Raiders Show Championship Style
JC MSFL Division Three
Zig Zag 0 NL Raiders B 4
Sunday, 23 March, 2008
Manager Rob Richman made six changes from the team that wrapped up the league title the week prior as in came Sherman, Graham, Conway, Israel, Hart and Richman, himself, for only his second start of the campaign. Despite these changes Zig Zag had no answer to Raiders fire power as Richman’s team romped to a 4-0 win.
In ice cold, snowy conditions Raiders found it difficult to establish any rhythm in the early stages with Zig Zag scrapping for every ball. The covering snow on the ground was also not making life easy for either team to play any sort of football.
Slowly but surely Raiders began to get suited to the playing conditions and soon they started to dominate proceedings. Zig Zag received a warning of the threat of Hart and Woolf up front when a superb threw ball from Woolf was neatly tucked away by Hart only to be ruled out for offside. This decision seemed to galvanise Raiders and very soon the goal arrived. Foley Comer saw his shot saved by the Zig Zag keeper but the ball rebounded to Woolf who found Hart in space and he beautifully curled the ball into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box.
As the half continued Zig Zag had a brief spell of supremacy but Raiders repelled the threat led by the dominant Sherman and Sacks at the back. Five minutes before the break Raiders thought they had a second, Hart delivered a superb corner to the back post where Conway headed home unmarked. To the Raiders player’s astonishment again the referee ruled against the goal as the corner had gone out of play before coming back in.
The second half kicked off with the pitch now top heavy with water after all the snow had melted away in the first half. This was Sunday league football at its best with 22 committed players and a swamp of a pitch.
Raiders began the second half as they had ended the first, firmly in control of proceedings. Before long the second goal arrived, some clever play down the left hand side by Israel allowed him to back heel the ball to Samuelson who drove forward and drilled a cross into the box that was inadvertently turned into his own net by the red-faced Zig Zag centre back. Samuelson claimed the goal as his own but it seems likely the dubious goals panel will deem it an own goal.
This would be Samuelson's last contribution to the game as with 30 minutes to go he was substituted to make way for Jamie Freed. Instantly the substitute made it three, clever link up play by Freed and Woolf set the left winger free and he confidently dispatched his third goal of the season. Although a fine goal it could not detract from Freed’s behaviour prior to the game when he became embroiled in a game of chase with a dog. The dog decided to chase Freed around the pitch and only Freed will be able to explain why he decided to shriek uncontrollably like only a twelve year old girl could.
Back to the game and then came the moment the whole of the Raiders team had waited for all season, no not Richard Sacks retirement but a Richman goal. In the first half Richman twice struck long-range efforts that had narrowly missed the target as the proud owner of the 06/07 Raiders goal of the season award looked to retain his trophy. The goal that did arrive though good was disappointingly no goal of the season contender. Conway switched the play from the right hand side to Woolf who played in Richman on the overlap, he drove into the box and beat the keeper at his nearpost. Richman was mobbed by his team mates as his goal put the icing on the cake on another great Raiders performance.
After the match goalscorer and championship winner player manager Robert Richman had this to say: “Even though conditions weren’t great for football, I’m very glad that the referee agreed to give the game the go ahead. It was nice to give some of the players who haven't played as much this season a full ninety minutes. The back four looked particularly solid today and Graham at right back can be especially proud of his display. I thoroughly enjoyed only my second start this season and to grab a goal in front of the cameras is more than I could have asked for.”
