Match Report: Loko v Uncle Bob's FC

Sunday 19th November 2006
Barnesalona Cup

Lokomotiv Londres FC 1 v Uncle Bob's FC 1

Der Kaiser Unhappy: Wasteful Onkel Bob’s held by Resilient Loko

...and winter begins. A small group of players turned out to brave the cold reminiscent of Loko’s chilly native Siberian plains. Luckily Dale’s friend Liam was on hand to make the numbers up to eleven.

Last season saw several very close matches between these two sides, but Loko earned nothing more than a point from four outings. Having never beaten the champions in six meetings under their former guise ‘Munchen Wandsworth’, the boys were hopeful that they might enjoy better success against the cuddlier-sounding ‘Uncle Bob’s FC’.

At first glance this seemed unlikely. A scratch-built team saw Jules in goal, Liam, Rohan, Pete and Paul K line up at the back, with a midfield of Ismail, Des, Lineker and Nick behind strikers Roger and James. Contrast this with the powerhouse Bob, who had many gigantic players to chuck about.

The first half was essentially a 45-minute scramble in the Loko box. It seemed, after ten minutes, that the StationmastersCats men would soon be exhausted and overrun. In the event, though, a manful defence from all eleven Loko players restricted Bob to a one-nil lead at the break, and that only from loose ball in the area after Pete had bravely blocked a goal bound shot.

Half-Time Loko 0 v Uncle Bob's FC 1

Having lost the toss, Loko had played the first half uphill and into the sun; they now prepared to have a go at Bob with the conditions and pitch to their advantage.

The Loko players launched downhill to let Bob know that he couldn’t afford to relax, and laid siege to his goal for the opening ten minutes. Des, having pushed himself to the limit, hurt his knee and had to swap with goalkeeper Julian. It proved to be a ‘masterstroke of luck’ when shortly afterwards the boss (pictured above) latched onto a low cross from James to place a cute half-volley high into the roof of the net.

The game matured into an even contest in the final half hour, and then reverted to type in the last ten minutes as Bob, with a draw on the cards, went on the offensive once more. In the end though, despite half the team limping about with various injuries, Loko held on for a well-deserved point.

Final Score Loko 1 v Uncle Bob's FC 1

Manager Julian Milne's comments:

"Many positives to take from a strong performance against the current top dogs in the league. Lineker's enthusiasm in turning up early having washed the kit (cheers mate) set the scene, and it was clear the previous week's constructive get together was paying dividends. It was easy managing the 11 players out there because they were positive and looking for ways to resolve any problems in the team's functioning. The performance itself was good, full of crisp passing and improved movement off the ball.

We defended well (as we have all season), especially when Bob dominated in the first half. Particularly pleasing was our defending of set pieces and the numerous long throws against an imposing and confident team. Rohan and Peter won a great deal of challenges, often with the sun in their eyes. Particularly pleasing was Pete's positive reaction to us conceding the goal.

At half time, the growing belief was tangible, and the way we played in the second half was as good as anything we have produced this or last season. Quick to the ball and dangerous on the break, I knew after 10 minutes we would get something from the game. Well done lads and lets keep it up!

Strong performances from everyone and a big thank you to Liam for slotting in at left back. Rohan and Pete are forming a strong centre back partnership and again excelled. Roger held the ball up well and often got into dangerous positions even when isolated. Lineker put in a lot of running and won the ball back on numerous occasions, distributing it adroitly as well. James showed good movement off the ball and was always showing for the ball, eventually setting up the equalising goal with a great run and cross down the right.

Man of the match: Nick - continued his fine form of the last few weeks, epitomised by a lovely turn and run on the break in the second half."

Team Line Up
1. Julian
2. Paul
3. Liam
4. Rohan
5. Pete
6. Dave W
7. Nick
8. Dale
9. James
10. Roger (c)
11. Ismail

Goals
Julian (1)
70th Minute - Good build-up play found James on the right wing, a lovely near post ball found Julian running onto it and he hammered the ball into the top right-hand corner.

Other Cup Results

Our Group
Ladbroke Groovers 2 v Celtic 3

Other Group
Real Madras FC 2 v Cosmopolitan FC 1
South Auckland Rangers 6 v Hendrix FC 0

Match Report to be Provided by Rohan Tesh.