11-man Loco beaten by Magpies

Loco were in action against Magpies at Heathlands this weekend. Although T&D were well beaten, some crazy officiating made the game all that more painful.Loco started with a 3-4-3 formation, with a similar squad to the previous game where we were unlucky to go down 1-0 to Vienna. With confidence good after two “lucky” defeats, the game started with the away side wanting to show the league what we can do. However, once the game started, the man-in-the-middle single-handedly put a stop to Loco’s ambitions, handing out some quite pathetic decisions. After only 17 seconds, a strong and fair shoulder challenge from Tug was pulled up by the referee, thus providing the home side with a free-kick. Then again, after 2 minutes, another similarly good challenge from Bomber in the middle of park was jumped on by the man-in-black, who decided that it was a dangerous tackle. After setting the tone for the game, the referee had more tricks up his sleeve…

However even he didn’t possess as many tricks as the Magpies strike-force, which consisted of a couple of nippy players. The two lads up front caused no end of problems, and they rightfully went 1-0, then 2-0, then 3-0 up, as the Locomotive side were caught napping in all areas of the pitch. The Loco were not playing as a unit, the midfield was trying to fill a massive void where the Loco strikers were too far forward and the defence were playing too deep - and this was the area where Magpies did the damage. Three well executed shots made the score line 3-0 inside 35 minutes, and although this was a fair reflection on the game, some of decisions made in the middle more than aided the home sides progression to that score line.

Loco in return did not pose much of a threat on goal up front. Sam Davis had a chance from the edge which was deflected wide for a corner, Ed Bradshaw had a close range shot saved by the man-mountain of a Magpies keeper, and Tug too had chances which squirmed just wide. The ball was not really being held up much by the Loco side, which was why half-time came as a welcome relief, as we’d be playing against the wind in the second half where we’d be able to maintain possession that little bit better.

Sam moved into the midfield, Andy came on, and Loco reverted to a 4-4-2 formation. The half was much better, and Loco were doing all the right things inside the second 45. The ball was being spread from wing to wing, and we were getting crosses in, however in hindsight, the high crosses perhaps should have been lower, as every single one was professionally gathered by their 45 foot keeper.

Ali and Scott also came in the second half to good effect, and we were creating quite a few chances up the other end, but for all the possession we had there were no goals on the score-sheet. The Magpies were getting frustrated at not being able to get hold of the ball, so rather than have any of their 11 players take responsibility for their lack of possession, the man-in-the-middle decided to take action into his own hands. Ridiculous free-kicks where he could not answer a simple “who did it” question, free-kicks which were taken with rolling balls, and another decision where he blows the whistle signalling off-side and then subsequently back-tracks on his own decision to award a hand-ball after the Loco keeper picks the ball up… we had it all.

Magpies scored 3 in the second half, one of which was a penalty, where once again the referee could not even tell us which Loco player fouled their striker - answers on a postcard please - I personally thought we won the ball fairly anyway. After the penalty was duly netted by their striker, after the re-start, and obviously feeling the pressure of making a poor-decision, he then gives Loco a token free-kick when the play should have continued.

As you can understand, the inconsistency was, well… consistent - so it was a shame to see spectators of both sides becoming dis-interested in a game which was officiated in such a poor manner. The Loco players walked off the pitch knowing even if we had played well, it probably wouldn’t have mattered anyway with some of the decisions being made - therefore, however we played, it would have been three points lost.

It was this kind of weekend that makes us thankful for the very good officiating we have gained from most of our other games this season, including our regular home-pitch referee, who is at least consistent in decision-making, week-in week-out.

Rob Frank ponders Sunday team

In an exclusive interview with the Locomotive Touch and Dive web-site, caretaker manager Rob Frank has been “pondering”. Here’s the latest…After Frank was successful in changing the formation of the Loco side on Sunday after holding Vienna to a 0-0 scoreline after 154 minutes of play, the Muscliff based manager is again thinking ahead to our next encounter.

