Drawing Comfort

Barely Athletic 1 - 1 Mathern

Gareth

Scott           Batts          Lewis            Colin

Andy L          Richie            Chris              Sam

Darren

Paul T

Sub: John T

Four games down and four defeats on the trot. If Barely were going to end this run of underwhelm-ment, this was the team to do it. A strong midfield was buttressed by the return of Lewis, partnering his dad at centre-back. Up front Paul Tovey and Darren made for a partnership of deft touches and no little speed. But of course, Mathern are no slouches themselves, and had three subs to Barely's one...

Barely began the game in unconventionally alert fashion, seeing off early Mathern incursions and discovering that the referee was reluctant to blow his whistle for all but the most obvious fouls, as they were yanked back and chopped down with reasonably regular frequency - enough anyway for Richie and Chris to take it upon themselves to hand out similar treatment, as the game got just about the right side of feisty.

Barely looked the most likely, and in fact should have scored. Richie's driving run ended with a shot against the post, but when the rebound fell to Sam, he sliced it straight up into the air. Only a few minutes later an even better chance came his way, but - not having a vintage day on the wing - he put it fractionally wide of the post.

Barely pushed and pushed, with Darren always looking for the out ball - the Mathern keeper was by far the busier, with Gareth only called on to gather a couple of long-range shots. With Scott and Andy combining well down the right wing, it looked as though a goal was only a matter of time - or was it? Barely have been here before, and failed to capitalise. Although they were knocking on the door, it finally opened from an unlikely source: a Barely corner. Richie swung the ball into the danger zone and Paul - aided by a shove from the defender - bulleted the ball into the top of the net.

Half-time came with Barely in front. Batts rolled the subs around but kept the formation as it was. The second half saw Mathern foiled time and again by the Barely back line as they looked to attack on the break. The Batten boys along with Colin and Scott repelled everything threw at them, and again Mathern resorted to long-range efforts. Unfortunately one of them bounced up out of Gareth's hands, and agonisingly over the goal line to bring Mathern level.

Barely pushed for a winner, with Richie, Paul and Darren all having their moments as the Mathern back line creaked. Unfortunately for Barely they had an exceedingly mobile and alert goalkeeper, who regularly appeared at the edge of the box to snaffle up a through-ball. And when the final whistle blew, it was - not for the first time - honours shared between these teams.

Darren and Lewis picked up M-o-M votes but the clear winner was Scott, who got up and down that touchline like a vintage Denis Irwin, whilst making tackles like Roy Keane. It was not the win Barely hoped for, nor perhaps the win they deserved, but they'll be happy to avoid a fifth successive defeat.

Something to Chew On

Barely Athletic 1 - 2 Chew Magna

Gareth

Nick    Batts     Colin

Scott    Chris    Paul L      Mike    Sam

Paul T      John R

Sub: Adam

It was a crisp December morning as Barely trotted out for their monthly fresh-air punishment schedule. As assorted players dropped out in the build-up to the day, it fell to Chris - who had sworn off football - to step into the breach, and he filled out a 5-man midfield as Batts opted for a 3-5-2 line-up.

Barely started the game in unusually perky fashion, mixing up their usual defensive opening with a bit of attacking. Chris had quite an impact as he sashayed to the goal-line twice, crossing for Paul Tovey each time - who sadly couldn't convert. But Barely kept the pressure on, and after half an hour of soaking up Chew pressure and countering, they got the goal their persistence deserved when Paul Loftus bundled the ball over the line.

However, they somehow contrived to not only surrender the lead, but find themselves 2-1 down at half-time, after a near-post finish was followed with what would turn out to be the winner. Batts' 90-minute plan involved changing the formation to a 4-4-2 and experimented by pairing Paul T and Sam up front.

