Sunday the 4th of November, 10am kick-off and another game at the gravel pit that is La Marina, only this time against Athletico Benidorm. In a bid to make the most of their attacking football and with Adam Tauber suspended, FC Orange Bonus Weeks opted for a 3-5-2 formation, with Pete Frank filling in at the back alongside Matt Patton and Lawrence Mentesh. Alan Spurgeon returned in the centre of midfield after recovering from his hamstring strain and Alan Belshaw re-claimed his spot on the right wing.

Both teams started well in a bid to get the first goal, the ball going from end to end with most of Benidorm’s attacks channelled through their No.16 who caused no end of problems for the FC Orange Bonus Weeks defence, particularly for Lawrence Mentesh who had his work cut out for him trying to contain him.

The game remained goalless for the first 20 minutes, with FC Orange Bonus Weeks continuing to push forward at the top end of the pitch while their defence tried to play the offside trap at the back, a tactic which gave them varying results due to the inability of the referee to see anything but the Spanish being on-side. Andy Gray’s marker pen and a visit to Spec Savers would certainly have taught the referee a lesson in observation. Benidorm took advantage of these decisions a few minutes later when their No.16 finally found the space that he had been looking for, allowing him to turn his marker before rounding the keeper to tuck away the first goal of the match.

FC Orange Bonus Weeks were gutted to say the least but continued to drive forward and with 10 minutes left until half-time the Benidorm keeper blocked an effort by Pete Frank but the ball found its way out to Alan Belshaw near the edge of the area who hit a superb volley which arrowed its way into the top right corner.

Boosted by Belshaw’s wonder strike, FC Orange Bonus Weeks tried to keep Benidorm on the ropes and when Adam Wilson was sent clear by Dave Mold’s glorious through ball he buried the ball past the keeper to make it 2-1. However, the referee bemused everyone by waiting until after Adam had scored before blowing his whistle for off-side. This was obviously not the case as Dave had played such a sweet pass that the defenders were caught napping and Adam was the first to react, his quick thinking and quick feet taking him past the last defender well after the ball had been played. Clearly robbed of the lead FC Orange Bonus Weeks begrudgingly went into the break at 1-1.

The second half saw the first changes from FC Orange Bonus Weeks with Lawrence Mentesh coming off and Carlos Parkin coming on. The changes made a very quick impact as 10 minutes later Parkin rose highest to head in a Mark Dooley free-kick giving FC Orange Bonus Weeks a thoroughly deserved 2-1 lead. However, despite another couple of good chances to finish the game off, FC Orange Bonus Weeks were pegged back by a very fortuitous equaliser for Benidorm. An attempted clearance from defence rebounded straight off a Benidorm player who could not believe his luck when the ball landed perfectly for him to bury it past the keeper from just a few yards out.

This deflated FC Orange Bonus Weeks for a few minutes and with tensions rising it was no surprise that they soon conceded a very cheap third goal. A harmless enough cross came in for the keeper to claim but unfortunately his normally excellent handling eluded him and the ball was fumbled over his head and into the back of the net.

Their misery was compounded even further when both Mark Dooley and a Benidorm player were injured in an aerial challenge. Both players were pole-axed on the floor for several minutes but it was Mark Dooley who came off worse, the blood pouring from his face the sad evidence of his broken nose. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the referee then saw fit to give Mark his second yellow card for an alleged use of an elbow ( what, did he elbow himself in the face?!!! ).

So, down to 10 men again FC Orange Bonus Weeks played out the rest of this sorry tale by bringing on Jeff Ball and Robbie Decsei for Pete Frank and Chris Griffen, but with only 15 minutes left there was not a lot they could do. When the final whistle came it was an angry and disconsolate FC Orange Bonus Weeks team that left the field.

Once again, through a combination of bad luck, poor refereeing and some frustrated temperaments FC Orange Bonus Weeks found themselves undeservedly on the losing side in a game that they should have won. Maybe it will be a while yet before they win the respect of the opposition, the referees and even themselves. They still have a very promising squad and judging by what we have seen so far this season most of the teams that FC Orange Bonus Weeks have played could quite easily have been beaten.

It’s not there yet, but it will come.

update van woensdag 21 november 2007  

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