So the second instalment begins.

05/04/2008 - First Game Of The Season
Opposition: Manurewa AFC
Venue: Away
Kickoff: 2.45pm
Weather: Warm and calm

Interestingly last season, the opposition in the first game were Uni-Mt Wellington Carlsberg. This year I begin the season playing for Uni-Mt Wellington Carlsberg having joined the club and this team 2 weeks ago.

Arrive at the ground at about 2pm and turns out pitch was the scene of one of the most memorable games I've been involved in. A couple of years ago against this awful Syrian team who kicked and cheated us off the field in our first meeting that season, we beat them in a 4-3 thriller in the worst weather conditions I have ever played in. Well 2nd worst if you include a game another year when the direction of the rain and gale force wind changed at half time so we spent the entire game playing against it, and consequently could not get out of our penalty area!

A new kit sponsored by Carlsberg will apparently be ready by the end of April but for today it was last season's shirts. I was handed a Liverpool goalie shirt! Fortunately it was miles too big so I managed to get out of wearing it in favour of my own shirt.

So onto the game and we begin brightly having all of the play for the first 10 minutes until they finally get down our end and a ball comes across from our left, and a free man hits it on the half volley running in from the right and I make quite a good save turning it around for a corner. Pleasing first piece of action for the season. They get more into the game after that and on about 25 minutes get a break away through the middle and take the lead with a super finish up into the top corner. They begin to get on top after taking the lead and there is further action for me sliding out to stop a couple of one-on-ones. About 5 minutes before half time one of our strikers goes down under what didn't seem a bad challenge and he doesn't get up. Got taken to A&E by a spectator and it sounds like it's a broken ankle so that's the season pretty much over for him in the first half of the first game.

But there's a bright side, a minute later we get given a disputed penalty for handball. From my end it looked pretty dodgy, seemed like the guy blocked the shot and by accident it came up off his foot and hit his arm. Nevertheless it's given and our guy hits it straight at the keeper who doesn't move and deflects it onto the bar. A scramble ensues and eventually the ball is in the back of the net for 1-1. Couldn't help feeling bad for a fellow keeper after a penalty save though. I remember once making a triple a save from a penalty only for the ball to go in at the 4th attempt (actually against the aforementioned Syrian team in the first meeting with them)!

So we go in happier at half time and they had started to look tired. Early in the 2nd half they get another chance with a guy free on the right. Fortunately he hits it pretty much straight at me and I block it and gather at the 2nd attempt. After then it was mostly all us. We took the lead on about 65 minutes with a bullet shot from out on the right beating the keeper at the near post. They did get the odd chance, and I made another decent stop coming from a cross. We really needed a 3rd to settle it and with about 15 minutes to go it arrived. One of our midfielders twisted and turned on the right corner of the penalty area and curled one into the far top corner with his left foot for what will surely be our goal of the season. Straight from the kickoff we break and score a 4th. Then a couple of minutes later it's 5 and suddenly 3 goals in 5 minutes had sealed it.

Great result from the position we were in late in the first half. Scoreline probably flattered us with it blowing out in the last 15 minutes. 2-1 probably would have been a more accurate result on reflection of the game.

So the unbeaten runs continues. My new team have not lost since the first game of last season, when I was in the side the beat them. This has been helpful in establishing a bit of banter with my new team-mates.

Result: 5-1 Win
Personal Performance: Good. Solid with everything I had to 2 and good save early on. The team seem quite happy with me compared to whoever they had last year.

Someone took a video camera and apparently the entire game was filmed by a couple of our spectators. Hopefully some of it will find it's way onto youtube eventually, especially my save!
Will post if anything ever does.

Playing Western Springs Choppers tomorrow so it will be a very bad tempered game. Not really looking forward to it much.
You may remember my reports from playing them last season. Appalling team and certainly live up to their name by cheating and kicking you off the field. Personally I came out of the first game with a severely bruised lower leg/ankle and the 2nd game with several more knocks and bruises and I was only in goal. Apparently it was even worse against my new team last season as they lost to the Choppers on the field but it was so bad that they actually put in a complaint and were successful in having the result reversed to a default 3-0 win! Our coach was going to request an official referee and given last season's circumstances, one should be provided. Hopefully we get one or I certainly see additions to the injury list.

They came 5th in the league last season anyway so I don't understand why they have been put up a division.

You could end up your team's player of the season if most of your games are like that.

0/2 clean sheets?! If you were my keeper, I'd be transfer listing you!

Only joking Alex, congrats and well done.

League table so far:



Three Kings Elk Hider are this weekend's opposition so it's a good chance to establish ourselves as firm title contenders. On the other hand a loss will see us well off the pace already. Not sure if Elk Hider is somebondy's name, or if it's supposed to sound like a well known terrorist group.
May only be 2 games but it's always nice personally to have the least goals conceded. Looks like a much stronger league than one below where we played last year which is good. Last year my newteam Carlsberg, Metro Wong and my old team Fencibles were miles ahead of the rest. The Choppers and a couple 2 or 3 others were in the middle, then there were another 3 who lost in double figures every week. So far from the first 2 games it looks like Manurewa are the whipping boys while everyone else should give everyone else a decent game. I know Metro Wong are strong as they were the only side my team didn't take a point off last year while the new team also had difficulties against them. Ellerslie had a draw with them so they must also be reasonable while Bay Olympic beat the Choppers so should also be strong. The 2 Three Kings teams look strong from their results too. Should be a good hard fought league with a few teams in the title race.

Also pretty interested in seeing what Eastern Suburbs are like. They were a team who contacted me while I was looking for a team before the season. Their training happened to be the same time as Carlsberg's and I had already told them I would come along before Suburbs got in touch with me. Things worked out and I joined this team so it will be interesting to see where I could have played if it hadn't worked out with this lot.

Guessing same club.

They are 2 teams from the same club, Three Kings AFC. That's always allowed at this level and as Three Kings are one of the biggest clubs in NZ, they generally have at least 1 team in every single division. Elk Hider and Gomez are presumably the names of the coach/person in charge of either time in order to distinguish them from each other (Elk Hider may possibly be a pun on a famous terrorist organisation!). Just like Carlsberg distinguishes us from other Uni-Mt Wellington teams in other leagues. Last season we had 2 teams from Ellerslie in our division.
Eastern Suburbs is the biggest club in NZ I think. Like Three Kings, there's always at least 1 of them in every league.

What do you mean by that? 1st team, 2nd team etc?
Of course every club has an order of teams but some clubs like Three Kings and Eastern Suburbs for instance are big enough such that they actually have more mens teams than the number of divisions so there will be a couple of leagues where they have 2 teams.
Of course another possibility is that you have a Three Kings team who finishes mid table so remains in the same division and another one either comes up from the league below or down from the league above (since they have at least one team in every division). So the next year there will be 2 in this league. That seems to be what has happened here. Looking at last season's results, Three Kings Elk Hider have come down from the division above (even though the standings show them finishing 7th out of 10 so they should have avoided relegation - interestingly the 2 who should have come down are still in the above division this year ) while Three Kings Gomez finished mid table in this league last season so remain in this one.