HELL'S KITCHEN AFC 20-34 F.C. SE7EN - 29.10.20

Happy Halloween from FC7!

2 deboo makers tonight, and boy was it a cold one, I think my froze shut at 1 point. Phillip and Jon had just joined our Finance department at work, this was during a lockdown, so it was a great opportunity to get the lads out, for them to meet some the Se7enistas and of course, their work colleagues.

To add, both look to be valuable additions to the FC7 ranks. Jon would of joined in earlier but he plays semi-pro Gaelic football, but with his season coming to close, footy would provide him with a chance to keep up his fitness. Phillip, our 2nd South Africa, to welcome to the gang, hasn't played for a while, so a perfect opportunity for him to get back into the beautiful game.

Our new additions certainly stole the show, Jon's high level of fitness was a breath of fresh air, and is another reminder of what we're all capable of. His physical strength was enviable too, as he rode challenges and pulled out several tekkerz as he constantly found the net. Phillip added a great self supplied volley, goal of the match and has the base level of skills which will only ever improve week after week. Definitely great additions to our game.

The game itself, was one which was closer than the final score suggests. Early on, we raced into a big lead, Jon and Phillip eager to impress adding early goals. We generally held a lead going further into the match but we fell into old habits, got complacent and Hell's Kitchen managed to slowly but surely edge there way back into the game, constantly bringing the scores levels.

This wasn't a game to watch if you love the defensive side of things, at several points the play was more akin to a Laurel & Hardy sketch. Comical moments aside, it showed that we still lack match mentality, niggly mistakes sneaking in, and tiredness led to the aforementioned barrels of laughter. It was an enjoyable time, made even more so with the final score, victory for us!

In 5-a-side games, we have been brutally punished, and we're just short of doing the same to our opponents when we're superior. After a balanced middle third to the encounter, we did finally start to find some rhythm, our passes connecting neatly and rapidly and many attacks leading to goals. We really did pull away in the last 10 minutes, to make the score line one we could be proud of.

It was an interesting insight though, Mystic Meg and her crystal ball, would of seen glimpses of what this team is capable of. Jon and Jan, the dynamic finance duo, were full of beans, running endlessly in both attack and defence. We all ideally need to be playing at the level, I've read in a few 5-a-side blogs that fitness is superior as an attribute to technical ability in the small sided game. I think we will probably touch on that we write up the Year End Review.

A lot of positives, but a few points to mull over too from this game. A win, sorely lacking in our journey so far, but a win nonetheless. Celebrate the good results we must, if we ever aspire to join a league, there's gonna be results which are hard fought or even undeserved, but a victory, is still a victory, and the translate to 3 points.

Onwards we go, in search of the elusive 2 wins in a row, a challenge we haven't quite risen to yet. Join us for the next match!