Cup Half Full

Mathern 2 - 2 Barely Athletic 

Mathern tragically win on penalties

Mike

Colin           Batts           Danny             Laurie

Sam           Paul L           Paul Tovey        Richie          Paul Taverna

Adam

Rolling subs: Nick, John R, Al, Jim S, Chris

It was a beautiful day for football as Barely headed west over the Severn for a date with destiny. Sadly destiny hadn't put her glad-rags on on this occasion, but more of that later. The pressing question for Barely was whether they could put on a better showing than the last half an hour of the last time they played Mathern, when they seemed hell-bent on self-destruction.

The early showing proved such worries unfounded as Batts' 4-5-1 system put Barely into an unconventional position of, if not exactly lording it, then at least shading things in midfield. If they could only match their possession stats and approach play with a finish before their weaknesses for conceding from crosses struck agai--- whoops! There goes a bullet header from a corner in to the back off the net. With only a quarter an hour or so played, Barely's steely resolve had been bent like Uri Geller's most regularly employed teaspoon. 

They tried to get back into it and almost did so spectacularly when Richie's 25-yarder thumped into the base of the post before cannoning back into play. But a bad start got worse when Sam dawdled to the touchline, attempting to shepherd the ball out of play for a throw. He was swiftly dispossessed and in a matter of seconds the ball was in the Barely net a second time, a low finish giving Mike no chance. 

Half-time arrived with Barely feeling fully still at the races, albeit with an uphill climb to the final furlong. They lost the combative Paul Loftus to a long-distance air flight needing a pilot, but received the silky skills of Jim Siemens as worthy consolation. With Batts rolling the subs on and off at a regular basis, Barely stayed reasonably fresh for the second half - something of a rarity these days.

fresh

The second half contained so many offside calls against Barely the linesman is probably bathing his right arm in ice right now. How accurate they were or weren't was debated at length. Probably too long. Either way, Barely continued in the vein they left off - Mike for the most part unflustered as Batts and Danny marshalled the defence. Chris unfortunately tweaked his hamstring again and had to retreat to the position of official photographer, so Adam took a spell in central midfield whilst Colin, Al and Sam rotated positions on the right and Nick and Laurie took turns at left-back.

fast

All the chopping and changing might have bamboozled a lesser team, but no, Barely like change as much as the penny arcade man does, and they rolled with the punches . They were right back in it, too, when a defender bizarrely punched the ball away at a corner - the eagle-eyed ref spotted it, and Paul Tovey tucked the ball away from the penalty spot to make the score more competitive: 2-1 Mathern.

Tovey!

Only minutes later Barely were level. A somewhat soft free-kick was given but with Jim S in merciless mood, maximum punishment was dealt out as he sent a pearl of a dead ball execution into the top of the net with the keeper beaten: 2-2.

Now what? The subs and the collective effort from all the Barely players meant a capitulation in the style of the 5-5 draw a few weeks ago was never on the cards. Could they grab a winner in the ninety minutes? As it turned out, no, although half-chances were manufactured and John Rossetti attempted a tricky near-post header that sailed a yard over.

So, to the lottery that is penalty kicks. With his family watching on from the sidelines, Paul Tovey tucked away his second penalty of the day to put Barely one up. Sam scored the second. Jim S's effort was never going to miss. But in-between times the crappy, fateful brutality of penalties hit Barely hard, with Richie hitting one post and Nick the other. Colin's effort was struck with power, but sailed a foot over the bar.

Jim!

Thankfully Mathern also missed a couple, but they made no mistake at the death, with the winning penalty billowing the net like an angry turd fired into a half-inflated hot-air balloon.

With that moment Barely's cup hopes were crushed. Mathern will march on to the final as Barely return their attentions to the league, and the possibility of not finishing bottom. It was their fourth draw in a row with the team from Wales, but despite the end, the team remained upbeat. They had, after all, just surged back from 2-0 down away from home to end honours even, and been a post's whisker from knocking Mathern out before sudden death loomed. 

