AFC Kick Some Butt at the Highland Games!

KUIS Makuhari Sun 30th October 2005. After traveling for hours on end to the other side of the world (well, Chiba anyway) to take part in the TML’s annual Highland Games football tournament the AFC were in a confident mood despite the tough lineup. Qualification for the knockout stages would be tough with only the 3 group winners and the best 2nd place making it through. This usually means that if you lose a game then its curtains. The AFC lined up for their first game in seven a side tourney against a useful Santos FC unit who as would prove later are our new best friends in the world….ever…ever!!.

The previous night’s rain had left the dirt pitch sodden in places which slowed the game down and actually worked in our favour as the Santos No.11 who is probably the fastest man in the TML found trouble gripping and was made to look like the AFC No.9 who is probably the fattest man in the TML. AFC completely dominated this game and with Terry and Eric in midfield providing some sweet passes and movement it looked to be only a matter of time before the goal came. About halfway through the first half Eric passed to Olly who fed Terry who unleashed a thunderbolt of a strike past the Santos goalie giving him no chance. AFC had a few more chances to build on this lead but the Santos goalie was proving a rock in the net and made some nice saves. 1-0 at halftime and we reckoned we would need another because Santos were starting to play some good footy towards the end of the half and their No.11 was finding his feet more. Throughout the second half though it was the imperious defensive duo of Trent and Mark who more than thwarted any attacks thus giving Jackie almost nothing to do. After some subs, Monster (Shinki) and Chris came on and they hassled and hurried the Santos midfield. Final score was 1-0 and was thoroughly deserved although the Santos boys were quite subdued for the first half and only woke up in the second.

Our second game was against the mighty division 1 opponents SALA who were the groups top seeds and traditionally reach the final of these tournaments. However, we were in confident mood and were not about to be cowed by these Chiba natives. They probably took us to casually for the first 10 minutes and we tore into their midfield /defense and created a number of chances. Inevitably the goal game from another Terry thundershot (sort of recurring theme here) after another through pass from Olly. SALA woke up a little in the second half and created a few more chances towards the end of the game when the AFC went into defensive mode but with Chris providing able support to the back two, I only remember a couple of shots that Jackie had to save from distance or stupidly tight angles. In the meantime we had some more chances but wasted them. But another 1-0 victory against one of the big boys and dreams of glory could be smelt ……..or was it just us crapping ourselves with excitement!.

Our third game was against the Vagabonds and was the weirdest game I have played in. In the first half, Ben and Shinki should have had a hat-trick each and even the normally reliable Terry missed a few. Then in their only attack of the entire game the Vagabonds striker nipped in front of the defender and keeper and dinked the ball into the net. 0-1 at halftime and we couldn’t believe it. From the outset of the 2nd half the AFC shat all over the Vagabonds and created chance after chance but the Vagabonds keeper was in inspired form and together with some good defending they held on to claim victory. AFC were shellshocked and walked off the pitch believing that we had bolloxed up our chance of qualifying. However, on the other pitch, Santos scored an equalizer in the last minute /second against SALA and so were still in the hunt.

Our final group game was against Team Keri and these boys were fast and skilful Japanese players but not much cop at organized football. Again, from the outset, the AFC were clearly on top and after a few chances were not taken, AFC proceeded to score their goal of the tournament. Trent took a throw-in from inside our half, Eric chested the ball and volleyed it to Olly who in turn volleyed it to Terry, who hit a precise header towards the back stick and Ben powered in a fantastic header for the 1-0 lead. Five players involved, play starting in our own half and the ball did not touch the ground!!!….it truly was a fantastic goal!. AFC continued to control the game and after a beautiful pass from Terry, Ben ran like a demon with a cross up his arse and provided the deftest of touches for his and the teams second goal of the match. Early into the second half and Ben had a great chance for his hat-trick but skewed his shot wide. The coup-de grace was provided with a backheeled goal from Olly after a fine pass from Ben. 3-0 and we thought we were safe and into the knockout stages. Unfortunately due to the vagaries of the competition, Vagabonds still had a chance to pip us at the post if they could beat Santos 4-0 in their final game. There was not much chance of this and Santos pretty much destroyed the Vags and beat them 1-0. So Santos were our best friends after drawing with SALA and beating the Vags. They were cracking lads and even hanged around for the knockouts to cheer us on.

The semi-final saw us paired against some familiar foes in France FC. The AFC were in a great mood now and we were well confident of notching up another Division 1 scalp. The game was a tight affair but all the action happened in the France FC penalty box or in midfield. It was 0-0 at half-time but we were confident of the goal coming. This duly happened halfway through the second half when Trent pulled a corner back for his defensive partner Mark to crash a volley into the France FC net giving the keeper no chance. AFC then finished off the French with a planned freekick routine of putting the fat lad in front of the keeper and Terry kicking the ball at him as hard as horse. The goalie can not even see the ball until too late and at 2-0 the game was over and out. Again I don’t actually remember Jackie making a save in this game.

Onto the final against the biggest foe of all, BFC. These boys have given the AFC lots of mouth and grief over the years and even during the game their “supporters” were giving us some stick along the lines of “how the *#** did you get here” etc etc. No-one expected us to win and this was all the motivation we needed. The BFC started strongest and actually had one shot from a tight angle hit the outside of the crossbar. But after having a lot of the play, this was about all they could provide. After frustrating the BFC for one half the AFC then changed tactics in the second half and went more on the offensive. This led to the BFC committing a number of fouls (what a surprise!!) and one moment where Chris had to be held back!…easy tiger!. The AFC looked like the most likely scorers now and the BFC gave away one too many freekicks. With the practiced routine perfected in the semi’s we did exactly the same again and Terry spanked another missile from about 20yds into the top corner. 1-0. The last couple of minutes were a bit of a blur as we were more than happy to put the ball in row Z, BUT we hung on and got a thoroughly deserved win and the title of CHAMPIONS!!!!.

Overall, Terry was the catalyst for our offensive display but the defending in sevens is a team game and to only let in 1 goal in 6 matches shows just how hard everyone worked. It was nice to get some glory after being underestimated by almost every team we played against and Shove it up their butts!.

The Magnificent Seven (well 10 but you know what I mean) – Olly, Jackie, Chris, Terry, Trent, Mark,Yusuke, Eric, Shinki and Ben


Report by Olly.