It didn't pay off, although both had further chances. Paul couldn't quite turn Sam's cross into the net, and Sam found himself at acute angles during the game; forcing a save from the keeper (left) and belting it into the side-netting (right). But that was only the tip of the half-chance iceberg, as Barely managed to hit the post in both halves (Paul almost scoring the goal of the game with a cheeky lob) and kept the Chew keeper the far busier of the glovemen.

Paul Loftus - now in goal - wasn't completely unemployed though, at one stage pulling out a cracking full-length save to keep the Chew lead at a single goal.

But time was ticking away for an equaliser, and despite Barely having the lion's share of chances - ending the game playing a front four of Adam, Sam, Paul T and Gareth - they couldn't quite find the goal their performance probably deserved.

The Man of the Match vote harvested a number of names in a solid team performance, but Scott took the honours in a clear 1-1-1-1-1-1-4 result in his favour. Lots of positives to take from this one - but no points.

A game of ifs and buts....

Barely Athletic 1 - 4 Reunion 

Gareth 

Adam Danny Batts John T

Alistair Paul Loftus Mike G Dazza

Jim Semmence Paul Tovey

Sub John R.

If Nick had turned up
If we had our kit at kick off.
If we had a penalty.
If I hadn't put the ball in the wrong net.
If Jim had scored that second ....
But that is not the Barely way......so we lost.

We gave a great account of ourselves for 60 minutes against a cool Reunion team but tired legs and a lack of subs caught up with us again.
We started off well with quick passing and neat one twos but Reunion took the lead from a free kick that was planted on the head of their number 12.
Barely reacted quickly with some neat touches involving Tovey Adam and Jim finishing off a great move.
1.1 half time
Straight away in the second half Barely were on the back foot . Reunion recognising the threat moved their number ten up into attack and gave their playmaker the very young number 7 more space to dictate the play.
Batts put Dazza on their number 7 as unfortunately John T had to come off. He was knackered!
Another free kick saw their number 12 about to bury the ball in the back of the net but Batts gave him a nudge...Penalty!
Reunion missed!
Then they scored when a harshly given corner was bundled over the line when Barely had options to clear.
At the other end of the pitch James was upended but....no penalty and straight from the break Gareth spilled a ball and number 12 hungrily buried it. Gareth took a whack so came out of goal Mike taking over. No subs left so Barely had to go for it. We huffed and puffed Adam and Paul Paul Loftusputting themselves in every. 50 50 with gusto.
The icing on the messy cake was Reunions number 11 whipping over a delicious cross Batts tried to take it away from their number 10 only for the lightest of touches allowing the ball to roll in off the post. Great finish ........not.
John T gallantry came on as goalie for last ten minutes as Barely searched for an answer......
The ref gave it and blew up.
Another game of what ifs... But everyone put in a decent shift.
Mom a deserving Paul Loftus with other votes spread throughout the team

report by Batts

Nearly Sublime

St Brendans 3 - 2 Barely Athletic

Gareth

Adam        Batts       Mike      Laurie

Sam    Andy L    Paul T     Darren     Chris

John T

Subs: John R, Nick

With combative encounters against St Brendans fresh - or reasonably fresh - in the mind, Batts decided to pack the centre of midfield, aligning the quick feet of Paul Tovey with the mobile and combative Andy and Darren. And it just might have worked, if it hadn't been for those pesky middle-aged men...

Barely broke with tradition and began the game in an alert state. St Brendans were providing a lot of pressure, of course, but the defence held strong. Adam in particular had to be on his toes against St Brendan's big left-winger, who had a fair turn of pace. And Gareth had no cause to be bored as he was called upon to smother the odd ball.

At the other end Chris - taking a turn on the wing - almost opened proceedings with a slaloming run infield, only to see his cheeky chip sail fractionally over the crossbar. Andy was foiled by the keeper as well before Chris's second chance came - breaking through after a long-range one-two with Sam, his finish lacked a bit of composure and trundled into the keeper's arms.

St Brendans do not suffer from stage-fright, however, and when that pesky left-winger finally broke the shackles Adam had him in, he managed to shake off two further challenges before rifling in from a narrow angle to put the away team 1-0 up at the break.