Man of the Match voting was widely spread as you might expect, with many names garnering a vote. But the rapid, slaloming runs of Paul Taverna gave Mathern a headache on their right flank (- if that's possible) and he nipped ahead of Batts and Richie to claim the gong. 

Overall then, Barely exited the cup with bodies weary but heads held high. A cup half-full indeed.

A Swift two halfs

Swift 4 Barely 2

A beautifully crisp Sunday morning saw the troops of Barely take on the mighty Swift who boasted 13 players against the 9 Barely regulars plus 2 mates of Richie: Scott and Bradley. 


The game started well with Barely playing 4 5 1 with John Rossetti the loan striker. 


Barely took the game to Swift and found themselves 1-0 up through a slick move from a Cormack corner the ball buried in the net by newcomer Bradley. This was followed up by Dazza bombing down the right wing and smashing the crossbar. Shortly before half time the minute but nimble Swift number 10 made the game level with a neat finish onto the bottom corner. 

Half time arrived and a buoyant but tiring Barely trooped off for a breather and to regalvanise. It has to be said that Mike and Danny put a decent shift on goal with Mike in particular making a finger tips save to keep the scores level.

The second half started with Dazza in goal and Mike returning to central defence. 

Barely started well and found themselves 2.1 up after some good interplay between Cormack and Rossetti ending up with Chris drilling a shot beyond their keeper. Chris was honest enough to admit he was going for the far corner, but contrived to curl it in off the near post. 

Swift were changing subs religiously every 15 minutes and unfortunately Barely boasted an empty bench nevertheless Rossetti and Batts had chances to make it 3-1 before Swift sucker-punched. A long ball over the top was majestically controlled by that Swift no 10 who placed the ball beyond Dazza. And then 5 minutes later the same ball over the top confused Scott and Mike, as they both went for the same ball and collided leaving the Swift no 9 with a tap-in past Dazza. Colin went between the sticks for the last 15 minutes, and had the pleasure of picking the ball out of the net when the no 10 finished the game with a deserved hat trick. 

Suffice to say Barely played well and peppered the Swift goal throughout the 90 minutes and there were certainly a lot of positives to be taken from the game.

Thanks to Swift for the pre Cup work out and well done to all who played .

report by Batts

A Little bit of History

One of the oldest buildings in Caldicot, Llanthony Secunda Manor, was built around 1120 as a grange for monks from Llanthony Secunda Priory in Gloucester.

In 1158 the manor of Caldicot passed to Humphrey II de Bohun, who was responsible for building the stone keep and curtain walls of the present-day castle. In 1376 it passed to Thomas Woodstock, third son of King Edward III, when he married Alianore de Bohun. It began to fall into ruins around the 16th century. 

Caldicot town expanded with the building of the steelworks in the twentieth century, and shortly after that, a football match occurred between nearby Mathern, and visitors from across the Severn, Barely Athletic. 

The game began with the away team playing an unexpectedly adventurous 3-5-2 formation:

Gareth

Ian          Danny         Mike

Sam          Chris         Jacko         Darren         Adam

John R             Lefils

sub: Batts

Whilst Mathern preferred to stick to a more traditional 4-4-2. As the stragglers from the morning's rugby session watched on, the game kicked off and immediately took on an entertaining and fast-paced tempo, giving what was a league game the feel of a cup match. Mathern pressured: Barely played on the counter-attack. The early stages set a precedent for the whole game - there was no cagey sense of playing their way into the game, both teams were going for it. And a Barely counter only fifteen minutes in put the Bristolians in front, when a clearance fell at Chris's feet outside the box. One touch set him up; the second was a sumptuous half-volley over the keeper's head and into the roof of the net. One-nil Barely.

Mathern came back at them, and of the two goalkeepers Gareth was the busier. Barely were also fortunate to see one or two efforts sail wide. But at the other end Lefils was giving the Mathern back line all kinds of trouble. As well as his patented dribbling and strength, Fizzy was also out-pacing the defence with alarming ease. Four times he was sent away on goal, and even when they caught him, they couldn't catch him. Lefils had a hat-trick before the first half was through (he fell over the other time) and despite Mathern pulling a goal back, Barely went into the break 4-1 up on the league leaders.

