90 Minutes Is Not Enough

by Robert Mann

  As the half time whistle went with Redbourne Rovers still losing by the one goal the Redbourne management team were down the tunnel almost before the ref’s whistle had stopped being blown. They had work to do to turn this around in the second half!

  Terrance prided himself on his man management and motivational abilities and was not one to throw the proverbial tea cups if things were not going well. Even he was surprised at the poverty of their first half display. When all his players were settled he nodded to Jock and said five words to the whole team

  “Not good enough at all!”

  Moving fast he spent less than a minute with each player and then gathering his team around him gave instructions for the change in tactics

  “Right lads we are reverting back to four, four, two. Maybe I am as much to blame for trying something different. Let’s go out and show this crowd we can play a little. Pass and move you can do it.”

  Redbourne Rovers, everyone who was present that afternoon agreed were a different team in the second half. They pressed forward with wave after wave of attack really taking the game to Bristol Rovers. Suddenly Terry Pauls who had had no time on the ball or space in the first half to do anything began to run the midfield. The equalizer just would not come though as the minutes ticked away and the Redbourne Rovers fans sung themselves hoarse! Corners were squandered, shots went wide and final balls went astray causing massive groans of anguish from the visiting fans.

  Then at last when it seemed all hope was lost with eighty nine minutes on the clock a scuffed clearance dropped to Terry Pauls just on the right hand edge of the penalty area. The ball sat up for him on the half volley as the way to goal momentarily opened up. Terry needed no second invitation hitting a blistering shot that swerved across goal into the top left hand corner. The away end erupted with joy, even some home fans clapping the wonderful strike. Terry stood there and punched the air with delight smiling broadly before being engulfed by his delirious team-mates. There was barely time to restart the game before the final whistle went. Redbourne Rovers had scored their first league goal and got their first ever league point.

  7

  Does It Feel Like Home?

  A special commemorative programme had been produced for Tuesday night’s first home game in the football league against Barnet at Whaddon Road. Miles had thoroughly enjoyed writing his programme notes which he had not submitted until after the final whistle at the Memorial Stadium much to the disgust of the printers, despite the hefty cost of having them work overnight on Saturday in order to get the print run done on time. A crowd of over six thousand were expected at Cheltenham despite the fact that Barnet were only expected to bring about three hundred fans at the most having been beaten at home on the opening day of the season by Torquay.

  A light training session for Redbourne on Monday had shown that despite the few odd bruises the team had come through Saturday's encounter unscathed, which was a relief for Terrance and his coaching staff! The team coach left for Cheltenham at 4.00pm on the Tuesday. Miles ever conscious of his and the club's image had made a block booking for the whole season’s home games for pre match meals in one of Cheltenham's finest hotels-The Cheltenham Park Hotel set in sumptuous surroundings about two miles out of the town centre. He actually knew the General Manger through a business contact and had negotiated quite reasonable rates for the whole season plus a guarantee of efficient service. Although kick off was a good while away, yet there was plenty of traffic on the main road into Cheltenham and several cars sporting Redbourne scarves flying out of the window overtook the team coach horns blaring registering their support.

  By the time that the free coach service started up at Redbourne the team was sitting down to their pre match meal. Over at Whaddon Road the stadium was starting to come to life and the park ‘n’ ride service from Cheltenham Racecourse was already in operation ferrying fans on the short ten-minute journey to the ground. Whaddon Road was one of those grounds where there was limited street parking only, hence the use of the park ‘n’ ride facility from the renowned home of National Hunt Racing! The club bar The Robins Nest was rapidly filling up with Redbourne fans. A large Redbourne flag had been hung from the ceiling to make the place seem more like home and a couple of supporters had hung Redbourne scarves over Cheltenham pictures adorning the walls.

  The Redbourne team, unchanged from Saturday's game arrived earlier than they normally would for a home game. Terrance wanted his players to get used to the set up at Whaddon Road. The quicker they mentally attuned to it being their home for the season the better as far as he was concerned! He even sent the players out for a walk round the pitch as soon as they stepped off "The Beast" - their nickname for their new team coach, before they had even changed out of their suits! The gates had only just opened as they wandered round the pitch taking in the surroundings and signing autographs for excited young fans.

  Come half past seven there was a healthy crowd within Whaddon Road but even more people outside still trying to get in and reports from the police control room indicated a sizable number of fans still waiting for park ‘n’ ride buses over at the racecourse. As the players of both teams were just finishing their final warm-ups, and the Redbourne coach was getting his whole team to do sprinting exercises in and out of cones on the touchline, there came the somewhat inevitable announcement over the tannoy from Redbourne's match day announcer Stew Redbourne

  "Due to traffic congestion in the local area and the numbers of people still trying to get in kick off is delayed by fifteen minutes"

  There were groans from many in the crowd. Terrance had got the information minutes before the announcement and indicated to his coaching staff that the team should stay out in order to keep warm for a few more minutes but to lay off the fast sprinting exercises.