Batts kept with the formation and rolling subs but pushed Darren up into attack, giving John a breather. Everyone felt Barely were at the races, now they just had to prove it. And prove it they did, when they surged back from a position of looming defeat to one of victory. First Darren put Barely in front after negotiating what seemed like seven or eight attempts to tackle him by the same player. They kicked the ball into each others' shins for a while before the Barely man turned and finished inside the far post. Then Andy put Barely ahead with a deflected shot that left the keeper stranded.

Barely could have been even better placed, but having beaten the St Brendan's offside trap Sam fluffed his lines with the keeper at his mercy, wafting the ball into his body. Then the ref waved away appeals at the edge of the box when the diminutive firebrand/moaner was barged over from behind. John Trimble looked like he'd won a penalty when having rounded the goalie, he was barged to the ground. The ref sympathetically took the defender's view.

The sense of missed opportunity loomed large when St Brendans equalised as the Barely lines, as is their wont, began to creak in the last third of the game. The equaliser was as inevitable as the answer to that Edward Woodward joke. And then, woe of woes, a dribble across the penalty box ended with an agonisingly close-to-Gareth's-hand slide rule finish to put St Brendan's back in front.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and here cometh Gareth out onto the pitch as Mike took the goalkeeper's gloves. And he so nearly scoreth the goal only for the Barely through-ball to run just out of his reach and into the grateful hands of the 'keeper. There was just time for Sam to scream at the lack of attackers before crossing the ball into the keeper's arms and Chris to chop down that pesky left-winger, before the game closed out, and a sterling performance from every individual couldn't quite manifest itself into what in your correspondent's eyes would have been a deserved point.

"I don't use the word sublime often... and I'm not going to today" Batts said. But he was nonetheless proud of a considerable collective effort. The busy Adam deservedly took man of the match vote as Barely reflected on a job well-performed - if not well done.

Nails ease their way to Victory

Barely Athletic 1 Nailsea Old Boys 4

Gareth

Colin           Danny            Batts          Laurie

Sam            Mike             Chris           John R

Paul Tovey

Nick

Sub: John T

The sun shone blisteringly down on an unseasonably warm September Day as Barely kicked off the new season in style - Barely style, that is: with just the one sub and the patented lethargic start, as they pretty much gifted Nailsea a two goal lead inside the first ten minutes.

With that out of the way, Barely began to smell the coffee and remember that they can, when they put their minds to it, play a bit of football. Batts went for a fairly compact midfield, with Mike patrolling in front of the back line, Paul Tovey holding up the ball behind Nick, and Chris doing a fair amount of work in-between them. Sam and John Rossetti looked to find space down the wing, but mainly found themselves out of breath.

Nonetheless Barely did put one or two moves together, and managed to keep Nailsea at bay until half-time. John Trimble, who had gamely refereed the first half, gave the whistle to Nick and took his place up front. Barely began the second half with a much more robust display; snapping into tackles and moving the ball forward a lot quicker. John Rossetti had already pulled a save out of the goalkeeper when John T was sent through on goal - with a composed finish he got Barely right back in the game at 2-1, with the majority of the half still to play.

However, that was as good as it got for the home team ultimately, as despite the odd flurry - one lovely five-pass move bamboozled the Old Boys entirely before petering sadly out - they concentrated solely on staying upright, as tired lungs and even tireder legs protested against the ongoing punishment. Even the exhortations of Gareth in the Barely goal couldn't quite raise the tempo - what Barely really needed, of course, was three or four subs to keep things ticking over. Without them it was always going to be a struggle - and as the half wore on, Nailsea capitalized on increasingly desperate defending with two more goals to seal the points.