Despite the almost glorious scoreline however, nobody was under the illusion that the game was won. Barely knew that Lefils' efforts had flattered them somewhat, as much of the half had been spent defending. Batts observed tiredness creeping in already, and changed the line-up to 4-4-2. (They would discover Mathern had changed their approach to 3-5-2 to match Barely's first half formation).

But the second half was only moments old when Barely built on their lead - Adam was sent scampering away from the halfway line, and ignored the old adages about hares and tortoises by scampering all the way to the goal and tucking away a neat finish to put the score at 5-1. As Mike said later in the changing rooms; "At that point, I thought we might have a chance". But as Barely learned to their cost, you cannot relax against this Mathern side. They renewed hostilities as if affronted by the scoreline, and with one or two exceptions - Chris' 50 yard dash along the sideline being the highlight of them - Mathern spent the rest of the game on the front foot. Barely's rolling sub kept the demons at bay - Darren's thigh, Fizzy's head - but Mathern had no less than five willing deputees, and they used them to good effect, pummeling Barely until something had to give.

It gave. 

Gareth could be held responsible for one goal when he elected to air kick a reasonable simple save - but considering his catches and clearances in this game probably set some kind of Barely record, it would be churlish to do so. Especially as he was protecting an injured knee. Without him there, this would have certainly been a defeat. 

The simple fact of it is Barely - fatigued - allowed too many crosses to sail into the box, and Barely - not as big - allowed too many headers to be won. Mathern's finishing was good: efforts always seemed to be an inch or two beyond Gareth's reach, towards the corners of the goal. And Mathern's pressure was rewarded as they racked up four goals in the final quarter of the game, and ended proceedings hunting for a winner. They might well have got it - they hit the crossbar twice, the post once, and Sam cleared two goalbound efforts off the line. There would have been no complaints from Barely if they did.

But Barely's rearguard efforts deserved something from the game, and the fact a clearly exhausted Barely held on for a point speaks volumes of the collective spirit this season. Mathern, Batts revealed afterwards, were currently top of the league with only seven goals conceded in their previous games. 

Your correspondent could have given man of the match to any of the 12 Barely players out there; such was the effort they put in. But Fizzy's goal haul and general quality of play saw him scoop the award, with Chris a deserved runner-up for his almost-indefatigueable turn in midfield (and goal).  Other votes speckled the squad. 

Despite the sense of a victory lost, there was also the seemingly paradoxical feeling of a point won. That second half was perhaps the hardest Barely have had to work to preserve something from a game, and in the end they pulled it off. Many of the team limped off the pitch, and the local pub was treated to the unusual sight of Mike and Darren performing a warm-down with pints in their hands. 

Ah, Caldicot.

Mathern 5 - 5 Barely Athletic

Schoolboy Error

Barely Athletic 2 - 6  St Brendans

Gareth

Nick          Ian             Batts              John T

Sam            Mike                John R               Al

Chris   

Darren

                 

Sub: Paul Tovey 

Barely's run  had to finish sometime, but after an impressive start to the season it was a shame that it ended like this. Perhaps Batts' inclination to postpone should have been heeded: not only were Barely without several stalwarts, including their midfield engine, they also fielded the oldest Barely outfield ever. Not only that, they also had both Chris and Paul carrying injuries - unable to sprint and shoot respectively. Playing at all was their first mistake.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Barely began on the back foot, looking tentative. In fact they spent much of the opening twenty minutes looking second-best, with Batts and his defensive cohorts called on time and again. Gareth was busy too - St Brendans took advantage of the small pitch and their specialist throw-in guy to hurl ball after ball into the Barely box, and they eventually succumbed, as yet another aerial bombardment made its way into the net. Another followed from a corner, as the ball went both under Sam's foot and through Gareth's hands as if laser-guided by a particularly attentive drone missile operator. 

