Dongle

I'm able to go online just about anywhere now, thanks to my dongle. I can connect to the Vodafone network and get internet access wherever there is a signal. So I'm at Bournemouth with Glen for his football and getting some 'work' done while waiting.

It has been an incredibly busy week and with having the house on the market, a busy time at home as well as work. We've had two viewers so far with 2 more over the weekend. Should manage to sell ok but it's finding a house we want that is likely to be the problem. I'm expecting to stay where we are in the end but we'll see. Otherwise it'll be off to Verwood.

Sunshine Slows Sparkshop Ascent

In a little publicised cup game, Sparkshop found themselves in a match up with fellow promotion seekers, Glory Boys. They are the one team to have beaten us this year and it was the first game of the season before the acquisition of our heroic keeper Rich when we had held them to 0 - 0 before the sending off of Darren and subsequent penalty had allowed them to exploit the gaps left in defence. As a result it was disappointing to start the game with only 6 players as Dom had not realised we were playing and Kev had put his back out on the driving range the previous day.

It meant we had to play very defensively and put paid to the formation which has served us well of late. However, the start of the game was even and we didn't look in too much trouble as long shots sailed high and wide whenever an attack threatened. In fact we created some chances ourselves before their attacks began to carry more menace forcing Rich into a number of fine saves including a great deflection onto the bar from a close range shot.

The first goal came from a similar shot which was curled high into the far corner in a decisive finish. The second came early in the second half with a flowing move freeing an attacker who calmly lifted the ball clear of Rich in goal. Having been such a barrier to the opposition in previous games he had been beaten by two great goals and there was third shortly after a fierce header from the edge of the D flew goalwards. The pace was simply astonishing and it took a Gordon Banks style dive to get a hand to it and push it almost clear. You can only imagine how good it looked. If only the sun had not been going down Rich would have not been blinded and it would definitely have been saved.

Actually it was a tame header which somehow squirmed from his grasp and into the net leaving us all in an embarrassed silence and Rich on the verge of 'getting his coat'. It's good to see the standards set by the rest of us have now worked their way into his play! He really is part of the team properly now. But the sun was very, very bright at that time. You should have seen it. It was like a scene from 'Sunshine', the Danny Boyle film, and a vivid yellow like you'd see in a painting by a 3 year old after a morning at nursery. We could all sympathise.

It was darkness that played a part in the fourth goal. The number 5 burst into the box leaving me bereft of hope in the penalty area. With the instinct borne of years of ineptitude and an inability to tackle, I ignored the cover provided by Dougie and Matt C. Lunging at the attacker in a comedy moment, I clipped his legs and sent him to the floor where he didn't seem to appreciate the joke my assault had been in my mind. Luckily Gary did get it and pretended to give the kick to us for diving which caused the 5 to begin his complaints. It was just rubbish from me - no excuses - and left the same player to slot home the resultant penalty.

So for the second game this year against them we played with only 6 men and conceded a dubious penalty. The last one was for handball when Darren caught the ball on the line.

The big games start on Monday though with a 9.30 slot against the team in fourth. Back to winning ways is the only way to go.

Rich Matt C Not Dom Dougie Chris New Matt Iain

Unbelievable

Incredibly Sparkshop have won their fifth game in a row with a hard fought victory over U Drive who were languishing at the bottom of the table but played in a manner which belied their position, especially in the first half.



It was a bizzare start to the game which cost us a goal early on as an attck fizzled out and Dougie found himself tackling in front of goal. The ball cannoned off the attacker and trickled back toward goal waiting to be collected by super Rich. In his games so far (all victories!) he has only conceded three goals with one a penalty and a second goal the result of being blocked and unsighted. The third was just awesome as he failed to reach the gently rolling ball as he was 50 yards away! The person to blame here is Kevin Trill. Let me explain.

In the warm up Kev had a great left foot volley which went soaring up, up and away into the outer reaches of the courts. We all got ready to kick off whilst Rich, a well mannered young man with a conscience, trotted off to recover the ball. The ref started the game without checking our keeper was ready or even there. By the time Rich returned, and bear in mind this was Kevin shooting and the ball had gone quite some way off into a different post code zone, the ball had run gently into the net.

