F.C. SE7EN 2-9 WESTWAY WARRIORS - 09.09.20

It happened, we finally got THAT first game under our belts. All that hard work, finally paid off, behind the scenes, we had been laying the groundwork and the fruit of our labour was here.

But boy it was one hell of a whooping! 9-2 man!

Fitness was a major issue, like a fire extinguisher to dampen the enthusiasm we had engendered over the previous months of lockdown. Our opponents were young whipper snappers, and our matchday mentality was on the rusty side. It didn't help that Jumbo was 15 minutes late and Frodo fell poorly half way through the game haha! He had just destroyed the 1 ring, so we can't begrudge anyone being a little worse for wear after a trip to Mordor and back.

The game got going on a balmy evening, which wasn't a help when it's your first piece of physical activity in a while. But it was fairly obvious that Westway Warriors were a tidy outfit. Most of them hailed from Italy and you could see that Roman sturdiness at the back, the renaissance play in their midfield and their gladiatorial forward line. They hit the ground running from the whistle and FC7 were playing catch-up from the get go.

Going 1-0 down after a misunderstanding in defence, the Warriors pressed more and more but FC7 hit the youngsters on the break and managed to pull the game back to parity through Jumbo, who had atoned for his tardiness.

Game management wasn't high on FC7's priority list, concentration was lost as Madeddu added his 2nd for Westway from the kick off, but surprisingly, Frodo broke free, found some space and netted another equaliser for 2-2.

That early flurry of goals was really the ceiling for FC7 as tiredness and lack of match fitness dramatically started to take hold. Jumbo was down and out after 10 mins, and Frodo picked up an illness, not Covid-related but maybe an exotic new strain he picked up from the Uruk-Hai in Moria possibly?

The Warriors started to turn the screw, Tey usually the rock in defence, was overrun, Billy, Frodo and Jumbo were left isolated and the opponents started to create chances aplenty.

Goal after goal hit the back of the FC7 net. Despite the result, the team felt they weren't a huge mountain away, in a technical sense, but found the pace too hot tonight. This is natural and we'll definitely need to setup a re-match when we have upped our fitness levels. Nonetheless, well played to the Warriors, veni vidi vici; they came, they saw, they conquered.

It was a thoroughly good game, much enjoyment was had. There's a bigger picture to remember here. Covid19 has been the winner on so many fronts the last 6 months. We are unsure whether its damage has been fully administered even now. It's inflicted a terrible toll already, on the world. Still, we all soldier on, the NHS have been the new modern day superheroes, and we still continue the fight. It was just 1 game, the result not important.

Ultimately, despite the score, we got a small victory, FC7 inflicted it's own defeat upon Coronavirus but this was just the beginning.

Remembering the joy that football brings was a warming feeling. We get back on the horse as we continue our 20/21 Pre-season Tour of London. Shoreditch United are up next. The only way is UP!

Check out the game Photobook coming soon:-