Barely's threat at the other end was sporadic. Darren was putting in a real shift but without the mobility of the likes of Richie and Adam in support, he ploughed a lonely furrow. Nevertheless, even a lonely furrow will bloom every now and again, and when Barely went route one with a big clearance from Gareth, Darren slalomed his way through some challenges before finishing neatly at the near post to put Barely back in the game. 

Maybe on another day that could have been a turning point, but St Brendans struck back quickly with a shot going in off a post, and despite Gareth's exhortations and a break in which to regroup, the game kind of went downhill from there. Paul Tovey came on and showed his usual composure and control, but whenever St Brendans got a throw-in the danger was there. And as always with St Brendans they are happy to play the physical game, the low point of which was an arm in John Rossetti's face that cut his nose open. 

But minor gripes over style aside, St Brendans were well worthy of the win; Barely's consolation goal coming off a defender's head when a cross was diverted into the net. Barely were not without chances, but they were not gilt-edged. Chris, Paul and Sam all had shots from distance, and Sam nearly grabbed a third at the death, but the defender's head just deflected Mike's cross onto his shin instead of his instep, and the ball ballooned up and over the bar. Most agonisingly Al's 20 yard volley sailed fractionally over the crossbar.

So after the highs of the cup game, Barely come back to earth with a bump. The running for Man of the Match was not an overflowing group: though Barely showed determination throughout and Gareth was a busy guy between the sticks, Darren walked away with it for application and a rather special goal. 

Barely now regroup and recalibrate for 2016 hoping to recapture the form they showed in the first three games of the season. 

Recliners Laid Bare

Recliners 1  Barely Athletic 4

Gareth

Nick          Batts         Mike            Adam

Chris           Paul L           Richie           Darren

Lefils          John T

Subs: Jim S, Sam

Barely went into the game with the rare tag of 'undefeated' assigned to them, after a strong start to the season. Recliners were something of an unknown quantity, although Paul Loftus identified their striker as 'a bit handy' having played against him before. With player-of-the-season-so-far Ian out with a mystery injury, Mike stepped into central defence alongside Batts. Sometime guest and now-regular Chris began on the right wing. 

The early game was a fairly even affair, as the teams struggled to hold onto the ball for more than a couple of passes, and both defensive lines held firm. Chris was getting down the right wing but hadn't quite got his crossing sorted early on, though he was finding promising positions. And Barely were growing into the game when a mix-up in the Barely defence put an attacker through on goal. Gareth recovered his feet but buffeted the attacker somewhat excessively, and the inevitable penalty was stroked home to give Recliners the lead. 

Barely hit back. Chris made another surge down the right, and this time sent over the perfect cross for the perfect header - Lefils was there to nod it deftly over the keeper and into the top corner. 1-1. Barely were now shading things; with Gareth called upon less and less as the game progressed. And the visitors took the lead when Darren was barged over in the box. Despite protestations, Fizzy rammed the ball home to put Barely in front. 

The half ended with Barely deservedly in the box seat, then, and with the rolling subs system already in full flow Batts was keeping the legs as fresh as possible.

The first ten minutes of the second half was possibly the best Barely have played in many a moon - Recliners were encamped in their own half for almost the entire time, second to every ball as Barely focussed their attentions down the right side with Adam, Richie and Darren heavily involved. The third goal came when the former set off on a mazy run and was eventually chopped down (or enthusiastically nudged, at least) in the box. Jim took the penalty and Barely were 3-1 up. 

Credit to Recliners, they refused to lay down (- I'm here all week) and engineered some attacks on the Barely goal during the last half hour of the game. But the jig was up for them when Fizzy's cross-shot went in off a defender. A hat-trick for the Frenchman, or an own-goal? The dubious goals committee need to be called in as your correspondent - unsighted at the time - has heard two different versions of the same event.

Either way it was another strong showing from Barely, with Paul and Richie operating in tandem in midfield to good effect and captain Batts having a man-of-the-match-winning game as he mopped up at the back. And their two-game unbeaten streak is now a marginally less-desperate three game one, with 4 points from two games as well as the next round of the cup to look forward to. Heady days.

