A tight affair with some old boys

It was that time of the week again, the sun had died and the evening chill had descended onto the rubber crumb. 7 Brave warriors had braved the long journey to the depths of Raynes Park, the expectation of the battle ahead pumping warm blood through their veins.  Kitted up and ready, a cloud of confidence lingered over the gravytrain  team.

A changed line up for the first game of the season saw two multi million pound youngsters brought in to add attacking flare to the gravy’s solid spine; Trevor ‘John Arne’ Symons and Nick ‘Bomber’ Whiting. Bookham Old Boys were the opponents, worthy adversaries for the gravytrain warriors, a strong and organised outfit; this would not be an easy game! The cloud of confidence that had shadowed gravytrain was shattered after just 5 minutes when the defence was caught napping and the old boys striker was let clean through.  Not even the mighty George could stop the effort, as the ball was slid into the net over the frozen surface.

Gravytrain pushed forward in search of the equaliser but were a yard of the pace, stray passes and missed tackles plagued the gravy’s, and 15minutes in they were 2 down. Heads visibly dropped and Bookham started to dominate the possession and control the play, passing back to their keeper at every opportunity. A number of fine saves from George kept Gravytrain in the game.  The gravy’s hung on till half time two goals to the bad. Something had to change in the second half.

And it did!

A different side came out for the second half, a more determined side. Rocco ‘Maradonna’ Pietosi and Kevin ‘The Power’ Taylor held strong at the back, squashing any counter attacks, allowing the other players to press forward. Will Martinez had an early effort saved by the Old Boys on form keeper after good link up play and Trev also had a number of shots saved. The football being played in the second half by Gravytrain was a different class.  Ryan ‘Super Frank’ Copeland spraying quick passes to the wings and breaking forward well, led to some good nice one touch football and clever through balls which saw the keeper tested from all angles! But still no breakthrough. It would take something special to beat the keeper or a bit of luck, sadly we could not muster either. Gravytrain played Bookham off the park in the second half; they did not have one decent attempt on goal. Credit to the defence and the goalkeeper for that.  It just wasn’t our day.

Final Score:  Bookham Old Boys 2-0 Gravytrain

Gravytrain walked off the pitch dejected by the loss, but knowing that the second half performance was strong. Excited by the knowledge that on that form anything is possible in this league. It would be hard to choose a man of the match from the second half, everyone showed a great commitment and individual brilliance all over the park. 

Gravytrain Turns on the Style!

It was a late kick off at the wimbledon goal stadium on tuesday night, and some fans were doubting the gravytrain teams commitment to the club after the gravy’s new £15 million pound striker Rob Loveday dropped out due to the kick off time being passed his bed time. EFC United the opponents and they lye one position above the gravy’s in the table and a win for the Gravy’s today would mean they would climb another position in the table to 14th and out of the relegation zone.

 The starting lineup included George “Braveheart” between the sticks, with Roc and Kevin Taylor making up the strong back two of the Gravytrains defence. Will Martinez and Ryan Copeland backed up the Gravy’s on form striker Richard Bunce who was looking to add to his goal tally after a stunning hat trick in last weeks fixture.

 Gravytrain FC had kick off to start the match, but unfortunately were very slow out of the blocks indeed. Talk of the teams commitment seemed to be true when EFC combined 3-to-4 passes together that opened up the Gravytrain defence and gave the EFC United front man the opportunity to slot the ball past George “Braveheart”. EFC 1, Gravytrain 0.

 How would Gravytrain players react to this goal after an extremely poor start?……They reacted magnificently, creating some great chances with strikes from Richard Bunce, Martinez and Copeland all saved by the on form EFC goalkeeper. Then came the pivotal point of the match. EFC came on the break, Copeland had dropped into a more holding role in the midfield to help deal with the oncoming EFC players, and made an excellent challenge on the EFC front man, then looking up saw Martinez up front and played him in. The EFC defence was caught napping and Martinez was 1-on-1 with the keeper and with a cool collective finish smashed the ball into the bottom right hand corner giving the keep absolutely no chance to save. Gravytrain drew level, with Martinez sending the fans into raptures.

 EFC kicked off and came straight on the attack, Copeland intercepted yet another pass  and quickly brought the ball forward tearing throught the EFC midfield like a knife through butter. Copeland had the goal in his sights and let fly with his lethal left peg. The shot powered straight at the keeper and went through his legs and into the back of the net. A great individual effort by the on loan Leeds United player. Gravytrain 2 EFC 1. Gravytrain FC looked really up for this game now!!

 EFC kicked off looking very demoralised by the way that the Gravytrain team was performing. EFC came forward in numbers but Roc, who lived up to his name, made some very important challenges and kept the EFC frontmen at bay. George plays the ball out to Kevin Taylor who knocks a lovely ball to the feet of Richard Bunce. Copeland makes a run down the left flank and Bunce sees this and slots a lovely ball through to the feet of Copeland who takes a touch and piledrives the ball at the right side of the goal giving the keeper absolutely no chance. A great finish! Gravytrain FC 3 EFC 1!!

