By Lawrence Mentesh

Sunday the 23rd saw Bonus Weeks taking on Sidreria Escondida at the Rincon, a Match that Bonus Weeks tried to re-arrange due to the Office Christmas Party the night before but Sidreria Escondida were having none of it so the Match had to be played.

With several players missing due to the party, Lee Frape and Chris Griffin back in England, Carlos Parkin ( knee ), Jeff Ball ( hamstring ) and Oliver Wilson ( foot ) out injured and Dave Mold and Rich Billam still suspended, Bonus Weeks just managed to scrape together a Team of 11 players. They were boosted by the early return of Ross Musk from England ( complete with a raging dose of Chicken Pox! ) but they were also hit by the non-show of a couple of players who obviously did have too much to drink the night before!

With newly signed Gary Lane making his debut and Ryan Scott pressed into his early return from injury the 11 of Bonus Weeks took to the field against the 17 of Sidreria Escondida, so with no substitutes Bonus Weeks were going to be in for a difficult afternoon.

They started reasonably enough on a damp pitch ( surprisingly not waterlogged after all the heavy rain the night before ) but Bonus Weeks didn’t really get going in the first half. They battled hard but didn’t really have much of a cutting edge to them despite forging several good chances.

It was Sidreria Escondida who took first blood, a well delivered corner from the left found their man unmarked at the back post and his powerful header finished high above the Bonus Weeks defender on the line. It was a blow to Bonus Weeks and worse was to follow when their keeper, Adam Musk, dislocated his finger in a challenge and had to be taken off. Fortunately for Adam, one of the Sidreria Escondida players was a Physio and he very kindly managed to put Adams finger back into place for him. However, Adam still had to take a trip to the Hospital to be checked out properly.

With no Subs, Pete Frank had to take over between the sticks while a hasty call was made to Wayne Notman to see if he was fit to play after last night. Down to 10 men and a little bit disjointed ( literally in Adams case! ) Bonus Weeks got a bit sloppy and within a few minutes a good move by Sidreria Escondida left them with a clear shot on goal, an opportunity that their striker took with a fine finish.

Now 2-0 down, Bonus Weeks held on until half-time, when Wayne Notman arrived to replace Pete in net, bringing the Team back up to 11 players for the second half. By now the rain, which had so far held off, began to come down making the playing conditions a little trickier, with the ball being harder to control on the wet pitch.

However, Bonus Weeks managed to get their second wind in the second half and they really started to get in the groove, their passing was much better and their defending at the back was outstanding. Visibly rattled, Sidreria Escondida conceded a free-kick for handball just outside their area and it was Matt Patton, playing up-front in his last game for Bonus Weeks, who struck the dead ball beautifully to send it inches inside the keepers unguarded left post. It was Matts’ second goal in 2 Games and the smile on his face said it all, it was a great way to say goodbye and he will be sorely missed.

With the score now 2-1, Bonus Weeks still had plenty of work to do and they managed to create several more good chances, most of which were harshly ruled off-side before Bonus Weeks could pull the trigger. Ironically, the referee seemed to be less inclined at the other end of the pitch, allowing play to continue when 2 Sidreria Escondida players were clearly off-side. With all the Bonus Weeks defenders a good couple of yards behind them, the attackers were left with all the time in the world to do a one-two number past the helpless Wayne Notman.

Shafted again and now 3-1 down, Bonus Weeks were desperate to get something out of the Game and their effort was rewarded with just 8 minutes to go when Matt Patton powered in a corner from the left which was met first by the head of Pete Frank whose great effort was already goal bound before Adam Tauber applied the finishing touch with his own head. I’m sure that Pete would like to claim that one but as Adam had the final touch then officially the goal was his, Pete will have to make do with the assist, his third of the Season.

Sidreria Escondida were now well and truly on the back foot and they managed to survive a real scare when Ross Musk hit a speculative shot towards goal which almost found its way into the top right corner of the net. However, time ran out for Bonus Weeks before they could capitalise on their good football and the Game ended 3-2. Another Game lost by the margin of only one goal left the Team extremely gutted, but at least they played the Game rather than having to concede to a 3-0 loss for not turning up with a Team.

Sidreria Escondida continue to frustrate Bonus Weeks, having drawn 2-2 against them in the first phase of Matches, and although Sidreria Escondida are definitely improving themselves after a slow start to the Season, Bonus Weeks should really be taking all 3 points against such Teams.

Hopefully in the New Year when most of their missing players will be back Bonus Weeks will get back to winning ways and continue to push for promotion.

update van woensdag 09 januari 2008  

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