FC Team B caused one of the shocks of the day as they ended their A team's 100 perfect record in a five-goal thriller.
November 11, 2008 12:09FC Team B caused one of the shocks of the day as they ended their A team's 100 perfect record in a five-goal thriller.
The B team came into this game on a three-game winning streak but that was nothing compared to the A teams highly impressive 100 per cent start in their first eight league games of the season.
However, the As will be the first to admit that the closest they had come to losing in those eight games was the first meeting with the B team where they held on to their one goal lead under immense pressure for the final 30 minutes.
Despite Bs first team regulars Mitch Young, top scorer for the B team this season and Gideon Moss not playing in this game for the Bs due to the clubs regulations about County Team players playing in As v Bs games, the Bs still went into the game confident that a result was possible.
If there was any doubt that the two teams were not going to be 100 per cent competitive,this was thrown out the window after five minutes when Robbie Blair at 5ft nothing doing a superb crunching slide challenge on the 6ft 5 giant striker, Richard Salmon.
The start of the game was a scrappy affair with tackles flying in, passes going astray and free kicks aplenty. The As imposed their superiority in the first 20 minutes with a barrage of set pieces and some quick passing moves that nearly got the break through.
Eventually, they did get the break through their pressure had deserved when Richard Salmon picked up a loose ball 20 yards out, forcefully dribbled his way into the box past a few defenders before cleverly sneaking the ball into the near post past the keeper.
But the goal, instead of giving the As more confidence acted as a wake up call to the Bs that they were in a game here. They rallied well and after an even scrappier 15 minutes where there was very little to remember, the Bs for the first time in the game started to impose themselves for the last 10 minutes of the half. There was some good passing with Dom Berko and Freddy Marks pulling the strings in central midfield and a few half chances were created towards the end of the half.
Unfortunately they could not get an equaliser and they went in at half time one nil down which overall was a fair scoreline in the first half.
After the B team manager gave a Harry Redknapp style motivational team talk at half time the Bs came out in the second half rejuvinated and were on the front foot from the kick off with the pitch's slope now in their favour. They were starting to play some good football with all the players stepping it up a gear in the quality of their play, their effort and their determination.
The equaliser eventually came after a slick passing move involving all of the front six players before Ian Beerman picked the ball up 25 yards out. Somehow with little backlift he managed to hit a curling shot that hit the top of the post. Unfortunately for the A team keeper, he had flung himself at the ball to flick it past the post but only ended up very unfortunately heading the ball towards the goal after it had rebounded off the post. Out of nowhere came our rampaging centre back James Korn, who had drifted forward during the attack, to react first and put the ball into the back of the empty net.
At one all the momentum was now with the Bs and they tried to take advantage of this by putting more and more pressure on the As defence. But they held out resolutely for a while until a set piece was floated into the box and referee gave a penalty for a push on Adam Rosenfeld, it appeared quite harsh. With Mitch Young, the usual penalty taker, off the pitch it was up to our tanned number nine, David Wexler to blast the ball from the spot past the keeper into the bottom right corner.
With 25 left, David Silver came on for Sheldon Conrich, who had put in a spirited display down the right wing and he added an extra bit of freshness to the Bs midfield which helped them to continue their dominance.
As time ticked away, it was clear that there was only one likely winner as the Bs continued to dominate the half with the back four of Alex Brodkin, James Korn, Max Graves and Robbie Blair, marshalled by David "the black and amber Cat" Gordon, keeping the As superbly at bay with a gritty and passionate team performance.
The Bs, finally got the cushion of a third goal they craved with five minutes left after another slick passing move involving several players found Dom Berko 20 yards out who steadied himself before placing a shot in the bottom right corner. Unfortunately again for the keeper, as he dived towards the corner, the ball took a deflection and ended up rolling into the centre of the net past the despairing legs of the keeper.
Mr Rose then dropped back from his second striker role alongside Wexler to bolster the central midfield defensively as they looked to secure a historic win which seemed inevitable, until the ref awarded the second controversial penalty of the game for another soft push in the final minute. Adam Rones converted it to but with only seconds remaining it was only a consolation and the B team leapt with delirious jubilation at the sound of the final whistle.
It was a historic day as the first time FC Team A had fallen to the B Team in the clubs four-year history and one that will live long in the minds of the B team