Saturday’s home league game against Ampthill Town FC was nothing short of a rollercoaster of emotions accompanied by what can only be described as a resurrection from the dead performance! Going into this game, Park View FC had lost four games on the bounce at the turn of the new year and managed to muster a draw last week. The pressure to get our first new years win was on full throttle as we instinctively as individuals and a club in retrospect, were fully made aware of its significance. Before I proceed to the game analysis, it will be necessary to give a brief assessment on the build up to the actual match day.

After last week’s home games dramatic draw against the second position opposition Broadfields United, inevitable changes had to be made and the first was the Goalkeeping position. Sixteen year old goalkeeper Avesta Mehmar was to step in for Randy Tieku ( he had an emergency surgery on the dentist chair.. painful 😖 ) to make his debut in goal and was taken rigorously through his paces during mid-week training in preparation for the game. At such a young age and only just signed to the club two weeks ago was asking quite a lot from the young man but he didn’t seem apprehensive about the occasion, instead he embraced the opportunity presented. My main concern was him conveying and deploying constructive communication to the defensive line to maintain a tight unit. Also knowing each individual names of the defensive line was key in developing a solid foundation for communication to be optimal. On with the game, and must I mention after I announced my retirement from the game after sustaining a dislocated finger, I was glad to be back at the dugout where I belong, even though I was the reserve goalkeeper on the day 😓..(I was still injured from the last game). We started off as bright and determined as usual but it wasn’t long before we conceded the first goal, courtesy of a classic misunderstanding of communication which the opposition duly capitalized on. It was a horrendous goal which exposed young Avestas inexperience in terms of his positioning prior to the goal, although the main source was the initial mix up between the defensive line… 0 – 1. The next goal soon came after from a set piece, a free-kick from the far right outside the 18 yard box. Again the set-positioning adopted from our young goalkeeper wasn’t solid and decisive enough to make a compelling save, as the ball rebounded off him and it was tucked away by their striker. Once again the protection to the goalkeeper from our defence was absent, as they were slow to anticipate and react to any lose play.. 0 – 2 down 😐. After some harsh but constructive criticism aired out to the players by the manager, the boys gathered themselves and restarted the game and began to play some good football and it wasn’t long before we were awarded a penalty after an uncompromising Chopdown tackle from the opposing right back. The penalty was dispatched neatly.. 1 – 2. Five minutes after the restart we conceded again! through yet another misunderstanding of communication between our centre backs. This was a classic assumption of two defenders telepathically trying to communicate you go for the lose ball but the scenario ended up like a comedy sketch and the opposing striker could not believe his luck.. he attacked the ball and drilled it to the left bottom corner past the despairing dive of our goalkeeper.. 1 – 3! Here we go again!.. as the first half came to an end, I had to quickly assess what best to say and do to get Avestas confidence up and his mindset focused, as I was very well aware that my job was to protect him from undeserved criticism and instead focus on the positives and moving forward. The Manager requested for me to talk to him, which I did. All he needed to do was to be relaxed, reflexes alert, improve constructive communication and be prepared to expect the unexpected and he would find out that his confidence will begin to grow.

My Pep talk did the trick as he began to take charge of his area once the second half began. He connected onto a few crosses and cleared his line, releasing the pressure off the defensive line and it was about 10 minutes into the second half we got a goal courtesy of some beautiful interchange pass between Steve Opoku and Riccardo Price. A defence splitting pass from Riccardo on the far right released full back Opoku to deliver a low cross to Kwesi Botchey to dispatch home, making the scoreline 2 – 3. Ten minutes later the recovery was completed as we equalised though Francis Williams after another excellent interchange play between the strike force… 3 – 3 game on! By this time Ampthill Town FC where shellshocked and quite literally on the ropes as there where staring down the abyss of an inevitable defeat. This was our opportunity to salvage three points from this game, and citing the situation like a lion sizing up its injured prey ready to pounce, we hit them with a fourth goal, after some constant pressure which was literally too hot to handle. It was a scrambled egg goal scored by Kwesi Botchey and that was the final nail on the coffin. This was a remarkable comeback considering this was going to be our first win at the turn of the new year, which eventually turned out to be.. 4 – 3 was the final score and we were so ecstatic we made our feelings known how much that win meant for the club as a whole. We had an excellent game assessment review in the changing room, coupled with deserved appraisals and applauds. Special mention and thanks to Coach Princeton who was relentless in his endeavours by constantly dishing out instructions throughout the game, elevating the team from the jaws of defeat to the hight of greatness. He is truly an inspiration. We’ve learnt a lot about ourselves and our capabilities once we’ve adopted the correct mindset to achieving what we’ve set out to do.

United we stand… divided we get our butts kicked week in week out and there’s nothing one can do individually or collectively if the mindset isn’t attuned for purpose.

The next blog will be reporting on the top flight Goalkeepers in the professional game, topic: The £71.6 Million Man…

You Are The Ultimate Keeper Of Your Destiny.. ULTIMATE KEEPER