MAL LEAGUE

NORTH LONDON CRICKETS VS DUKE’S HEAD

1 Rich Hall

2 Salmon Ali

3 Anders Van Hale

4 Patrick Mills

5 Juan-Carlos Torres-Navarra II

6 Fernando Cuevas

7 Steve O’Hagan

8 Ben Wakeford

9 Hal Godfrey Wood

10 John Robinson

11 Jim Green

12 Derek Copsey

When a key player injures himself after 30 seconds, you have no substitute on the bench and you are playing the team placed third in the league, you can expect a hard time of it. In fact you can expect to lose. But that is to ignore certain key factors that were to come into play on this particular bright, though bitterly cold sunny afternoon: the ravenous goal-hunger of ‘Big’ Jim Green; the pit-bull tenaciousness of The Crickets’ defensive unit; and North London’s very own knight in shining armour, ‘Saint’ Derek Copsey.

In recent years, Derek may have been more used to heading for the bar rather than heading onto the bar, having supposedly hung up his boots a few moons ago. But on this fateful afternoon he once again donned the club colours and stepped into the breach early in the second half to compensate for the cruel loss of the Crickets’ valuable though increasingly frail Robinson. And without Derek’s selfless running and shielding of the ball, who can tell what may have become of the 10 men of North London?

Despite Robinson’s battered groin, the game started brightly for the Crickets. Duke’s decision to deploy a line of human space-hoppers across the midfield from the start gave them a lack of mobility which Crickets were well able to exploit, leading to a two goal advantage in the first ten minutes. Both snaffled by the marauding Green, the first came from a surging run that left both defenders and keeper in his wake, the second a speculative drive from distance that Duke’s’ keeper wasn’t able to hold. Once again, the home team’s number 1 proving that while he has the potty mouth to rival Man Utd’s Torrets-afflicted Tim Howard, he certainly doesn’t have the handling skills.

From here on in, Crickets were content to hoard what they had got, like a same-sex family of yellow squirrels clutching two golden nuts. But even before the half-time whistle, their defenses were breached and Duke’s Head brought themselves to within a goal of a point. But it was as close as they were to come.

The second half was all about grit. A mighty offensive from the Duke’s, spearheaded by fresh wave of substitutes, threatened to swamp the Crickets’ back line. But this is a team that can dig deep, a team of personality, a team that can defend as well as score. Like the dark days at Dunkirk, lines were drawn, trenches dug and the beachhead resolutely defended. Only this time, with no vacillating French allies to have to rely on, the defenders didn’t half to beat a hasty retreat across the channel, leaving their heavy equipment behind them.

O’Hagan and Wakeford put on a skirmishing double act in front of the back four in the classic mould of Robbie Savage and Mark Pembridge (respectively). Mills inspired those around him with a total lack of self-regard in competing – and usually winning – every ball. Hale was Crickets very own Dion Dublin – deputising in defence despite his seven-goal haul so far this season.

When Duke’s switched their assault to the flanks, they found the dependable Torres-Navara and the fast-talking Ali more than their equal. Debutante Hal Godfrey Wood and on-loan Spanish utility man Fernando (DON’T KNOW NAME) provided much needed cover in the wide areas of midfield, as well as linking with the tireless Green and Derek? And on the occasions that the ramparts were scaled, the superb Richie Hall was equal to the task, cleanly holding almost everything that was thrown his way, and on more than one occasion, pulling out saves from the drawer you need a stepladder to reach. So in the end, the battling crickets held on for their sixth straight league win, confirming their status as the team to beat in this division.