Birkbeck 0 – 0 GOSH

Match Report
Birkbeck 0 – 0 GOSH
Friday 26 November 2010, 12-1pm

This was a strange match [You’ve already used that one, quite recently – a reader].

Birkbeck started strongly, overwhelming a GOSH side that initially represented a fragile and disorganised rabble, and though early chances were spurned, it seemed only a matter of time until they opened the scoring and sent the team on their way to an easy victory.

Whether GOSH’s early efforts were the result of over-enthusiastic late-night bonding in the pub, or a deliberate attempt to lull their opponents into a false sense of security, their slack marking, laboured movement and inability to keep the ball below head height was not to last, and before long they managed to string a few passes together and began to come into the game as an attacking unit.

While captain Schmidt had been apoplectic with rage at each and every one of Birkbeck’s missed chances in the first half, the frustration had subsided by the half-time interval, where there general consensus was that a positive result was eminently possible. With manager Parrott once again being blessed with the luxury of fit and available substitutes, the pack was shuffled for the second half, but unfortunately the changes failed to bring about the desired result.

Although I can say with certain confidence that Birkbeck created chances in this match, on this occasion the specific details proved too hard to recollect for this correspondent, whose failing memory at a relatively young age is becoming a cause for concern for himself, his close friends and family, and his employers. (Seriously, where the hell are my house keys?)

So, apologies to anyone who played really well and considers themselves unlucky not to have scored at some stage. On the other hand, those who missed extremely easy chances – your cheques better not bounce.

Sadly, the only pertinent fact I seem to be able to recall involves a near-miss at the Birkbeck end, which saw Schmidt almost tarnish an otherwise solid performance by volleying into his own net. Fortunately for all concerned, it flashed past the post, and the resulting corner produced nothing too dangerous, so it can safely go down in history as a decent piece of defending rather than one of the most impressive own goals of all time (c/f – Lee Dixon vs. Coventry, 1991).

At the final whistle, the initial feeling in the Birkbeck camp were that this was two points lost rather than one gained. But with a number of new players in the team and a 5-0 defeat still relatively fresh in the memory, it was suggested that two successive low-scoring draws were representative of a new-found solidity that would be the foundation for further successes later in the season. So stay tuned for good times, which are sure to be just around the corner.