Saturday was show and tell day…in preparation, Greg brought white boards, Dom brought a fan, Nader a fox, Dicky a dyslexic twin, Frankie an assortment of handbags, Joe the threat of not staying on your feet “you are letting your whole team down”, Sam brought big chat, Tom brought real shoes, Ben an ever impressive beard, Owen an actress, Dan brought two (yes two) subs… TWC was so late no one knows what he brought…however everyone is clear that the referee brought a variety of cards…and that leaves Al…oh Al.

The game kicked off 40 minutes late as the referee was sure to count 22 players.

OTFC started bright, playing meaningful short passes, making sure possession was held, being the first to the ball…taking a leaf out of the boys in white earlier in the day. It seemed an age until OTFC lost possession…When we finally did, there was an opportunity to finally see what the oppo had…ball over the top…0-1 pace…pace is what they have.

The next 35 minutes sees OTFC in possession, barely troubled, playing the flanks well, boss in midfield, solid in defence, however not taking their chances…creating, just not finishing.

Half time chat is positive, more of what we’ve done, keep concentration up, keep talking…

Second half starts a mirror image of the first…0-2.

…and here’s when OTFC starts to show their “stuff”.

Scrappy at times, flowing at others, pace picks up, cross comes in Sam asks for it on the penalty spot…he gets it…the crowd gets excited…takes it off the spot…the crowd sits back down with a groan…suddenly…left foot…the crowd goes mad…1-2 – OTFC are on the chase.

Frankie, upset with a lack of limelight has a conversation with the referee, a number of topics are covered, the weather, benefits of a Tiffin education, Brexit and most importantly the financial stability of Clinton Cards.

Sam, on the other hand is not worried about the shareholder situation on the high-street, and clearly buys his stationary from the far more stable Paperchase…the oppo keeper, wondering what else he had to do to persuade the referee to put his hand in his pocket gesticulated wildly in vain.

OTFC keep fighting, and, despite a resurgence from the oppo, find themselves at 2-2…Yates doesn’t go to ground, there is a flick on and Bostelmann (for god’s sake don’t spell his first name) heads the ball in for an equaliser.

****Spoiler alert**** and here’s where it all gets a little disappointing.

High line, cross, arm in air, OFFSIDE…nope referee calls it on, no-one can catch a man that far beyond, 2-3.

Devastation, despondency and depression follows as OTFC realise that matters have been taken out of their hands.

The referee feeling that the spotlight could be focused on him for one last and defining moment finally reveals that actually he is an investor of the lesser known Scribbler franchise and in a rather sweet moment decides that Al should have a pretty little blue card with a “10” badge to pin to his chest.

Another loss…not deserved and certainly not a reflection of the squad spirit and determination.

A well deserved MOTM to our very own pirate without a parrot Ben Harrison!

Players:

Nader Meradji
Dicky Bostelmann
Tom Marshall
Tom Whitehead-Clarke
Al Cunningham
Dan Hogg
Joe Yates
Greg Nutt
Ben Harrison
Owen Kirk
Sam Edgar
Frankie Kalogirou
Dom Lundie

Assists:

Frankie Kalogirou
Owen Kirk

Goals:

Dicky Bostelmann
Sam Edgar

MOTM: Ben Harrison