  With just minutes to kick off everyone that wanted to be was finally inside Whaddon Road and Stew Redbourne a local radio DJ who had changed his name by deed poll over the summer to celebrate Redbourne's Conference title was working the crowd up into frenzy!

  "And here's the moment you have all been waiting for. The teams are in the tunnel. Let’s give them a huge Redbourne welcome"

  A huge roar greeted the appearance of the two teams. As the teams came out two lines of stationary fireworks in an expanding v shape from the player’s entrance ignited adding to the carnival atmosphere.

  "Redbourne till I die"

  reverberated from all four sides of the ground, the small group of away fans silenced by the home support as the Redbourne players all of whom had been carrying red and black bouquets to mark the occasion threw them to females in the crowd!

  Redbourne kicked off towards the Carlsberg Stand in which segregated in one corner by a line of stewards were about two hundred and fifty Barnet fans, trying to cheer their team on when the noise abated enough for them to be heard! Unlike Saturday Redbourne were instantly on the attack with Jock Mcleish opening up the left side of the Barnet defence with a superb reverse pass. Redbourne's top scorer from last season Angelo Mizuel was on it in a flash, his shot coming back off the cross bar causing gasps of disappointment from the home crowd. Still Redbourne probed pushing men forward into attack at every opportunity. On the fifteen minute mark the breakthrough came and it was Terry Pauls involved in the move this time. A quick one two with Mizuel put in the mercurial Dwight Edwards the Redbourne number nine. His low shot easily beat Lee Harrison in the Barnet goal. The ground went wild and in the technical area Terrance and Steve exchanged high fives much to the amusement of many of the crowd. Redbourne didn't rest on their lead with Terrance waving them forward from the touchline. Up in the director's box Miles Grimley entertaining a sponsor for the new stadium for next season watched in satisfaction as just before the interval Terry Pauls with another candidate for goal of the month picked the ball up just inside his own half. He beat one, two then a third Barnet player before unleashing a pile driver of a shot from about twenty five yards which was viciously swerving as it beat the Barnet keep
er all ends up! A shell-shocked Barnet team was very glad to hear the half time whistle a few minutes latter and trooped off dejectedly outplayed in all departments.

  The difference in the two dressing rooms at half time could not have been more marked. The home dressing room was buzzing with Redbourne Rovers having been given a standing ovation as they came off for the break. Terrance and Steve just went quietly from player to player offering a few words of praise and encouragement where needed. The away dressing room saw Barnet slumped on their seats with their boss Paul Fairclough desperately trying to revive the flagging morale of his players.

  Outside on the pitch Stew Redbourne was in his element compering the half time entertainment when he got the news on his headphones that Miles Grimley wanted to say a few words. Miles was a hugely popular figure in Redbourne and as he appeared on the touchline a roar came up from the terraces. Stew was normally a man of many words but this time as Miles came striding on to the pitch with a broad grin on his face he said

  “Redbourne Rovers fans our Chairman”

  When the applause had died down Miles spoke his voice booming round Whaddon Road

  “I just wanted to say a few words about our new stadium. Although work has only been in progress for just over a month I am delighted to say that it is on schedule so far!”

  A spontaneous round of applause greeted this news.

  “The competition to name the new ground closes at the end of the month. We will then shortlist the entries down to the top six chosen by myself and Terrance. You then the fans will vote for your choice! Thanks for your superb support tonight and down at Bristol on Saturday. Keep it up”

  With that Miles applauded all four sides of the ground and as he walked off he could hear his name being chanted by the home supporters.

  The second half if anything eclipsed the first. Redbourne Rovers were playing that brand of football where the whole team was on top of their game. On the sixty minute mark a quite brilliant passing movement of about twenty passes saw the Barnet players literally chasing shadows to shouts of

  “Ole”

  from the home crowd. It ended with Jock Mcleish not normally accustomed to finding himself in such situations; one on one with the Barnet keeper. He beat him with ease. Within minutes it was four nil, the Barnet defence going awol and allowing Angelo Mizuel to waltze through and chip the on coming keeper with sublime skill and ease. With half an hour left to play the away end started to empty, most Barnet fans having seen enough and deciding to beat the traffic on their long journey back to North London. Their decision was the right one for there was one more nail yet to come in Barnet’s coffin when in the last minute of normal time Terry Pauls was pulled back in the area when clean through. He made no mistake from the penalty spot to make the final score Redbourne Rovers 5 Barnet 0.

  The back pages of the Redbourne Gazette the next evening had the headlines

  “Total Football By The Rovers”

  At the end of the glowing report by their main sports writer was a quote by Terrance Fletcher

  “We fear no team in this division”

  And an early season league table which showed The Countrymen; Redbourne Rovers’ nickname sitting proudly in 4th place in the table.

  8

  Hamstrings To Hooligans!

