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“Somewhere in there the grace of a ballet dancer joins with the strength of an SAS squaddie, the dignity of an ancient kind, and the nerve of a bomb disposal officer.”
Unfortunately last Sunday morning at a picturesque University of Canberra oval the bomb exploded and Wiggle’s self-confidence, credibility and dignity were blown all over the park as the Bluedevils went down 4-0 to Weston Creek. There are no words to describe the fury and despair of his team mates, certainly no words fit to print in this match report. For this was the first game of the season and with it came the hopes and dreams of eighteen fine Bluedevils as they escaped drudging reality for the freedom, creativity, and dare I say it, happiness of the football pitch. But in a moment of madness the Wiggle gifted Weston Creek a goal on the 25th minute mark and the game slipped away forever.
Coming into the game with strong pre-season form against younger and faster teams the Bluedevils were confident against the benchmark in Masters football. Previously Weston Creek had beaten the team 7-1 before the magnificent return match when Mark ‘Clog’ van den Heuval orchestrated a Weston Creek forfeit. Out on the sidelines with an injured ankle ‘Clog’ became team svengali for the day and emphasized the need for strong defensive play. And that is exactly what he got. The midfield of Matt ‘the Mighty Kong’ Collins, Jurgen ‘Doctor’ Dahl, Danny ‘the Belconnen Bellamy’ Brosnan, Simon ‘Masterchef’ Smith, and Craig ‘Rusty’ Russell ran tirelessly to get back and defend when possession was lost. Weston Creek could not penetrate the Belconnen defence and were left circling the perimeter of the penalty box like hungry sharks.
However, at the 25th minute mark Stephen ‘Hot’ Rodda passed the ball back to his keeper after some strong pressure from the Weston Creek forwards and the world was about to change forever. Spying Ian ‘Fiddy’ Reeves out of the corner of his eye Wiggle passed the ball in that direction as if he had all the time in the world. He didn’t, and a Weston Creek forward swooped onto the ball and played it back into the box for a team mate to slot it home. The lads’ efforts deserved much more from their keeper, who could only hold his head in shame, and despite repeatedly activating his plastic Hasbro Star Trek teleporter he was not magically transported away from the devastating scene. Wiggle’s chin suddenly turned to lead – he could not lift it despite the encouragement of those very few players not directing colourful and unrepeatable language his way.
Not long after ‘Rusty’ Russell found himself in front of goal and launched a lovely low shot but the Creek’s keeper got low quickly and parried the ball. Other chances and half chances went awry and after so much running, Grant ‘Cube’ Hilpern strained a calf muscle and limped off to join the long Bluedevil line of injured players, including goal-scoring machine Alf ‘Silky’ Cirino, Henry ‘GBDB’ Matazcyna and Chris ‘the Commando’ Welch. In a desparate bid to rehabilitate himself Wiggle saved a one on one chance late in the half but to no effect for shortly afterwards a six yard box scramble saw another Weston Creek goal. 2-0 at halftime and sitting by himself on the bleachers Wiggle was a study in isolation. Only ‘GBDB’ Mataczyna consoled him, before offering goalkeeping advice to the forlorn keeper.
The Belconnen defence has been a revelation in the pre-season, with new import Simon ‘Smugford’ Mugford injecting some much needed calm, the new age wonder’s meditation sessions with the backs delivering strong results. Coupled with Steve ‘Skins’ Holgate’s presence the central defence looked very strong allowing the right and left backs the opportunity to play the overlap – the sight of Nigel ‘Ranter’ Tranter and Ian ‘Fiddy’ Reeves in full flight down the left and right wings comparable to anything one might see on safari in the Serengeti.
It was left to Peter ‘Dalek’ Dahl to express both solidarity and sympathy for Wiggle’s situation when, presented with a cross from Weston Creek just inside the penalty area, he attempted to clear the ball away for a corner. The result was a whizzing shot into the top right hand corner of the goal. Our goal unfortunately but boy it looked good. From the sidelines ‘Clog’ van den Heuval took a note to play the Dalek up front next week. 3-0 down and with the game lurching out of reach ‘Clog’ brought on recent Belnorth signing Craig ‘Argey Bargey’ Young who stamped his physical presence in midfield by bumping Weston Creek players off the ball like a madman on the dodgem cars. It was beautiful to watch.
Defusing another one on one situation Wiggle’s shattered confidence increased a micro-notch before falling again with Weston Creek’s fourth and final goal, a through ball and chip over the terrestrially bound keeper. The only other notable event of the second half being a missed open goal from Weston Creek’s gun forward, spirits be praised.
Despite the loss there were a lot of positives, 3 of the goals were gifts to the Creek and with just a scintilla of luck this game could have been a draw. The defensive play was outstanding and teams will find it hard to break this down throughout the season. However, this game brought into stark reality the nature of the goalkeepers’ role in the game – he can be hero one day (some may recall the day he saved two penalties and scored one to progress the team into the Vets Shield semi-finals and eventual Plate glory) and villain the next. Wiggle was a villain today, not through choice but through blundering error. When he got home that day his wife gave him a big hug and everything was OK. |
