and Moody grew in stature. The wingers Harding and Lye, supported by strong running at the top by Doherty and Griffith created enough space for Turner to score after an strong solo run into the box. 1-2 at half time.

After a stirring (read aggressive) team-talk from skipper Turner, Cubo went out into the second half determined to win more challenges and compete more physically. After some good interplay between Glenn and Lye on the right, the ball was fed to Griffith who was felled by a pincer tackle from two Merton players in the box. Harding dispatched the penalty with aplomb low to the keeper’s right.

Although it looked like only one team would win, Merton managed to score after a quick throw in, Bianchi especially unlucky after making a fine initial save. However, with Dallamore completely dominating the previously influential striker, Cucos mopping up everything beside him, Merton had no way back and Griffith capped a fine performance with a virtuoso solo goal, finishing from an acute angle.

Substitutions were made, Smith coming on for Glenn on the left, Rosoman switching to right back, and Doherty swapping for Palacio, who came on at left wing with Harding joining Griffith at the front.  With Lye now penning in the previously impressive Frodo-Baggins-look-a-like left back, shots and chances were being created freely by Cubo. However it wasn’t until five minutes before the end that Moody controlled a clearance 20 yards out and hammered a right-footed shot that looped over the keeper and into the top right hand corner.

The game finished 4-3, with any win on the opening day of the season appreciated. There was a lot to take comfort from. A new-look back line communicated well after the early goals, setting good lines. Griffith and Doherty linked well and Lye always looked to beat his man and competed well in the air and on the ground. Coming back twice from being goals down can only bode well for the spirit of the side, and with Jones due back for this week, the 3rd XI will be looking forward to a good season. Props to Merton for being gentleman, and fair and honest opponents.

Man of the Match: Impossible to choose between Dallamore and Turner

Goals: Turner, Harding (pen), Griffith, Moody

Match Report: John Glenn