Feeling a bit bleary this AM.
The rain that had been predicted for the last three days did not materialize (how do those meteorolgists take their pay with a clear conscience, BTW ?), so it was a pleasant, balmy evening as we walked up to the Rainbow. Hardly anyone about again, but Crofty told us the Spirit folk were up the back, and they were. Good to meet you lot and put a couple more faces to listees. We discovered the food at the Rainbow is fair enough and cheapish too. It may yet end up being the STRIKERS' watering hole - maybe.
To the ground at five to kick off, but it wasn't as I hadn't picked up that the start was half an hour later than usual . We were handed song sheets on the way in. IMHO these never work, and they didn't again. It seems that getting local supporters to sing or chant other than the old "STRIKERS, clap, clap, clap" is an insoluble problem. In fact a couple of lads in front of us spent most of the match trying to get those around going and ended up with security all over them towards the end of the game. To their credit, the fans all around supported them and the ample lady and her green shirted shaven headed offsiders did eventually seem to concede their error and leave the lads in peace.
No fireworks!! Not even Thor's hammer was ignited. In their place was an exquisitely embarrassing group of ill matched and attired youths who stood in front of the grandstand, moved in an unco-ordinated way to some music I don't know and held up cards which said things like "Kossie" and "Jezza" and "Clap your hands". Only my view, but very amateurish and possibly pointless. Anyone there think otherwise? Looking around, there seemed to be quite a few familiar faces absent from the crowd. Possibly some other attraction had diverted their loyalty from the team.
I won't say much about the game other than to state that, considering the Spirit are "full time professionals" who train every day and do nothing but play football, they are not very good. The young and/or inexperienced STRIKERS outplayed them all night all over the park except for a period in the second half when we decided to bypass the midfield where we had dominated and began hoofing up and unders up filed unaccountably. I didn't count the chances each side created, but the conversion rate for the Spirit was probably close to 100% and the STRIKERS more like 10%. I thought both our goals good quality and both their's very soft, especially the late equalizer that most of us had been pessimistically predicting. A long drive fumbled by Bolton, who otherwise played well, and a tap in. Kossie did not move on his little chair I noticed.
What showed was that our lads were really hungry for the ball, are capable of some good passing movements, often finding team mates "blind" which is a good sign, and that the Crannie kiddies will probably just as frustrating to you Spirit fans as they have been to us. Both played, neither showed anything. Mad Bull had acres of space up the left wing, but time and again simply crossed the old 30 degree Farina ball unproductively. I wish he would try heading for the goal line or interchanging with an overlapping full back just occasionally to try to have defenders facing the wrong way. In the end I felt we had thrown away 2 points, but felt there is the nucleus of a good team here and won't be surprised if they do well this season.