North Shields M1s 2 - 5 Durham City M1s

This Saturday’s match saw the boys in yellow win a second game in a row against a North Shields team with a penchant for psychology. Matt Kettley’s new best mate Billy inundated our captain with dubious information, including fishy Tyne Tunnel closure information and subtle brags about being back to full strength after a few weeks of poor availability. The Shanklyesque mind games continued as we began warming up, with Shields situating themselves on the side on which we’d put our stuff. Ah well, we weren’t worried. We were treated to an extra long warm-up whilst we waited for the umpire to arrive. Inspiring team-talks from Coach Jack and Captain Matt solidified our resolve. Finally, the whistle blew and we could begin.

We scored within four minutes, setting the tone for a first-half that was a dream for the neutrals. This first goal was a Mason short-corner from one of our classic routines. Two minutes later, Shields equalised after we turned over the ball from a ’16. Back to square one. We got back ahead three minutes later with Steve Kettley scoring from another short-corner. We really pose so much danger these days. 1-2. Possession came and went in long spells. Five minutes of intense pressure from Shields saw them win a short-corner. Will Orpin ran early, leaving a large gap and larger panic. Our heads went. A slip back to the Shields injector saw him find another pass to the penalty spot. 2-2. It was turning into a basketball match. Twenty-two minutes into the match and only four minutes after we’d conceded Shields’s second goal, we snuck ahead again. This time, Matt Kettley intercepted the ball from a Shields ’16, drove into the ‘D,’ and found Shez at the back post. 2-3. Quite rightly, Jack told us we should put the game to bed soon into the second-half.

We did. In a weirdly synchronistic fashion, we scored within four minutes again. From a short-corner… again. It was Steve this time, though. Nobody was sure how the ball snuck through and into the goal, but Steve was aware and poked it in. 2-4. Until the last ten minutes, Shields collapsed. The final nail in the coffin was a goal from Matt Kettley – definitely a contender for goal of the season. One-on-one with the keeper at the left edge of the ‘D,’ Matt stretched himself fully and smashed the ball with his reverse. The ball vanished. We only saw it again as it flew into the opposite top corner, still rising as it flew in. World-class. 2-5. Shields lost players to cards, whilst we kept our heads. Admittedly, we lost the ball a tad lazily at times, but they were playing an exceptionally risky high press. Frantic defending ground out the game and won us another three points. We’re now sixth in the table and ready to keep pushing. Barring Bankers, we’ve been competitive against all the teams above us. One could even theoretically argue that certain teams REDACTED to beat us. We can certainly keep pushing upwards and cause some real problems for everyone in this league.

MoM: Will Orpin (great performance)

DoD: Chris Hepworth (two weeks in a row for Chris. Two reasons this week: first, hitting the ball straight off our baseline to give Shields the short-corner that led to their second goal; second, flirting with George during a different short-corner in a handsy fashion. Save it for the showers lad)

#WeBeatTheBillyBoys #FlexibilityTest #MasonTheStorageHunter