LILLFORD RESCUES BARELY

Russell Athletic 2 Barely Athletic 2

Goal: Steve

Defence: Rich Batten, Danny, Phil, Andy

Midfield: Barry, Rich Jackson, Jim, Manrouf

Attack: John, Nick

Sub: Ritchie Cormack

What a way to start the season. A first-half performance that had the sublime and ridiculous rolled into one messy football sandwich, a fading second half from Barely only for Andy Lillford to knock in a cracking free kick at the death to rescue a point.

It was a muggy September day and Russell's home game was held at the Old Bristolians club - a damn fine pitch, if a little firm. The manicured grass boded well for Barely early on as they took the game to Russell, who were suffering the handicap of being a player short. Despite that Russell held their own defensively but Barely, with their extra man, were edging possession and at one stage seemed sure to score only for the Russell keeper to race from his line and deny John with a smart stop after a Jim Fry through-ball.

But, the dropped jaws of the assembled ring-rusty Barely players, it was Russell who took the lead - and disappointingly for Steve it was direct from a corner. The incoming ball had pace and swerve and Steve, looking suprised, got both hands to it only to see it deflect into the roof of the net. Not an own goal, but not pretty either. Mind you, David Seaman used to do that sort of thing all the time. And he was an England international with an attractive wife and some pedigree dogs.

Barely picked themselves up and looked for an equalizer - but though they were ekeing out some chances here and there in the main they were repelled by a sturdy Russell back line. The breakthrough eventually came when there was a handball - disputed, but when aren't they - in the penalty area and Ritchie pointed to the spot. Up stepped Jim who placed the ball neatly to the keeper's left, and thus it stayed until half time shortly afterwards.

Ritchie and Jim shuffled things a little at half-time, with Ritchie bringing himself on for debutant Barry, and taking up a position somewhere in the midfield, we think - hard to pin down exactly. Steve came into the outfield as Nick pulled the gloves on for his traditional second half. But Barely seemed to lose momentum after a good opening ten minutes, and Russell began to dominate. This was before their 11th man finally showed, and any desperate hopes that "it's harder to beat ten men, so this'll be easier now" were cast adrift as Russell's dominance became stronger, and around the hour mark they scored, a low ball back into the box from a Barely clearance being sidefooted in by an unmarked attacker.

Barely tried to rouse themselves. They attacked, and Russell countered. The longer the game went on the more likely another goal looked, but which end was impossible to tell. Several times Barely attacks broke down and they were rescued by Phil, Danny, or at one stage a spectacular diving tackle from Rich Batten, from the resultant Russell counter. At the other end Barely managed to get some shots off but they were generally smothered by the keeper, and at one stage deftly turned over for a corner. Tension mounted. With stoppage timing looming, barely launched themselves forward again, and Ritchie burst towards the box only to be cynically chopped down. Sam, now reluctantly reffing, only failed to book the offender because he didn't have a yellow card. Or a pen. Or a notepad, for that matter. But he gave the perpetrator a very stern look.

Nonetheless the damage was about to be done. Andy Lillford, last season's top scorer, stepped up and belted the ball into the top left-hand corner to send the players into a kind of sedated pandemonium, such were the state of their bodies at this stage after a barbeque-al-fresco-fuelled summer. Only a minute later the whistle blew for full-time and it ended honours even. Probably just about fair, in that the teams shaded a half each, and of course, scored the same amount of goals which in these instances tend to be pivotal. But Barely knew they'd had a lucky escape, especially considering the top-drawer save Nick had pulled out of his locker (metaphorically) to keep the deficit to a single goal only five minutes previously. They will hope to up their conversion rate at the next game.

Man of the match award was a tight one, with Mani, Andy and Danny to name but three standing out in the eyes of your correspondent. Ritchie gave the team mobility when he came on, but the vote deservedly went to Jim Fry for his usual string-pulling roll in midfield, and of course lthe levelling goal from the spot. With the opening fixture out of the way and a point on the board, Barely will be looking to try and replicate last season's good form here on in.