Jokers 3 – Leopards 5
Sunday 13 January 2008
Battersea Park
Team: Linter; Skinner, Vere, Gromb, Howgego; Milner, Gamson, Seaton-Smith, Hyde, Lynes; Estivalet.
Sub: B Perez-Tejedor (on for Skinner, 60)
Scorers: Gromb, Estivalet, B Perez-Tejedor
Ah, the Leopards. Not since the day on which Wanderers won the first FA Cup have such a bunch of posh people been so good at football, a fact brought home when their first call was to ‘give the ball to Rupert’. The Prince Harry lookalike was present and correct, finding the time to leave his country estate and shooting Hen Harriers, to produce a performance of some quality at the back. Despite falling behind in the first half, an impressive second-half display saw them surge into a 5-1 league, with the Jokers registering two late consolations to give the scoreline a slightly flattering look.
If one of Fabio Capello’s Italians had been present at Battersea Park, he would have been disappointed that the Jokers’ goals came from the foreign legion of Frenchmen Gromb and Estivalet and Spaniard Billy Perez-Tejedor. It was however, an all-British midfield that did much to keep the first half even in terms of possession before a freakish goal from Gromb put the Jokers into the lead. Playing an unfamiliar ‘Christmas tree’ 4-3-2-1 formation, the Jokers had looked dangerous from set pieces and Gamson had already forced the keeper into a good, if flashy, save to put the Jokers on the front foot. In response, the Leopards had been good in possession without creating anything of particular note apart from a ball flashed across the face of the goal.
A few matches ago, Gromb had registered with a powerful shot from distance. This time his goal was from even further out, a free-kick from about sixty yards, comfortably in his own half. The ball sailed into the area, where Lynes performed a bizarre pirouette. Although nowhere near the ball, this had the effect of distracting the keeper and, with a strong wind behind it, the ball bounced once into the net.
That was really all the action in the first half, a half in which the team had performed well, showing no deference to their social, or footballing, betters. All that changed in the second half when Leopards began to dominate possession. Initially the Jokers held out well, but a burst around the hour mark saw three goals in ten minutes end the game as a contest. The first of these saw the number 8 get a flick on a corner, which Linter did well to push onto the bar. Unfortunately, by the time he caught the ball on its way down, it was clearly over the line. For the second, an attacker burst into the box, shrugged off the challenge of Howgego and finished into the top corner. A third soon followed as Seaton-Smith sliced a clearance on the edge of his own box and the number 13 capitalised, firing across Linter (good players, these number 13s). At this point the Jokers were rocking, so credit to the team for holding the score at 3-1 for the next 15 or so minutes, thereby averting a potentially humiliating defeat. Billy came on for the suffering Skinner, with Lynes switching to left back and the Jokers even went close, as Estivalet put the ball narrowly over after beating two players. A goal at this point would have reignited a contest that the Jokers had looked out of and this had been their first effort of note of the half. Instead, Leopards added two more, the number 6 firing in a shot from distance the crept underneath Linter’s bar and the number 11 rounding off a fine team move for the best goal of the day.
Although the match was well and truly dead as a contest, it was still a bit cheeky of the Leopards’ keeper to refer to the award of a free kick on the edge of his box as ‘a chance to practice defending set plays’, particularly given his mistake from Gromb’s free kick. Estivalet made him eat his words, producing a curling effort that he probably should have saved, but which found him wanting once again. At the death, Billy produced a firm strike from a half-cleared corner that gave the scoreline a more respectable gloss.
Next week, the Jokers get a break from what is now a disappointing league campaign in the shape of the final cup group match against Northern Alliance. Although hardly a group of death, they will still need to get something in order to be sure of progressing in what looks like the onloy chance to put some long-awaited silverware in the trophy cabinet (yet to be built).