I played in my first league game in Lord knows how long, representing Mad City United. My first impression is that a 90-minute game on a full-sized pitch is asking a lot of an over-30 league, but there are plenty of players well over that age. We were overrun in the first ten minutes and went down 1-0, but roared back with 4 unanswered goals.

It tickled me that I was handed the #19 jersey, the same from my high school playing days. Today I played central midfield and defensive midfield and did a lot of ball chasing. A lot of ball chasing. I had two or three really good touches and was rewarded with hard fouls by the guys I burned each time. So it goes. The only real highlight for me was the one-touch pass that sprung the winger who crossed the ball for the go-ahead goal at 2-1. Otherwise it was a lot of toil and not much beauty. Donkey work, I think it’s called. But harrying the opposition pays dividends too, and I like to think I helped out.

We played a somewhat disorganized 4-5-1 that often (unintentionally?) pushed into a 4-3-3 (that’s moving from a pretty defensive formation to a pretty offensive formation for those of you at home). But the team played well, and we have some powerful strikers who can put the ball in the net. It was closer to 5, 6, or 7 to 1 had we finished our opportunities. Part of the problem was that the opposition had slow defenders playing a high line, and that invites long ball. Long ball can work, but long ball also makes for hard running,

The only downside on the afternoon was a vicious, deliberate elbow thrown by one of the opposing players, who can only be described as a dickhead. He got knocked, didn’t get the call, and when our player went for the ball again he threw his elbow into the face/head/throat of the defender and made solid contact. Red card, ejected from the game, but it left our guy on the pitch for about five minutes. Not cool, and not remotely warranted. It’s this brand of stupidity that has made me steer towards pickup rather than leagues over the last decade, but whatever.

Anyway, I like the group of guys, many of them are quite good, and I’m looking forward to the season. The league looks pretty competitive and we had a bye the first week, so we’re still working out the kinks. A number of these guys have played together for 10 years, but there are a few other newbies like me on the team too.

Onward, United.

Current Mood: Beat but Victorious |