Old Pauline IV’s 3 – 5 OTFC III’s

With the end of the 24/25 season fast approaching, Tiffs went into their last 2 games with, mostly, just pride at stake.  After a good performance the week before against table topping Brent, confidence was high in the squad.  So high in fact, that in an almost unprecedented flurry of availability, a full 14 man squad was confirmed and in place by Wednesday evening.  I’m sure it had nothing to do with Old Pauline’s ground being just 5 minutes down the road from our own fortress Grists.

Tiffs gathered on a glorious April afternoon and were lucky enough to witness some of the worst parking ever committed by one of their own as pre-match entertainment.  Talk soon moved on to our previous meeting with Old Pauline; it was the day of our Christmas social where half of the team showed up aggressively hungover and the other half wished that they had.  One of, if not the, worst performance by an OTFC team.  “Absolute dog sh**t” was how skipper Conrad Bell described it before demanding his side set the record straight this week.

A surreal, and high spirited, warm up was followed by a laid back team talk and Tiffs settled into their pre-match routine of firing freekicks into neighbours gardens and scouting the opposition for any potential danger men.  One or two players stood out, and some discussion was had about if one player in particular was technically a giant, or just standing much closer to us than the others.

Tiffs started the game well, dominating possession and making a few half chances, and so they inevitably fell behind.  A simple ball over the top, a little flick and the Old Pauline striker raced away to finish on the 2nd attempt after his first effort bounced back off the post.  Undaunted, Tiffs continued to play good football and soon found themselves level.  Oli Lofthouse was sent through on goal and as the keeper came out to meet him a last ditch tackle diverted the ball away from everyone and Joe Sammarco was on hand to sweep home into a now empty net.  A few more chances came and went, with wayward finishing being the main culprit, before a moment of actual skill put Tiffs ahead.  Oli Lofthouse flicked the ball over a defender and struck a clean volley into the net. In the last 10 minutes of the half Old Pauline pushed for an equaliser but some robust defending kept them out.

At half time the instructions were clear.  Go out there and put the game to bed.  Old Pauline will come out and try to start the half strong, so we need to match that and give ourselves an extra goal or two cushion rather than desperately hang on to the end.  As is tradition, these instructions were roundly ignored and Tiffs started as slowly as they possibly could. After a deserved equaliser after 15 minutes, and a minor meltdown from their skipper, the Tiffs finally roused themselves and got back in the game.  A number of good chances came and went, including a header cleared off the line that looked suspiciously well over the line before the deadlock was finally broken.

For the 2nd week in a row, Tiffs scored directly from a freekick.  However, this time it wasn’t quite as premeditated.  One of the Burns-Peaks (Probably Matt, maybe Michael, who really keeps track) knocked his freekick into the box only for it to drift over a stranded keeper and into the net.  Too embarrassed to celebrate, Tiffs pushed on to get the cushion of a 4th goal.

For the 2nd freekick in a row, Tiffs scored directly from a freekick.  Also, not intended.  This time Prash Deshmukh, from the other side of the pitch, knocked his freekick into the box and a fumble from the keeper saw it creep in over the line.  Too embarrassed to celebrate, Tiffs pushed on to get the cushion of a 5th goal.

The 5th goal came not long after as Alex Belemet headed a ball into the box, raced onto to follow it up himself and nodded home.

There was just enough time left in the game for a farcical booking, where Dan Hogg returned the ball to the opposition, but the ref felt he did it wrong and for Old Pauline to score a late consolation.

A great performance and a well deserved win for the Tiffs.

POTM: Prash Deshmukh