One down, the remainder of the first half was tough. As Dougie pointed out later, we seem worse kicking downhill but I prefer to think that the turn round was due to superior fitness. As it was the break came with us a goal behind but we pressed from the start of the kick off to the second period with a much improved attitude to closing down and squeezing the opposition into areas dangerous to them. A lovely move saw new Matt lob the keeper only to watch in disbelief as the ball rebounded from the bar but a similar shot from a well created attack did fall into the net to put us level. Matt took it superbly but his namesake, Matt C was nearly on the scoresheet moments later afetr a lovely dribble which exposed three defenders mesmerised by his tricky skills. Despite a lunge from behind which would have brought a penalty if he'd gone down, Matt composed himself for a shot which looked in all the way only to see it rebound from the frame of the goal again.

Increasingly it looked like a draw as we played against the prospect of the floodlights going out but there was still time for a winning goal. New Matt again but a very different goal this time. Dougie swung through an attacker and knocked the ball to Kev. It could have been a free kick but play was allowed to continue. Kev looked up and, falling back, swung a fierce left foot pass toward Matt who was blocked by keeper and defender. The resulting melee brought momentary confusion but Matt looked up and realised the ball had run free leaving an empty net to slot the ball into.

We never looked in trouble after that point and even had the luxury of Dougie playing ambitious free kicks passed into the box rather than going for the blaster we all know he wanted really. Perhaps Kev would just have shouted at him even more.

We are third in the division with 15 points out of 18, the top side having won all their games on 18 and second place on 15 but ahead on goal difference. Just two games to go with second and fourth to play. It could well be the end of the winning run but it could also see us move into second ourselves and the heady heights of promotion!

Rich Matt C Dom Dougie Kev New Matt (2) Iain

Unbelievable

Sparkshop managed the incredible feat of winning their fourth straight game on Monday night with a very hard fought victory over the Dark Knights. It really was a tough game between two evenly matched teams despite the opposition's lowly status near the bottom of the division. We lined up full of confidence with the same team as the previous game bar Dougie leaving us without a sub. There was an early chance which came to me quickly from a misdirected shot but a feeble left footed lunge simply ballooned upwards and over the bar.

There were plenty of chances for either side with a shot slamming against our post in the first half followed by another fierce shot crashing against the bar from Kev as we neared the end of the game. Matt had a great chance to open the scoring following a flowing move through the middle of the pitch but blasted over left footed when clear in the box. In the end we were settling for a draw as Rich kept us in the game with several astounding saves. He was quick off the line to smother shots from inside the box, dived to his right to tip round the post and twisted to recover when a clearance from Kev rebounded hard over his head and was goal bound until being scooped to safety. It was an incredible display and it gave us the chance to snatch a win when a draw would have been a fairer result.

It was down to a disciplined performance with Dom and Matt solid at the back, Chris and Kev full of running in the middle and new Matt putting himself about menacingly despite a twisted ankle.

The goal came in the last minute from a long throw by Matt. The keeper spilled it and the ball fell between him and a number of defenders. I just swung my leg at where the ball might have been and kicked through luckily making some contact with the ball and seeing it slowly, very slowly trickling into the goal. Not the greatest goal but a 3 point sealing strike which leaves us in 2nd place!!

This is getting serious.

Rich Matt Dom Kev Chris Matt Iain (1)

Sparkshop

Tonight's game kicks off at 8.15 and sees the three time winners playing the Dark Knights.

With goals and points coming thick and fast at the moment, Sparkshop should be full of confidence with competition for places meaning we actually had a sub last week. Will that be the same tonight?

Dark Knights have played 4 but have managed just the one win thus far. In doing so they have conceded 11 whilst scoring 5. If only we'd been that good last year! That ought to mean a comfortable win but our record is awful in this type of game as we fail to play the game we know we should, namely one involving passing and moving. I think that is one thing we got right in the previous game in that we played football rather than going for a more individual approach as the goals went in.

Euro 2008 almost here and I'm going for Spain to win rather than my usual Italy just to see them lose the 'perrenial underachievers' tag.

Half term

It's been a bit of a disaster this week with the car problems, illness and rain. The car was simply the electronic coil which apparently acts like an old fashioned distributor and was easily replaced but meant I didn't get the car back till Thursday. In the meantime Maria was full of cold sparking mild panic and a visit to Poole in the early hours of Saturday morning. She is much better now.

It feels like coming back to school for a rest after doing more cleaning and cooking than I care to remember!