Umina vs BUFC C Match Report

Flags, banners and cheering crowds lined the route to Umina on Saturday as thousands gathered to catch a glimpse of Our Glorious Leader™, thankfully safely returned from an important mission to some foreign land. We were all badly in need of a boost after having our arses handed to us 2 weeks ago on the desolate battlefield of Kariong Hill, and were hoping for revenge against a team that had only narrowly beaten us last time out.

We started positively, passing, moving and for the most part keeping the ball. We had the best of the opening exchanges (always wanted to use that phrase since I heard it on Match of the Day) and were rewarded after only 10 minutes or so, when a nice move out of midfield saw Harry dink the ball over the top to Tim, who put it wide to James, who in turn cut it back sharply to Payney who made no mistake with his finish. Nice start chaps. A couple of less clear cut chances followed, and it was looking as though the momentum was with us, especially as their midfield seemed somewhat distracted by the presence up front of our fleet-footed bandanna-wearing part-time welder Alvaro, or Flashdance as he will now forever be known. Sadly though, towards the end of the second half Umina managed to equalise with a strong 20-yard strike after some indecisive defending, and we went into half time with honours even.

We were however generally playing well, and the half time talk was more optimistic than usual. Unfortunately, Umina must also have had a good motivational speaker at the break because they came out more energetically in the second half. For a while we were forced onto the defensive, particularly down our left side, but fortunately every probing Umina attacker there came up against Dave ‘Colossus of Terrigal’ Stefani, who promptly bitch-slapped them down and sent them home crying. A man of the match performance right there, to be sure. Their pressing midfield was however leaving some space behind, and about halfway through the second half a long through ball from our midfield was picked up after a surging run by Flashdance that would not have looked out of place in a tango competition, and he calmly put it past the keeper to restore our lead. Splendid! OK chaps, let’s calm down, be sensible and hang on for the win. Or, alternatively, what we could do is get a bit carried away, dick about a bit at the back, and make more changeovers than a Frenchman at a free brothel. Sadly, we chose the latter option and somehow allowed Umina to get an equaliser with only a few minutes to go. A late attack might have given us a winner on a different day, and if the offside rule were to be repealed, but it was not to be and it finished 2-2. All in all though, despite it feeling a bit like 2 points dropped, there were plenty of positives to take from the game – we played well in both halves, our new midfield formation is working well, and if we ever need to enter a dance competition we’ve got it covered. Chins up chaps, the win is coming.

Final Score: Umina 2 – 2 Barnstoneworth

#TheLegendIsUnbeatenInJune