WET, WET, COMPLETELY SOAKED TO THE SKIN!

Dereham 5ths v Magpies 7ths

17th March 2012

It used to be said that Murray's team never get rained on...well that all changed on Saturday! It had been raining steadily all day, but as we started our match at the centre of Norfolk, it just got harder. This was probably a blessing in disguise though as it made what would have been an incredibly slow pitch, not quite as slow. It did however seem to have an effect on the team's usual reliable playing style.

Everyone was finding it extremely hard to pass to someone in a white shirt, and if they did, it was with a poorly paced passed which put their team mate in trouble. Dereham, who were playing much better than their league position suggested, scored first. From what I can remember it was from a short corner, but either way, it resulted from a good save from murrays stick, low to his right, and a failure to clear the ball, resulting in an easy rebound goal. Magpies patched up defence suffering badly from the absence of the sweeping Finney.

Magpies defence was then further depleted with the injury to D.Fairhead, "i heard something pop", apparently it was his groin, so our only substitute Charlie Graham came on at left back, providing a another attacking option, which we badly required. Magpies gained a bit of momentum after this, eventually getting into the D, the ball arriving at the stick of Eric, who quite calmly dispatched an unstoppable shot into the top left hand corner of the goal. 1-1....but not for long. 2-1 to Dereham soon after, another mix up in defence, left a Dereham player at the top of the D who lobbed the on running keeper to score. Before half time and with Magpies bickering amongst one another, we worked the ball forwards once more, wide on the right it arrived with Eric again, he got to 1 metre from the dead ball line, and 4 metres from the right of the goal, with everyone expecting a cut back to the P spot, Eric some how managed to squeeze a shot in at the near post, 2-2, half time.

With the Dereham team strangely deciding to sit in a goal, getting rained on for their team talk, Magpies made use of the shelter on offer, which surely used to be an old ship container. Words were exchanged, advice given and we all trooped back onto the pitch. Magpies started better and eventually worked a chance which was stopped illegally on the line by a defenders feet. D.Blackmore dispatched the resulting Flick, low into the bottom left hand corner, 3-2. The game then ebbed and flowed, with mis opportunities at the both ends, Joe Walker, 'took one for the team', and received a harsh yellow card for questioning the umpire, which apparently the umpire was sick of from other Magpie players. Now I am no umpire, but I thought a green card came first...

With the remaining minutes ebbing away, one last attack was formed with the 10 men on the pitch, a ball cleared from defence to Eric, who ran towards goal, a strangely energetic Magic tried to over take him on his left and called for a through ball, which he got and eventually won a short corner. From the resulting push out to J. Wells, a good pass back to the near post to R. Kent who skilfully half volleyed the ball into the net. 4-2 and final score.

MOTM; Eric Davey

DOTD; It has to be the weather.

Dep Reporter; T.MILLER