After the expected highs and lows of selection between the Monday email, Wednesday selection meeting and the actual start of the game our line up changed significantly due to delayed planes, ineffective medication, dodgy unsanctioned New York based pick-up games in high grass and changes in Easyjet’s flight schedule. We actually fielded a half decent team, helped by the fact that our fellow mature gladiators had nothing else to do that day because golf was rescheduled. How very convenient.

A 3-4-3 line up by skipper-for-the-day Bas (how badly does he want to relive the days of total football, la machina naranja, Ajax wingers like Rep, Rensenbrink, Swart, Olsen, Ling and a De Boer or Koeman-led defense with a number 4 that is more a number 6 than a sweeper). Anyway...

So, Arthur in goal with a 3-person back line of Alex, Sean and Bas which quickly proved to be one-too-many as the opponents inexplicably left their left flank open.

Midfield of Pete on the left, Ian and Carl in the middle (sort out the diamond, squeeze, tight or go wide in possession), Hugh on the right with a forward line-up of George, Mike and Ronnie. Everybody clear on the task: beat your opponent. With no Italians in the line-up there was no confusion about man-defense, zone-defense or any other tactical BS that confuses even the most mature players. Just find your man and take him out, don’t let him get past you, mano a mano !

Jean-Luc and Chris on the bench and rearing to go ! Nice touch of Adi and all-time caps record holder Dermott to come and watch.

After a group warm-up the team was ready for what Elan would throw at us. We quickly worked out they played 4-4-2 with their midfield sitting very deep, relying on long balls on their only threat, the fast winger who desperately tried to get past Alex. Not today, much like most Saturdays, Alex would not let him through. A combination of skilled play, direct passes and composure frustrated them into trying to shift play to their center forward who seemed invisible against the mighty Sean. Bas on the right had no opponent which allowed him to move upfield and bring Ronnie and Mike into play with deep balls and crosses. I know the English find it scary to play so high but as Cruyff says, defense starts at the offensive line. He also said that you only get it once you understand it but we will leave that for another day

Our midfield tag-team duo of Ian and Carl distributed, disrupted, disallowed passes and defused many attack between them while distributing the ball cleverly to the flanks. Hugh purposely followed their handyman nr. 6 around wherever he went and managed to completely lock him down. No shots on goal, no dangerous attacks, no corners: complete shutdown. At the other end we were pushing them back and had several shots at goal. One fluid attack after another with lots of possession made sure the opposition got tired chasing us and it was a matter of time before we would found chinks in their armor.

A deep pass to an unmarked Hughie (somehow back on his original position of righthalf and able to sneak away from his opponent) who controlled the high ball, flicked it back into the path of Mike who found the touchline and crossed to George who was not to be denied. 1 touch, post, goalie, ball comes back and with a jumped header into the net: 0-1 to the good guys and a reward for hard and smart play plus a good setup.

To consolidate before the break it was time for the first tactical move of the day: After providing support for Mike and making penetrating rushes down the line Ronnie made way for our trusted center forward.

At half time the inclusive captain took advice regarding team line up and pace of play: Elan likes to sit deep and play pretty so we had a lot of time on the ball. Mike more to the right to make way in the middle. As we saw last year, Elan kept a fast and dangerous player on the bench the first half and brought him on after the break. As the ultimate highlight for a defensive player, Alex’s opponent (their fast attacker) was relegated to a left-midfield position and largely out of the danger zone. On came nr. 15, a bulky runner who replaced their invisible center forward.

Again time for a tactical change. The Spurs-branded captains armband changed to Sean and Bas took himself off to make way for Jean Luc who helped to shore up defense and single handedly covered the whole right side against two opposing players, helped out by tireless Mike who ran the angles to close down the combinations.

Despite some frustrating offside calls we launched attack after attack, clearly benefiting from the fact that Elan has used up all their energy chasing the ball that Carl, Ian, Pete, George and Hugh refused to give up. Pete and George had a couple of very nice combinations, optimizing the space on the wide pitch.

Then another attack with our main attacker menacing their defenders and continuing to put pressure knowing that the line-up of 3-4-3 meant that the opposition did not have many options to play the ball calmly away as we defended so high up the field. They cracked, let him through and because of their panic managed to put the ball in their own net. 0-2 to the good guys.

Another attack saw a deep ball to left field and a clever cutback in the box by Carl that caught the leg of the defender going in the opposite direction. Or was it the other way around? In any case, Carl’s leg was swiped away and he made the most of it inside the area with a move that will be in ABSSA referee highlight reels for years to come as the example of a clear penalty and a non-exaggerated dive. The ref showed his excellent balance in decisions by awarding the penalty. A penalty for vets2, that does not happen too much. Ian stepped forward and calmly put it away for 0-3 , sending the keeper the other way.

RBBFC did not let up and continued to press, fuelled by the energy from frequent training, 80% possession and the 3-0 away lead. Almost every player took a crack at goal with efforts from Jean Luc, Mike and George all saved by the amicable goalie of Elan. Inexplicably Mike managed to get yellow after a perfectly fine jump for a header under pressure in midfield, granted he landed on top of the other guy but you can’t blame gravity now can you! Goes to show that ABBSA refs have a solid memory for whoever criticizes their offside decisions Mike!

In the last minutes of the game the opposition goalie decided to have a go and reported for duty in our penalty area, hoping for glory. Of course they lost possession and Ian’s brain told his feet to lob the ball from 40 yards into an empty net. Alas, Ian’s ankle ligaments did not get the memo on time and weren’t up tot that challeng, one of them gave way which meant we finished with 10.

After some beer in the dressing room to celebrate our first away win of the season we all stayed on for Man of the Match celebrations (yay Sean, sold game yet again) and a prize giving ceremony for Arthur who collected the trophy for Man of the Match during the summer game against the Mancunians. Arthur being the solid goalie that he is refused to let go of the nice bronze Man of the Match statue which could have been the weekly cup so yours truly will have to think of something else to mark future occasions.

Job well done, on to next week’s game against La Lorraine at home.

We have played 6 games, got 6 points by mid-October. Last year we had 5 after 6 games. A detailed analysis of the table, past performance combined with a forward looking projection of mid-term holiday breaks shows that if we keep winning the games against the teams that are below us on the table we will match last year’s 30-point record. When Hugh puts another winetasting (or Catalan adventure in May) in our sights I am sure we can find the strength, intelligence and above all enough players to beat that record and take some points off the teams above us.