On Sunday we travel to Magpies and Woolsbridge at Heathlands with a squad of 16 strong players. Rob said: “We need everyone at the ground 9.45 absolute latest”. It is believed that Rob is planning something different this week, however he said the side will not have any problems with adjusting.

Rob told Locoboys.co.uk that everyone demonstrated at the weekend just how adaptable we all are as a side: “I had a real concern that asking players to do something completely new with no preparation was a bit much, but everyone took on board exactly what their role was”.

He added: “Even when we moved about a bit second half and players switched positions they played the formation perfectly, so I was more annoyed the players didn’t get the rewards that they deserved for their effort than anything else”.

Without wanting to publish too much information, Rob did not delve into detail, however all will be revealed on Sunday morning at Heathlands. Please note we are meeting at the Cooper Dean pub at 09:15, with the confirmed exceptions of: Stu, Steve, Scott, and Sean. Please inform Sam or Rob that you are going straight there if not.

Your Locomotive Site Updates

The Official Locomotive Touch and Dive web-site has had a number of updates today. Have a look around, and THEN you can return to your porn Bomber…Club History section…
Has been updated with the change of Loco home-pitch being appended. If there are any major events in the history of Loco which haven’t been covered, please let us know, and I’ll whack it on.

Fixtures/Results…
Weekend match report has been added. It wasn’t a very eventful game in terms of chances on goal, but we tried to make it exciting honest. Snaps included in the report of Sean eating, and Bomber looking gay.

Glossary…
More Loco terms have been added into the mix, including the now legendary Plastic Dave, and Ron Manager. ANy more phrases would be greatly welcomed. Please tell our Player Rep immediately.

Media Gallery…
Pictures from Paul’s wedding reception are now online with more to come. Similarly we hope to gt a few from Ali’s wedding online later in the week. Both weddings had a good Loco turn-out. Well done all.

Vote of the Week…
This week we have been voting on whether the side will miss Paul while he’s away on honey-moon. Hurry up and vote before he comes back, because then we’ll get rid of it and put another one up. Cheers

It’s Goodnight Vienna…

Locomotive were back to league action at the weekend against a strong Vienna Windows side at Kings Park, however lost to a goal in the 153rd minute.The away side met for an early team-briefing at 9.15, which did not get going until 10, by which time Salvatori was stuffing his face with a bacon sandwich and chips… or was it tea? I didn’t quite hear what he said.

So with little time for preparation (or even warm ups) before the game, Loco took to the pitch with a 3-4-3 formation, which seemed to work a treat throughout the game. Loco were all over Vienna in the first half, and the home side seldom posed a threat. Loco themselves though were not making the most of possession, and it was the final touch that was letting us down. Occasionally the ball was being played into the box, however there was no-one on the end of it at the best of times.

Play was mainly down the central flank in the first half, with Sam and Darren in the centre of the park trying to pull the strings. Although Andy and Lee were the wide midfielders, they were being severely under-used, however when they did get utilised, we won corners, possession, and we even managed to get a few shots in. Salva had a good chance on 31 minutes which he pulled high and wide, and then Dave had a chance on the turn from distance, which was always rising over the bar.

Loco had the wind in the first half, therefore the ball was always going to run away from us, and with the ball not being held up as well as should’ve been, possession did break down easily. The whole side put in a good first half performance though, and with hardly any threats on goal from the lone Vienna striker, things were positive at half-time.

The second half saw Loco playing against the wind, but this helped the ball hold up a lot more.  Vienna surprisingly however didn’t jump at the opportunity to fire shots on goal from distance against Martyn, and instead tried to get the ball wide and ping it into the box instead. Loco on the other-hand were having very little in the way of attacking edge, and the only shots of note in the whole half included a wayward shot from Salva, and a weak effort from Kenny, who had the effort blocked after Dave nodded down a cross-field ball from Darren Mountifield.