The Right Type of Runs

St Brendans 2 - 2 Barely Athletic (Barely win 5-4 on penalties)

Gareth L

Adam              Mike           Ian            Nick

Sam            Jacko          Paul L            Al

Lefils

Jim S

Subs: Batts, Darren

Barely don't usually do cup runs. 

Winning a solitary game doesn't usually count as a 'run', but in Barelyworld cup ties are something you either lose, or wear. And if you're going to break something like a 9-year run of losing first-time-out in the cup, why not do it by coming from 2-0 down and knocking out the current champions? 

Barely rolled up with a very decent squad - and a recognised keeper in Gareth, a rarity for the away team. Unbeknownst to them it was also a sign that they were to end the day as victors... as Gareth was to play a key role. 

But from the outset Barely were on top - snuffing out St Brendans' attacks and looking to counter quickly.  With Paul Loftus a driving force in midfield and Fizzy and Jim snapping away, the big St Brendans' number ten - who could pick a pass - found space and time at a premium. It was almost a surprise how much Barely were dictating things... although with this being a cup game, it was less shocking when they fell behind after a half-hour or so. A St Brendans midfielder ghosted to the edge of the box and when the ball was played to him his shot unerringly found the top corner, giving Gareth no chance at all. 

Barely sought to draw level quickly. Sam thought he had won a penalty when his legs were taken from under him in the box, but the ref decided otherwise. Paul hit a shot from distance that sailed wide. And when the break arrived it was an unwanted distraction. Barely had restricted St Brendans to such minimal sights at goal nobody could quite credit being behind. However, it was to get worse before it got better.

Batts changed things around with Darren joining him on the pitch, going left-wing, and Sam and Jacko taking a spell on the touchlines. Gareth gamely volunteered to stay in goal. The first five minutes of the second half was a microcosm of the first, as with Fizzy and Jim leading the charge, Barely looked to be the most-likely team: only to concede again by virtue of a rather laid-back approach to marking. A hefty throw-in bounced into the Barely box and was tucked away neatly to put St Brendans 2-0 up - defending straight out of the Ardilles handbook. 

One might have forgiven Barely for losing interest, as their long-held habit of imploding in the cup looked to continue for at least another year. What had resembled a defensive fortress was being made to look like a bouncy castle by the unflattering scoreline. 

But a metaphorically-infantile Barely is a dangerous Barely, and they bounced back. Jim and Adam twice burst down the right only to find their team-mates performing a kind of Paul Gascoigne chorus line as they serially slid in and just missed the ball. So, sent away by a delightful Jacko chip, when Jim found himself in a similar position he went for a powerful shot into the far corner. 2-1.

With their tails up, Barely continued to search for the equaliser as St Brendans struggled to contain the movement of Jim and Fizzy - with Adam also breaking forward at every opportunity. But it was the sheer manic belief of Paul Loftus that manifested itself in a goal, as he took the opportunity to charge forward and apply the finishing touch on a cross from the right. 2-2, with ten minutes to go. With no time for extra time, could Barely win it in the 90? 

No. Despite pressure - and some purposeful counter-attacks from the far-from-despondent St Brendans - time was called with the scoreline two-all and penalties beckoning. 

St Brendans take the first one and tuck it away              1-0

Sam passes Barely's first low to the keeper's left       1-1

St Brendans slots in despite a touch from Gareth           2-1

Fizzy's low shot also has power:                                  2-2

St Brendan's goalie took their 3rd - saved by Gareth!!   2-2

Ian shoots unerringly home                                          2-3

St Brendans score again                                                   3-3

Jim Siemens keeps his word and goes low                   3-4

St Brendans score their fifth to give them hope:              4-4

But Paul Lofts slots home to create history                 4-5

And Barely went whooping and hollering across the pitch, like bunnies on crack.

It was fitting that Ian, Paul and Gareth all played a key role in the shoot-out as on a day of strong showings they also led the votes for Man of the Match - Ian shading the win by a hair, having looked impassable at the back - and, like every Barely player, looking to keep possession at every opportunity. 

