Late LTC goal led to a squeaky bum minute, but still a solid performance takes us joint top

Line-up: Minne

Ebregt, Huber, Philpot

Maltsin (Goffard), Billiet (Thom), Hodgson, SiM'hammed, Novak

McGrath, Costa (Mineo)

You know that feeling when you’ve been injured or just been out of shape for a little while. That feeling you get after five or six workouts when it’s not just painful and you start to feel like it’s coming together, your body starts to feel stronger, faster and you think to yourself, the best is yet to come. Well that’s what the team performance on Saturday felt like.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, the sky was a bright blue and it was with a sense of optimism that the RBBFC arrived in Ohain. Our captain, Jean ,announced the starting line-up, tactics were discussed, questions asked, lines on the blackboard drawn and we emerged from the changing room determined to bring home the three points.

The question remained, however, was which RBBFC would turn up today? And perhaps more importantly would the RBBFC be worth turning up to watch? Would they entertain?

The opening exchanges suggested that this would be a tight encounter with the opposition initially finding space down the flanks. However, as ever,our ageing right centre-back Philipot snuffed out any threat before it became a real danger and allowed RBBFC to counter with some smart combinations down the right hand side to release Big Bill who fired arrow after arrow across the box. Unfortunately for us, we failed to get on the end of them.

As the opposition settled in and tried to play out from the back there were calls from some of the front players to press high while others dropped deeper which left space between the lines and our opponents took advantage.

Getting11 players in sync and able to adjust the teams tactics on the still needs more work.

But as the game went on Turbo Tarik and Hodgson started to take control of the middle of the park, providing a platform for Luka to perform his magical twists and turns to launch attacks, one of which inevitably ended with Martino collecting the ball inside the oppositions box, turning to beat the defender and curling his finish into the top left hand corner. Composure personified.

As the first half went on, the increasingly familiar sight of Anthi skipping over tackles and probing down the left flank promised more chances but in the end RBBFC finished the half 1 up. At half time big Bill raised his hand and announced that he had his first injury in 15 years so he came off, James moved up a notch and Ben came on at centre half. Jean reminded everybody that attitude and hard work win football games and if we kept our energy levels up and playing the ball simply, the chances would come. Good advice but could we stick to the game plan?

As LTC pressed on in search of an equaliser our defence held steady. Chris marshalling the backline, Ben handling any aerial threat, and Martijn, our youngest, keeping their most dangerous player quiet with mature performance beyond his years.

This provided a platform for Hodge to start the attacks with his cool precise passing and allowed Turbo Tarik to drive forward at every opportunity, his physical superiority getting him in to shooting opportunities he couldn’t resist.

But the game is never safe with a 1-0 lead and despite increasing amounts of space to be found on the field, RBBFC were not quite as fluid as they were in the first half. Ben came close with the near post header from a Luka corner. Daniele who had come on for Martjn added energy and a lust for goal and was hanging on the edge of the shoulder of the last defender just waiting to be released but to everybody’s surprise he was just offside when the chance came. We needed a moment of quality to settle this game,so of course, who else but Luka stepped up. Setting himself to take a corner, he saw the goalkeeper just a little too far off his line and swung it straight in to the back of the net. Technique personified. There wasn’t a player on the pitch who doubted he’d done it deliberately and his effort was rewarded with a handshake from the ref.

LTC were not beaten yet, however, a mazy run from their inside forward ended with a goal which made the last 10 minutes a lot more interesting for everyone. Adrien came on on the left hand side to sure up our defence and provided strength in the tackle, composure in his distribution and it looked like we were going to see the game out comfortably. Or maybe not. In the closing seconds with the opposition piling on the pressure we conceded a free kick just outside the box in line with the penalty spot. It was one of those moments in a football game when you think ‘surely not’ while at the same time you think ‘Oh no,this is going in’. Fortunately for us,when you need a goalkeeper you call Jean Minne and his mere presence was enough to ensure their striker put it over the bar.

So it finished 2-1 to the good guys and the performance showed that theRBBFC1are moving up a gear. We have the composure, the technique,the attitude, the speed and of course the intensity to mix it with the best in the league in any given day, but a season is a marathon not a sprint. We’ll need to show these qualities every week if we’re going to be in with a chance of winning the title come the end of the season. Allez les blancs !

Reporter & MOM: Nils McGrath