Loco weren’t exactly clinging on to the 0-0 result with difficulty, however, all of our efforts became undone in the 96th minute (or so), when a cross-field ball from their right midfielder seemed to run out of play on the goal-line, however, their left-sided man managed to stick out a leg and loop it towards goal, and at the far-post, Windows striker Wayne Murry was on hand to fire the ball home.

And that was it. The final whistle blew moments later, and Loco went off the pitch disconsolate, but more than proud at a good team performance, which on another day, would have seen us as convincing winners. Next week, Loco travel to Magpies and Woolsbridge for what is going to be a very tough encounter.

10 man Alderney defeat Loco

Locomotive Touch & Dive were in match action on Sunday morning against Aldnerney, a side which has taken the division by storm this season…However, the probable champions of Division Five this year were beaten last week by a team that we properly tonked, and they also are playing a major cup semi-final the following week - so with their minds on other matters, Loco had a chance to pull a surprise out of the bag at West Moors.

Loco started well on the big pitch at Fryers field with a new formation which saw Jon start as right-back, Steve and Stu across the middle, and with Rob on the left. In the middle Sam was in the middle of a midfield three of himself, Kenny and Bomber. Ed was wide right and Andy was on the left with Sean the lone striker up front. The game started very well for Loco as we took hold of the ball, and although distribution was sloppy and we made silly mistakes, we maintained a lot of good possession.

Ed and Andy were getting into the game well on both sides, however there were few chances being manufactured, only a few wayward shots, or telling crossed that were eventually cleared. It was a shame that the possession did not result in any goals as Loco deserved a lead at this point. But Alderney held firm, and their keeper and defence were extremely solid.

Salva had a couple of chances with his head which were put wide or over, and indeed Ed was combining well with Jon on the right for the young defender to put in a couple of decent crosses. Essentially though, our finishing and positioning in the box let us down. Loco however were given a boost after 25 minutes, as the league pace-setters were brought down to ten men after one of them threw a punch at Ed after a minor scuffle.

This gave Loco a boost, but the game didn’t change really for the rest of the half. Little chances were being produced, and most of the game was in the midfield. Loco were trying to use the width, however, as good as the crosses were, no-one was there to finish.

The second half saw Loco move to a 4-4-2 formation with Kenny pushing up, Sam and Bomber in the middle, and with Andy and Ed on each flank. This actually worked well, as Bomber and Sam ran the midfield (at times), and managed to spread the ball out wide. But as a side, Loco were really guilty of playing the more difficult ball, falling over, getting a bad final touch - all of which can be badged under the label of “distribution”.

Alderney did well with the ten men, and as the game wore on, more space was available for every player on the pitch - the midfield was very clear, enabling Davis and Folds to spread the ball out wide and get the wide men on the ball.

It was the away side that took the lead in this closely-run fixture, as the ball was moved down the Alderney right flank, and a through ball wasn’t cleared through the Loco defence, and as their striker bared down on Martyn, he managed to stick out a leg to nick the ball into the left corner of the goal.

Loco hit back straight away though, as a well worked move on the right culminated in Stu crossing the ball low, and it went past Salva to meet Davis at the far post who simply had to tap in to an empty net. 1-1. Loco were on the up.

No, wait a minute… no we’re not! Alderney scored again moments later as a defensive mishap made a chance which was a carbon copy of the Loco goal, with their midfielder at the far post simply having to tap into an unguarded net to make it 2-1 to the away team.

Loco had the better of the rest of the half, and with 20 minutes to go we really should have notched an equaliser, but we were doing the difficult things. Although the play was being spread from flank to flank, the end result saw very little in terms of shots on goal. Davis, Mountfield, and Bradshaw all tried to keep the boys on their toes and get the ball moving, however we were being broke down by a very well prepared Alderney defence.

In the end, it was deserved that we lost with our failure to convert from the possession we had. It was a very well earned win for Alderney, who you could tell it meant a lot to. Their side, apart from the initial fracas, were a friendly bunch, and best of luck to them in winning the league - we hope it’s them rather than anyone else. They showed they can play football, however it was understandable that their minds were focused on something else!