1st XI- LSE 1s Away

Wednesday 1 st February saw the bottom of the league clash between BL men’s 1s

and LSE 1s at the Old Loughtonians sports ground. Prior to push back LSE

disseminated all manner of conflicting information in a dastardly attempt to

create confusion about the time and date of the game, possibly looking to claim

the spoils without taking to the pitch. Fortunately, captain KP was on hand to sift

through the crap and confirm the fixture. A 1pm push back was agreed and

members of the squad converged on Woodford from all boroughs of London.

All were present and correct at the appointed time. Krish, radiant in birthday

splendour gave a rousing speech “Lets give 150 percent, fuck LSE, fuck em some

more, go Barts!”.

The game began well with Barts controlling early possession and making forays

down the right and centre. Cowley led the line excellently with Az and Jamie also

carrying the ball well into the opposition D although genuine chances were hard

to come by. LSE also threatened on the break with Jonny Varma saving well in an

entertaining opening to the match.

The quality of umpiring was suspect and several decent short corner shouts

were turned down. Manville made sure the umpires were aware of their short-

comings and both captains were warned.

When not berating the umpires, Manville was superb in the centre of the park

and ensured that their influential centre half was kept well marshalled

throughout.

The break through should have come when a series of good passes led Pattinson

to round the keeper only to find the knee of a defender on the line. A flick was

awarded and up stepped Cowley to take. Having meticulously studied film reels

from previous games he went for a placed effort to the bottom left. The keeper

anticipated this and saved well, the score remaining 0-0.

A quick 1-2 punch before half time saw LSE take a 2-0 lead, both goals due to

missed tackles leading to unmarked players in the D.

Martin was not happy at the half time interval but the message was clear – “stop

giving away easy possession and this game is still winnable”.

The second half started brightly with BL making several in roads into the

opposition’s 3 rd although the breakthrough goal remained elusive. Ross attacked

with menace and determination down the right. Hedges ran hard but had to be

subbed off following the threatened re-emergence of his lunch. Louis entered the

fray and was soon seen pounding down the left flank only to be ignored.

A third goal was conceded as BL pushed hard for attacking position. Martin

ranted on the sideline, invoking the spirit of the charge of the light brigade.

Onlookers were heard to question whether he remembered it personally.

3-0 was how it finished with BL failing to convert a number of decent chances

towards the end of the game. Every one gave their all and 3-0 did not feel like a

fair representation of the game.

Manville was MoM for his hard work and perseverance in the midfield. Cowley

and Pattinson were lucky to be overlooked for DoD given their blatant goal

avoidance in the 1 st half.

#1stXI #BUCs #MatchReport