Saturday 23rd November 2013
South Birmingham 3 – 2 Erdington and Saltley
Scorers: Amari and Tyrese
Man of the Match: Amari
Both teams knew exactly how important this game was. The winner would be in pole position to challenge Dudley for the West Midlands league, whilst cementing their place as favourites for the Birmingham title.
Football is an incredibly cruel game. In fact, it’s taken me until now (Sunday evening) to get over the blow of losing the game! Yet again we conceded first, in fact we conceded three goals without reply. However, we’ve shown before on many occasions that we can win games from a losing position and we even came back from three nil down against Aston. The first two goals that we conceded were incredibly unfortunate. Dermot made great efforts to stop both and a lesser keeper wouldn’t have got anywhere near either of them, but then again Dermot’s no ordinary keeper! The third goal was a wonderful strike from distance that would have beat any keeper in the world. The reason we found our selves with a mountain to climb was simply because we didn’t try hard enough during the first 15 minutes of the game. After that we improved and during the second half we were phenomenal!
The second half showcased everything that is good about The Ton. We attacked with pace and skill, whilst defending with heart and courage. Our first goal was a stunning volley from Amari and the second came from a close range finish from Tyrese. On another day we would have scored five or six and we would have won the match. However like I said earlier, football can be cruel! Let’s look at the facts: we had at least two efforts cleared off the line, debatable offside decision, shots roll agonisingly wide and a world class save from the South keeper.
So did we lose simply because they were luckier than us? No. If we were to say that, we would be ignoring the fact that we weren’t hungry enough as a team or didn’t work hard enough during the early exchanges. There’s only so many times that we can give teams a head start before starting to play to our full potential. Nevertheless, I’m a glass half full man, rather than a glass half empty. If we produce football like did during the second half on a more regular basis, the sky really is our limit.
We can still win the Birmingham District league, plus there is the Birmingham District Cup, which starts in March, as well as the Burton Shield (this is a cup competition for all of the West Midlands districts) and the Birmingham 5-a-side Championship to win. We might be down, but we’re definitely not out! We will bounce back and become a stronger team.
Finally, Amari was given the Man of the Match due to his endless running and desire to drag The Ton back into the game. It’s this kind of passion and effort that we need to replicate all over the pitch in two weeks time. The kind of bravery and determination also displayed by both Alex and Marc, who at times were defending on their own. This is something that I know we’re all capable of and something that we’ll achieve. So lift up those heads lads and dust yourself off because The Ton needs you!
Enjoy your week boys and remember that there’s no training on Tuesday 26th November.
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 