Home match for the seconds and everyone was in a good mood following a win the previous week. The 2nds did another choreographed warm up routine and seem to spend a lot of time in circles talking. I dare say they were discussing tactics.

BAC2 won the toss and decided on first push and a very considered decision by the Avonmouth captain was to start playing into the sun. The sun was very bright and very low and Avonmouth were convinced it would play a factor in the game.

The first 3 minutes of the game saw end to end play at a very fast pace, there was no way either side was going to maintain this momentum. Avonmouth started to complain amongst themselves that they were very sluggish and needed to pick things up, if they were right BAC2 were going to be in trouble. Following a lot of pressure from Avonmouth in the BAC2 D the first goal was scored and Avonmouth took the lead. 0-1

BAC2 struggled to get the ball up to the Avonmouth 23m line despite good efforts from the forwards and midfield. Defence were kept busy repelling multiple attacks. A fast break saw Tapper, Lor and Ned break through the Avonmouth line and win a short corner. The ball was injected to Tapper who brought it back into the D and shot. The fast ball headed low and left, the keeper and defenders all dived that way, Lor was first to make contact with the ball near the left post and deflected the ball high into the top of the net. BAC2 cheered….no whistle…..no signal either. The umpires walked over to each other, discussed the sequence of events, pointed a bit and then blew the whistle and awarded a goal. 1-1

Avonmouth came back immediately and put BAC2 under pressure in the D. Keeper Kay and the defence fought hard to keep them out but conceded a few shorts which thankfully came to nothing. Another break through the Avonmouth line saw Ned run through a napping Avonmouth defence and score. 2-1

Spirits were now high within BAC2 and the match was starting to balance out. Avonmouth were making superb use of the width of the pitch and passing the ball quickly along their back lines to break up BAC2 formations, but BAC2 were playing the ball well into areas of space to connect with advancing players. It wasn’t long before Ned scored again to make the score 3-1.

There were further chances for BAC2 with a couple of shorts. Lor asked Tapper “Number 2 again?” and then confirm the call to the rest of the team, the rest of the team had no idea what a “number 2” was. As it happened, Lor should have picked some other numbers as BAC2 didn’t score from the “number 2” or the following “number 1”. (Perhaps these “numbers” should be covered in future training sessions).

Before half time Avonmouth responded with another goal making the game 3-2. The teams retreated to opposite goals and held focused conversations regarding the next half.

The teams swapped ends and now BAC2 were playing into the sun. Avonmouth came out quick and equalised within minutes. 3-3

The awesome BAC2 supporters were getting vocal at this point lead by some of the 1sts who came out to watch. Lame ducks Beezy and Jo Jo were there to limp the lines in support too.

Mandy, Katie, and Lou gave Avonmouth some trouble around midfield whilst Kat, Ceri and Sophie mixed it up on the wings, but Avonmouth had suddenly gelled as a team and were relentless. If BAC2 were on the left, Avonmouth simply switched play to the far right, they were making opportunities all over the place. Over 20 minutes they slotted in 3 more goals to make the score 3-6. BAC2 played well, their speed and stamina much improved and they never gave up, but Avonmouth had a series of well thought and well-practised moves and they executed them expertly.

During the post-game handshakes the Avonmouth captain generously said playing into the sun was very difficult and it made a big difference in the second half. Good game and both teams should feel pleased with their performance. Man of the Match went to Ned and Mandy.