  After six games played Redbourne Rovers sat proudly on top of Division 2 with four wins and two draws. The wins though had come at a cost. In the last game, which was a five-goal thriller against Torquay down at Plainmoor Terry Pauls was helped off half way through the second half in some distress after pulling up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. The injury totally took the gloss off the win for the visiting Countrymen fans that had packed the narrow covered away terrace down on the English Riviera. Terry had pulled up sharply after going off on one of his mazy runs clutching the back of his right leg. It was obvious to the Terrance and Steve what had happened and the Redbourne trainer Matt O Rourke had to help the stricken Terry off the field. He received a generous round of applause from all the spectators round the compact little ground the Torquay fans even joining in.

  This however put the injury list of first team players out at present at three in what was a wafer thin squad. Angelo Mizuel had quite a serious groin strain and "Chopper" as Graham Durrance was affectionately known; their accomplished central defender was out for at least another three weeks with a twisted knee.

  The prognosis on Terry the next day was still unclear. It had been a subdued journey back up the M5 on the "Beast" despite the win with Terry having to be given a fireman's lift to get him on the coach with his upper right thigh heavily bandaged. Terry had an ice pack put onto the leg before the coach set off back from Torquay in order to try and keep the swelling under control. Forty-eight hours the severity of the injury became apparent when the results of the scan came back. Terry was walking again albeit tenderly by then as he sat down with Terrance and Redbourne's experienced trainer Matt O Rourke who was certainly earning his money at the moment. He looked at Terrance and Terry with a relieved expression as he gave them the results.

  "It could have been worse Terry -we will have you back in full training if all goes well in two to three weeks and playing within the month"

  Both Terry and Terrrance were gutted. This was his first injury since turning pro and he hated the thought of not being able to play for a month and Terrance knew that during his enforced absence Redbourne would find it very hard to maintain their form without him. As Matt started to explain to Terry his rehabilitation programme Terrance was mulling over how to cover him playing wise. Terry would likely miss four games including a top of the table clash away at Hartlepool who had just dropped back into this league after having flirted with promotion to the Championship for several seasons. Angelo Mizuel was back in light training but not expected to return to playing for at least three weeks. It was at times like this that Terrance cursed the transfer restrictions placed on lower division clubs by FIFA. The transfer window had just closed and although they could bring in an emergency loan player or two it wasn't an ideal situation!

  Terrance and Steve tried their best with the players at their disposal. It was inevitable though that the form would drop off and it did. Disappointing home draws against Macclesfield and Chester City where a last minute equaliser was conceded along with a defeat away at Mansfield in the 1st round of the Carling Cup saw Redbourne drop off the pace back to 3rd place in the Division One table. One place above them was Hartlepool as they prepared for the long trip up to the north east. Terrance knew that a trip to Victoria Park would be challenging with a full strength squad but with the injury-depleted selection available to him it could be a real nightmare. The game had come just too soon for both Angelo and Terry who travelled up with the squad on the Friday afternoon both desperate to be involved even if it was in a supporting role only. If the game had been on the Tuesday evening Terrance might have considered putting them both of the subs bench with another training session under their belts. However with just one full training session back with the first team it was considered by Steve and him just too much of a gamble!

  Despite the loss in form Redbourne were expecting about four hundred fans to make the long trip with five coaches leaving at seven in the morning and quite a few going under their own steam. Considering the distance most Redbourne fans got up to Hartlepool in remarkably good time and a few hours before kick off had found their way to the very popular Jackson's Wharf Pub on the quayside about half a mile from the ground. As the red and black coach pulled up in front of the players’ entrance an hour before kick off, the players were delighted to see around a hundred Redbourne fans waiting for the team coach. Terry Pauls caused a sensation when he stepped off the coach in his tracksuit with everyone wanting to know if he would be playing or not. Ruefully he shook his head saying

  "Next week with a bit of luck"

  As kick off approached both Terry and Angelo still in their track suits slipped quietly into the away end to give t
he travelling Countrymen an unexpected treat! It was clear from the kick off that Redbourne were not going to roll over despite their injury-ravaged team. Terrance and Jock had the Countrymen fired up for the game and in the opening twenty minutes they matched Danny Wilsons's Monkeyhangers ball for ball and man for man. It was high intensity football with some no holds tackles going on, causing at one moment a melee involving twenty players only the two goalkeepers from each side not getting involved for reasons only known to themselves. The result was bookings for Sweeney for Hartlepool and Dwight Edwards for Redbourne Rovers. The referee actually took the two captains to one side and told them in no uncertain terms to get their team-mates to cool it before either someone got hurt or sent off! The atmosphere inside the ground was volatile with both sets of fans really getting behind their teams and goading their opposite numbers too. Watching from the directors box Miles Grimley was gripped with the tension of the afternoon and not for the first time wished he could be back on the terraces rather than in board rooms or director's boxes where you had to maintain a degree of decorum! The first half though was surprisingly devoid of real chances with the game being played mainly in midfield both teams almost nullifying each other. Redbourne Rovers though came agonisingly close to taking the lead in stoppage time when a header from Dwight Edwards came back off the bar the Poolie keeper well beaten.