But truly, it was a great team performance: Jim's goal was classy. Paul's was a thing of driving determination. Darren's presumably-unrehearsed lecture on the appropriate use of swearing was both moral compass and comic relief. And both the ref and the teams played the game, to a large degree, in the right spirit.

They say history is written by the winners (other versions are available - see last two seasons' posts) and for a change Barely have the chance to write their name on the cup - unless of course they feel that one win is enough for the next nine years or so. Time will tell... either way, a very solid start to the season and a stirring comeback into the bargain. One might even say classic Barely - except going by tradition, it clearly wasn't.

The Rossetti Stones

Axbridge Saxons 1 - 1 Barely Athletic

Mike

Nick            Danny          Ian          Sam

Adam          Jacko          Fizzy

John T         Jim S        John R

Subs: Batts, Dave, Paul L

if you google John Rossetti 1973 this happens

The first day of the new season finally arrived, and Barely scrambled southwards for an opening fixture against Axbridge. The last time they were in Churchill, Barely departed with their tails between their legs, having been spanked 5-0. But even though they arrived, as is tradition, with no specialist keeper (like last time) and a forward line with a combined age of 158, Barely were cautiously optimistic. On that fateful day, three of Saxon's goals had been attempted crosses, one a deflection off a defender when going wide... if they could avoid that kind of bad luck again, surely Saxon would only score one genuine goal, right? - right.

The game began with Saxons shading things as Barely sought to shrug off their rustiness. But despite a rather indifferent start, Batt's novel 4-3-3 venture soon began functioning as though it had been running since the industrial age - in a good way. Although it meant Axbridge did most of their attacking down the wings (more of that in a moment), when Barely had the ball they were causing the Axbridge back line problems. Several times the ball was sent towards the net only for Barely to discover the Axbridge goalie was both mobile and blessed with good handling.

But when John Trimble and John Rossetti sliced through the defense once more around the half-hour mark, the latter picked out the bottom right corner with aplomb, leaving the keeper stranded and finally beaten.

To a large degree Barely remained on top until the break, but when it arrived Axbridge were level, as their right-winger beat Sam to the ball - not for the first time - and finished with a thumping shot past Mike. It wasn't fair on Mike, who had been deftly taking care of business on the odd moments he'd seen the ball. And though Barely nearly snatched the lead again with a classic Paul Loftus effort from a corner; his header sailing a fraction too high with the keeper beaten, the half ended with Barely feeling they could and should have been ahead.

Batts moved Sam to right-back and gave various folk a rest to give himself a run at left-back, new boy Dave taking up the left-midfield slot as Fizzy moved central. Mike took up a midfield position also as Nick went between the sticks. It was the start of an ever-turning wheel of sub-rotation that served Barely well.

The second half began much as the first ended - both teams threatening but metaphorically more of a wagging finger than an attempted punch. Barely's back line tightened with Batts present and Sam more comfortable on the right - but Nick was still called upon to make a couple of saves: one of which belied his status as fifty-something as he flung himself left to beat the shot away with his fists.

At the other end Barely were building a head of steam around the penalty area, but never to the point were the Axbridge keeper was really tested. Shots went either wide or straight into the keeper's midriff, and as time ticked away under an unseasonably hot September sun, the game had the feeling of a draw. Both teams had chances to win, but Axbridge were foiled by the aforementioned antics off Nick, and Barely couldn't quite find their cutting edge - though Rossetti almost stole the points at the death as a loose ball came to him in the area, but didn't quite make the connection.

The whistle went on a fair result then, well-refereed it must be said and generally played in the right spirit. Nick's double shift earned him Man of the Match along with Ian, who had put in a robust a performance as ever in central defense. Barely left the ground satisfied with a point, and optimistic about Batt's favored formation making a convincing debut. A solid start to the new season.

*apologies for naming errors, I don't have a large database of surname spellings

** apologies for factual errors, I don't have the memory I may have used to have