 The referee brought the first half to a close. The Gravytrain team are really looking good at the moment. A great 1st half performance.

 EFC kicked off the second half after putting there best player on the pitch in goal!! This could only be good for the Gravy’s and they did take full advantage of this. The EFC defence looked weak and Richard Bunce picked up the ball in the middle of the park and slotted through Martinez who took on the EFC defender smashing the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal. 4-1 Gravytrain!! The fans looked elated!!!

 EFC came straight back at the Gravytrain side and Roc and Kevin Taylor were tested at the back and they passed the test with ease showing some great defending keeping the EFC attackers at bay. George played it out to Roc who plays it into Martinez who plays a lovely through ball looking for Kevin Taylor….Now Kevin Taylor is not renown for his pace but my word did he move to get to the through ball, absolutely dusting  the young EFC centre back and putting himself through on goal. Kevin, 1-on-1 with the keeper pulled a great low right footed strike out of the bag and cracked the ball into the back of the net. Gravytrain 5 EFC 1. This was really sexy football from the Gravy’s.

Gravytrains legs began to tire in the final stages but Roc managed to keep EFC at bay at the back with an amazing show of strong defending, however Copeland was pushed into the area by the EFC striker only to see the referee give the controversial penalty. The fans were going wild. How on earth was that a penalty!!!! The EFC striker stept up not looking at all confident as he was only 16 years old (or so he kept reminding the gravytrain players). He smashed the ball straight down the middle of the goal only to see “Braveheart” getting down low and clutching the ball to his chest. Great save!! My My did the 16 year old recieve some banter from the home crowd. EFC came straight back on the attack however and caught the Gravys knapping clawing a goal back to make the score 5-2 to the Gravytrain.

Martinez went straight back at EFC and with a great individual effort slotted home the 6th goal with an amazing strike going in off the post, guarenteeing Gravytrain the 3 points. The referee brought the game to a close shortly after.

 A stunning performance from Gravytrain FC who played some very sexy football here tonight. A special mention must be given to Roc who came back from the tattoo parlour to make a blinding performance at the back and grabbing a well deserved man of the match award.

Comeback of the season

To say that Gravytrain (the Spartans of Goals Tuesday league 6-a-side football) made a fantastic comeback, is an understatement.

The official for tonights game was Mr Phil Mitchell, and the opponents; The Portugeezer Chiefs.

The game started with a Roar from the croud as Rob Loveday, Gravytrain’s new 15million pound striker, entered the stadium for his debut for the club.

The game started well, with both teams neck and neck fighting like savage dogs to gain posession at the 0-0 first quarter. After about 15 minutes The Portugeezer chief gained posession and slotted passed Gravytrain’s Lockness Beast George. The defense back 2 looked strong from both teams, showing great knowledge of the game and fantastic sliding tackles attempts from Kev showed positivty for the Gravy’s, but sadly after an outragous decision by Phil Mitchell on Kevin, forced Gravytrain to struggle back therefore creating an easy chance for Portugeezer chiefs to go 2 ahead.

Minutes from the half time whistle, Gravy’s young and fit wingers Rich Bunce and Ryan Copeland created a crossing opportunity, only to be deflected pass the opposing keeper, and into the back of the net! Ryan decides on his behalf that it is his goal, although the match officials decide to put it down as an own goal. 2-1 at half time.

The second half began with the croud rushing to their seats after a quick lash and a pint of guiness. Gravytrain came out of the dressing room with the look of anger, frustration and pure determination. The half started with an early break from Skillfull Centre midfielder Will Martinez, taking on not one, not two, but Five players. Then slotting it through to Loveday, latching onto the ball with a sweet flick and volleying it… Only to hit the corner of the woodwork. The croud could see straight away, that this wasn’t the end for Gravytrain.

Moments after, Copeland was set on goal, only one thing was on his mind, and that was to Bang it! Portugeezer’s keeper however managed to keep it out with a bodyblowing save, but couldn’t hold onto it! Bunce, with his agility, rushed in and slotted the ball bottom right. The Gravy’s were level, but they were hungry for more!

Portugeezer’s kicked off, only to be rushed down by Loveday and munched in the process. Loveday tried on his own, but had to think like a team player! He saw Bunce making a run so slotted the ball to his feet.. Bunce rifled the ball like a true Sniper, and what seamed to be a 50yard beast, it rattled the goal mouth only for the keeper to pick out of the net!

Gravytrain 3 – 2 Portugeezer’s

The Croud were on their feet, gravytrain’s celebrations didn’t last long, they knew they had to take advantage of this lead and build on it!

