Score: Penguins 4-3 Essex Lasallians
Goals: Kenneth (1), Owain (1), Glenn (1), Roger (1)
Match report by: Glenn
The Penguins were much-depleted for the hotly anticipated clash against Essex Lasallians, also known as our director's husband’s team. The Deepavali holiday laid waste to numerous key Penguins, including the likes of Robert, David and Jay. The critics had already sharpened their pens in expectation of a Penguins collapse against an accomplished and experienced outfit, but they had underestimated the spirit of the Penguins team. Captain Ben Boo simply shrugged off the losses in personnel, dusted off his tactics board and created a robust, if initially surprising, 5-3-2 formation. The Penguins took to the field both confident and determined, but few could have foreseen the events that were to follow.
Penguins are usually notable for their casual waddling but not these formidable Penguins, who positively roared out of the blocks from the first whistle. Several chances went begging in the early stages as we poured forward with merry abandon. Our enterprising play got the goal we deserved from midfield-lynchpin, Kenneth, who rose highest from a corner to power home a bullet header. The lead was doubled soon after, with Owain prodding home at the second attempt at close range. Our makeshift defence held together smoothly, efficiently snuffing out any threats from the opposition. Jonathan began to resemble a young Tony Adams as the game wore on, marshalling his troops with calm authority. Incredibly, as half-time approached things got even better for us as the opposing keeper, under immense pressure from the indefatigable Roger, spooned a miskicked clearance to just outside the corner of the box where an onrushing Glenn placed a first-time volley over the keeper’s head. The whistle for half-time soon followed, with the Penguins in dreamland.
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and so it transpired in the second-half. The opposition upped their game and made it 3-1 with a debatable penalty soon after the restart, prompting doubts to seep into the minds of our players. Whilst our play in the first half was akin to Messi, in the second, it started to become simply, well, messy. We still managed to play some good football, but tired legs and minds combined to see concentration levels drop. Positioning went awry and confidence began to drop as passes went astray and chances went begging. It wasn’t long before it became 3-2, with the opposition really raining down on us. The last 15mins saw a backs-to-the-wall type battle not seen since the Alamo, but our proud defence was finally pierced with a soul-crushing equalizer 10mins from time. 3-3 and there looked like being only one winner… But no! Cometh the hour and cometh the man. A rare counter-attack in the last minute saw the ball swept from defence to midfield in the blink of an eye – soon Darryl was receiving a pass inside the box with the cry ‘Shoot!’ resounding from the players. Time froze as Darryl pulled back his leg to deliver the strike, defenders desperately lunged at his feet, hearts raced. Amid the mayhem, only Darryl kept his cool, casually sliding the ball to his right to an unmarked Roger who found the corner of the net with an expert toe-poke. 4-3 Penguins!!
So a truly sensational game ended in a deserved 4-3 victory. Again, the incredible spirit and determination of the Penguins shone through, as did some marvelous football. Eyebrows may have been raised as we took to the field but by the end, the only things raised were the arms of the victorious Penguins.
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