Loco finish 2006 as we started

After some optimism during the early stages of advent, Locomotive fell back down to earth with a bump on Sunday, as we lost 1-0 at home to fellow strugglers JS Sports.

Locomotive once again had a thread-bare squad for the match against JS, with
several key players out of the side due to various reasons. This aside, the
eleven players that turned up on the day worked really hard, so the 1-0 loss
was considered more of a shame than a miscarriage of justice.

The first half was a rather sketchy affair, with neither side really making
any pertinent threats on goal. Sam had an effort which was put down the keepers’
throat, much to Dave’s (Hutchinson) annoyance – as he had the clearer
chance.

Andy also had a good effort, as he managed to turn and dink and effort goal-wards,
however the JS Sports keeper was on hand to safely clutch the ball. Also other
efforts from Kirk and Dave were note=worthy during the half – but aside
from these few opportunities, the game was very much spent in the mid-field.
JS were very nippy on the break, but Dan in goal was up to the task, and at
half-time, both teams walked off the pitch without a goal.

Half-time: Ferndown Locomotive 0 – 0 JS Sports

The second half was as dour as the first, however there was one vital difference
– a goal! To the misfortune of the home-side, it was scored by the away
team - with the solitary incident coming on 66 minutes when a corner from the
left hand side came in, and their tall midfielder was stationed at the far post,
and glanced a header into the top right hand corner of the net – leaving
the defence and goal-keeper stranded alike.

Not much else could be scribed about the fixture, apart from some suspect decisions
by the referee. Nevertheless, the result was probably the correct one, with
the away side edging it in many areas of the pitch. There weren’t really
too many plus points about the game, although it was fantastic to see Dan being
strong in goal – being a superb and worthy backup to Sean Barker,

So 2006 ended in a defeat, exactly the same way that the year had started –
on that bleak day in Portland. To sum up, this year has been one of transition.
Comparing the squad of then, and the squad of today, we are completely different
now. With players moving on through various reasons, it was inevitable that
we needed to find some new blood in order to keep the blood thriving.

When we drew with Lectus last week, it was widely realized that the sixteen
players who came to Iford, would be the sixteen players to take the club forward
into 2007. These players, along with maybe a couple of additions as the season
progresses, should enable us to finish in a really strong position.

Final Score: Ferndown Locomotive 0 – 1 JS Sports

Keith in ‘Virgin Dance’ shock

Locomotive reprobate Keith Jackon has been spotted dancing to “Like a Virgin” by an undercover reporter, who has sent us exclusive video evidence of this extraordinary episode.Mellor, our undercover reporter, saw Keith out a couple of weeks ago, and couldn’t help but piss himself when he saw Keith Jackson dancing like a maniac to “Like a Virgin”.

Keith has been playing for Loco since September, and recently broke his virginal duck for the Ferndown-based club, as he managed to turn up to the game having not been put in a cell for the night.

On this occasion, our reporter informed us that Keith successfully stayed on the straight and narrow throughout the evening in question, and he merely manifested his drunken-ness - by grinding up against the fruit machine in Walkabout, as the dulcet tones of Madonna sounded in the background.

The Loco players found out more details about the occurence on Sunday morning, and for a five minute period there was a plethora of associated fruit machine related jokes, with Stu hitting the jackpot with the best punchline - nudge nudge.

Anyhow, here is the video, taken fresh from Mellor’s phone. Picture clarity is pretty shoddy, but then it was taken on a mobile, however I think you get the gist of Keith’s dancing expertise…

Lectus held 0-0 at Iford

Locomotive managed to hold probable league champions Lectus to a goalless draw on their own patch on Sunday, signaling the start of a renaissance in Loco’s season.Ferndown Locomotive’s season well and truly got back on track on Sunday at Iford, in a goalless draw at Lectus, against the team who will probably be running out as champions, considering their 100% league record.

The away started with a 4-4-2 formation with Salva “The Rock” Barker in goal. Across the back we had Luke “Sambuca” Mellor at left back, Andy Savage and Simon in the middle, with Stu on the right. In midfield, we had Sam on the left, Keith “Bail” Jackson and Dan “Animal” Smith in the middle, and Ali on the right. This left newly named Hutchinson (maybe we should call him Don?), and Andy Smith up front.

We had a substitutes bench consisting of Will, Steve, and Chris - 33% of whom was still pissed from the night before.

So the game began on the bobbly pitch at Iford reasonably well. The home side we a reasonable outfit, but it was nothing that the Loco back four couldn’t handle.

During the first 45 we didn’t really pose much threat on the home goal, however this wasn’t to say that we were being outplayed, as we weren’t. The ball spent most of its time in the middle third of the pitch - however when it did stray towards our defenders, they back four coped admirably.

All four defenders had outstanding games, with Luke especially deserving special praise considering that for most of the match he didn’t know which of the four balls he should be going for. He grew in stature during the game, and he pretty much had their right midfielder in his pocket.

Stu too had a great game, and special praise should also go to Andy and Simon, who kept the strikers out at every opportunity.

We rode our luck at times, especially towards the end of the half, with goal-line clearances and then the woodwork coming to the rescue - however we were steadfast, and with the safe hands of Sean in goal (who incidentally produced a couple of blinding saves), we came off the pitch with the score at 0-0.

Half-time: Lectus 0 - 0 Ferndown Locomotive

The second half for Loco was much of the same, however both sides managed to have periods of intense pressure. Loco started the better of the two sides, having about four or five corners in a row, with some close opportunities coming when Stu headed inches wide, and Dan had a shot cleared from close range.

On 65 minutes Luke had to go off due to some over-stretching, so on came Will to fill in at left back -and then Chris also came on, replacing Dave, who had a productive game up front.

Unfortunately for the last 20 minutes of the game we didn’t manufacture many chances - and it was the home side that was putting all the pressure on us.

Sean was brilliant in goal, Andy Savage made a couple of deft clearances, and generally, everyone mucked in to secure a point.

The final whistle blew much to the home team’s dismay, and for the away side - it came with a mixture of joy and relief - as today was clearly a lynch-pin day in the Loco season.

One thing that is clear, is that the 14 players named in the squad today, as well as Cash and Mike (who were injured), will be the sixteen players who are going to take Loco forward into 2007.

For a number of months now, we’ve been searching for which players are committed, trying to work out the squad we’re going to be taking forward into January. We are in still need of someone to bang away the goals, however, with a strong base of 16 quality solid players, the second half of the season can be very fruitful.

Going back through the web-site archives, last season was no different - we had a decidedly dodgy 2005, and after a subsequent cup exit in the middle of nowhere in the Dorset Cup - we went on to play some cracking football, which resulted in another promotion. So, the work starts here…

Final Score: Lectus 0 - 0 Ferndown Locomotive