Yet again the play started from the back. George to Kevin, Kevin slotting into Ryans path, who switches play over to Will, will Dummying passed a player and play in Rob. Rob managed to put it into Bunces feet under pressure. Hitting it first time at the suprise of the croud, Rich Bunce cracked it passed the keeper, making him look like an utter girl. 4-2 Gravytrain! 3 For Most Valuable Player Richard Bunce.

 Gravytrain were set back to defensive mode, Blasting the ball up the pitch when they got the chance to clear the area. Portugeezer’s got a late break and a last minute consellation goal, which didn’t worry the Gravytrain team.

The final whistle blew, to earn the deserved winners Gravytrain a 4-3 victory.

A stunning example of pure class from the Gravy’s.

Draw for Gravytrain ltd FC

Although being infront for most of the match Gravytrain Limited fc only managed to come away with a draw. Two Goals each from Will Martinez and Ryan Copleand put Gravytrain Limited 4-2 infront. The second half saw Gravytrain Limited return to their previous form and allowed the other team to get back into the game. A few deflected shots that found their way into the back of our net meant that it was a nailbiting finish to the game – 4 -4 the end score.

The Manager will have a lot to think about before next week’s match . Many people think that he may adopt Raffa Benitez’s  squad rotation strategy, but i think the likelihood is he might do a Mourinho a just leave.

Gravytrain take control of the game

Another great win for Gravytrain Limited . After going one-nil down Gravytrain Limited  stepped up a gear and clawed back into the game. An impressive strike by Alex marked the first of many for the Gravytrain Limited  side that took control of the game of there on in. The final score was 6 – 3.

Gravytrain Sign New Left back

With the recent reports of Gravytrain Limited’s defence being caught taking a siesta during games they have finally decided to recruit a new player to solve this problem. The new left back Ryan Copeland is on loan from Leeds United in a bid to raise some cash for the destitute club. Other pasts attempts at raising money sadly failed as Leeds Utd had approached the likes of Enron and Northern Rock. Following recent discussions with financial experts Leeds loaned their left back to Gravytrain Limited for a new club record fee of 3 gravy granuals, 2 packets of chewing gum and an umbungo.  Gravytrain Limited had this to say about the deal: “We really saw them coming”. The spokesperson for Gravytrain Limited fc declined to comment further on this.

Kevin back for Gravytrain Limited fc

It’s been several weeks now and Gravytrain Limited fc are still looking to join a competetive league! No major changes to report since the last post. Kevin should be coming back this week after suffering a knee injury a while back. It looks like the injury has finally healed and last night it certainly looked like Kevin had fully recovered when he showed up for training.

One of his Gravytrain Limited fc colleagues had this to say:

Gravytrain Limited Nick:  ”Kevin looks better than ever before! We think his leg has been out of alignment all his life and the latest injury, although painful, has actually done him a favour by knocking his leg back into alignment.” 

Reporter: “What does this mean for Kevin’s footballing career?”

Gravytrain Limited Nick: “Well, I guess this will mean his shots will be on target from now on.”

Gravytrain Limited FC Weekly Roundup

Gravytrain Limited fc won their second match in their history this week! The opposing team who have not yet been named did not turn up so by the rules of the 5-aside FA Gravytrain Limited fc were awarded a win. The score has been left up to Rocco to decide –  sources have predicted the score will be around the 10 – 0 mark.

There has been much arguement over who to award the goals to but they have finally come to a fair conclusion. All 10 goals will be awarded to Will Martinez for his hard work on and off the pitch. This makes him the top goalscorer for Gravytrain Limited with 25, in second position is Alex with 8, Andrew, Nick, Kevin with 1 goal, Rocco, Miles, George, Sigmon with no goals and Steve Slade with -12.

Team on form!

After the miserable last few weeks Gravytrain Limited bounced back in an unfamiliar fashion to win. Yes win! I will write it again to be sure. Gravytrain Limited won a match! A depressingly bad first half performance meant that Gravytrain Limited were 5-0 down. With the new players almost losing hope veteran Alex Taylor turned up the pressure on goal. The Gravytrain Limited striker managed to bag 6 goals to put the team ahead. A Further goal from Andrew made it 7 and marked an impressive win for the club.

New players and a surprise return…

Back from injury is 1st team goalkeeper George who was out due to a broken finger. He has only allowed two weeks for the break to heal! Gravytrain Limited contacted the team doctor to verify this and were astounded at this great news. The doctor added that as George was from Scotland his bones were made from stronger stuff and also healed quicker. Aparently Scotish bones heal 60% faster than that of an Englishman.

Also playing this week is Nick’s younger brother (looks older though) , who is making his second appearance for Gravytrain Limited FC, and a one of Alex’s friends who we are still waiting to for details of. 

Last week it didn’t seem possible but Gravytrain Limited has muscled on and found enough players to represent the team. More information about how the team got on and inside gossip to follow!