A disappointing start to the season, then, but there were some morsels of promise here if only Barely can get the numbers out to sustain themselves over 90 minutes. Man of the Match saw a smattering of nominees but with Batts and John T tied on three votes each, the gaffer took the executive decision of handing the gong (a metaphorical gong, but a gong nonetheless) to John for not only his goal and pester value up front, but volunteering to ref. Good work!

Next up: St Brendans, on the 25th. 

Home from home

Bristol Barelys 2 - 2 Barely Bristols

A smattering of recollections from the latest Barely run-out with the Bristols supplied by John Rossetti. The teams were mixed, so everyone was a winner - or, everyone drew, in this case. 

*

When we arrived there was just a smattering of Barely’s, we wondered if there would be many Bristol’s.

Then they just kept coming. Not just  a few Bristol’s (they are a 7-aside team) but a full M&S brassiere department full. In the end there were 17 of them. We had 7, so with the help of both team captains (Mike did the biz for us as usual) we ended up with a 12-aside game!

Apparently they had a new recruit who was so unable to cope with this shocking sight she left at some point in tears. Hope she will be brought back in – it must have been very different from expectations.

So even with us extending the pitch (the big pitch being occupied by another women’s game in their same league) it was very busy which gave a low scoring game, ending up 2-2. We played until the lights were switched off at almost 9.30, so despite a late start it was well over an hour. The game ebbed from one to the other, but John Trimble switched sides near the end to help even things up, as Paul was threatening (with the help of some of their key and skilful players) to run away with it.

So to lots of shaking of hands and a great experience had by all. Many of us then retired to the Lazy Dog.

Various good conversations followed. We (Barely) chose their ‘woman of the match’. A great and strong defender and midfielder, also deliberately not a previous man of the match, name escapes me but others will recall. (Sorry I had quite lost it by then and was on to strong cider!).

They selected the totally unique John Trimble, although by then in absentia, as our Man (Woman, Person, Lady?) of the match. While great conversations evolved and one of their previous team turned up now with young child (others with their wives), we did discover some interesting facts.

Firstly one of their team works as an engineer and geologist on North Sea oil rigs. As she said, being also black, she ‘ticks all the diversity boxes!’ We were enthralled by the stories of great hardship endured in this unnatural environment.

The other bit of info was the bird they have as their team motto. Being a bird bore, I knew it as a sea bird, related to the gannet, that occurs in the Pacific off South America. I know, by now you will have guessed it, as you are so knowledgeable. Yes, it is the Blue-footed Booby!

Barely a report

Mystery Team 3 - 1 Barely Athletic

Gareth

Mark         Kev         Batts 

Sam         Jim S        Paul L       Roly         Paul T

Sandy

Subs: Lefils, Mike, someone else

The Barely Athletic Reporter is disorganised at the best of times, but on this occasion we have to confess we don't know the name of the opposition, and have quite possibly got quite a few Barely players names' wrong. There was definitely a third sub as well. Subs were rolling so regularly we can't be sure the above line up actually started the game either - but all of them featured at some point.

It was an unfamiliar line-up on an unfamiliar ground - with Barely down to half a team, Batts roped in half of his neighbourhood and Paul Loftus Casuals veteran Roly. Barely began with a 3-5-2, changed to a 4-4-2, then mixed things up a bit with a kind of celibate-amoeba formation toward the end.

They played pretty well in terms of possession, but - perhaps due to the unfamiliarity - didn't really test the keeper in the first half, and came off with a 3-0 deficit as the opposition played some good stuff through the middle of the park.

The second half was mainly notable for Roly's contribution - as Paul Tovey flicked one of Mike's big throw-ins on, he - aptly - rolled his marker, and finished adroitly inside the far post to give Barely a glimmer of hope. The away team surged like hopeful teenagers at a school disco, but then slumped back against the wall five minutes later as they ran out of energy/testosterone/hope.

A muggy day saw everyone drenched in sweat despite the comparatively sedate pace, and Barely walked off the pitch grateful for the end of a hard season.

As seems appropriate for this report, we don't know who man of the match was.