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Saints Web 4-3 Saints Web - Post Match Reaction


Arizona

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I think Nickh is the typical Saints Manager. 3-1 up and loses 4-3 to a last minute goal.

 

Dubia Phil must be the first Saints Manager to win his first game and then retire.

 

Great fun and well done to all those who took part. Took our minds off the desperate plight SFC faces in the next few days.

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Discent (however you spell it). Bloody stupid idea as a friendly....

To be fair, I think he had been giving the ref fairly constant grief for a while :lol:

 

Official attendance: 137 (not including players/managers)

 

Man of the Match as voted for by the players: Alex Griffiths (Griffo)

 

Griffo, give me a call at some point over the weekend and I'll arrange to give you your prize, which is a signed Saints shirt. :smt023

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To be fair, I think he had been giving the ref fairly constant grief for a while :lol:

 

Official attendance: 137 (not including players/managers)

 

Man of the Match as voted for by the players: Alex Griffiths (Griffo)

 

Griffo, give me a call at some point over the weekend and I'll arrange to give you your prize, which is a signed Saints shirt. :smt023

 

Yet again the stay away fans have let us down in a game when all the major bidders were there to see our true potential fanbase before their final decisions to go ahead or not. If any of you REALLY cared about SFC you would have been there.

 

Now no-one will buy us and it's all your fault.

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Did we ever find out who stole the ball that nearly cost us another eighty odd quid?

 

Nice to have met you all, and feedback from the tribe is good, all enjoyed it.

Next time I will be in the stands so thank you all for sharing my swan song match, it was immense and will live with me forever.

 

Thanks to those who organised it, thanks to those that played and managed, thanks to the officials, thanks to the staff at the club, and a massive thank you to the supporters - you were the icing on the cake with your enthusiastic support.

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Well done to all that played. Hopefully something similar can be arranged again next year & i'll definatly be up for it, just need to get a bit fitter in the mean time, i think running round on a pitch the size of SMS for 10 minutes let alone 45 or 90 would quite literally kill me at the moment! Any pics from the evening?

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Thanks to Baj and Steve for organising it. Was a quality evening. I'm sure none of us will ever forget it. Thanks to Nick for managing too, you certainly looked the part.

 

Was good to see a fair few people there to watch too. I'm not as ****ed as I thought I'd be this morning. Thanks again everyone.

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Thanks to Baj and Steve for organising it. Was a quality evening. I'm sure none of us will ever forget it. Thanks to Nick for managing too, you certainly looked the part.

 

Was good to see a fair few people there to watch too. I'm not as ****ed as I thought I'd be this morning. Thanks again everyone.

 

Seconded :-)

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Did we ever find out who stole the ball that nearly cost us another eighty odd quid?

I think it was hidden behind one of the advertising boards.

 

I'd like to say a big thankyou to everyone who helped out, including (but certainly not limited to) Katie and Glen at SFC, Pam on the turnstiles and Baj for arranging the shirts.

 

Also thanks to all the players and managers for making it as easy as possible for me to arrange and then run on the day, and obviously a massive thanks for the gifts, lads :)

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I think it was hidden behind one of the advertising boards.

 

I'd like to say a big thankyou to everyone who helped out, including (but certainly not limited to) Katie and Glen at SFC, Pam on the turnstiles and Baj for arranging the shirts.

 

Also thanks to all the players and managers for making it as easy as possible for me to arrange and then run on the day, and obviously a massive thanks for the gifts, lads :)

 

Would like to add that there was a massive effort in terms of distance traveled by a couple of people, in particular the guy they came from Norway and Dubai Phil.

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Cheers Steve/Baj... fantastic night and real good fun... gutted to lose but it was the true Saints experience!! Throw it away at the death. Thought Influenced was quality, despite the booking! .... left ankle is sore this morning, but despite rumours I am still considering the retirement option, so you better save me a seat next to you next year Hampster!(just in case).

 

Well done to Preb for making the long trip from Norway (minus baggage!) and to Phil for his long trek. I think Silversaint came down form leeds and one of the other lads came from Birmingham so all in all a few miles were travelled.

 

Nice to meet you all and put faces to Avitars!!! .... now will someone please buy the club and we can get on with getting out of League 1:) (upwards movement only!)

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Well done to Preb for making the long trip from Norway (minus baggage!) and to Phil for his long trek. I think Silversaint came down form leeds and one of the other lads came from Birmingham so all in all a few miles were travelled.

 

Quite humbling to hear the mileages that some put in. Hope you all get/got home okay. And well done to the driver (sorry, I forget your name) who made the station in about 7 minutes to get the lad back to Oxford, I'll keep you in mind for the next bank job I plan.

 

Never mind 'hamster' I'm still buzzing like one of those rabbit things that you get from Ann Summers (not that I would know how they buzz obviously).

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It was a cracking evening. A real 'good feeling' after all the negatives of the past season. On a personal note, so, so proud of The Flying Finn, what a way to celebrate a full recovery from a severed cruciate ligament!!

 

A big, big thank you to all those who made it possible.

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Well, it's nice to read a "feel good" thread for once! Just goes to show, despite all the cr4p that's going on and the "divisions" amongst the fan base, everyone can still come together to make an event like this successful... maybe the next one should be Lowe-luvvies vs Lowe-haters! :D

 

Looking forward to seeing some photos/vids of the match.

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On a serious note - does anyone know why they would not consider doing this every year for charity?

 

Spoke with a guy from SMS(sorry don't know his name, in a blue suit in reception) said that they are looking for feedback as to how they can enhance the experience further, i.e pre-match meal, access to players lounge afterwards, enter through players entrance etc...

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When are the pics up?

How about now? :cool:

 

http://www.2amphotography.co.uk/events/saintsweb/

 

We took over 1000 photos so in order to get them done (and get some sleep, and get to work on time today!) I've only done some very basic editing.

 

Without the floodlights, it became quite difficult to get good shots as the second half wore on, as you'll see from the quality of some of the later photos with a lot of noise in them, but they still show some of the key moments, including the winning goal!

 

If you look at any specific photo, use the back button to go back to the last index page... the 'Back to Thumbnails' link at the top takes you back to the first page, annoyingly.

 

[Please excuse any layout errors or bits that look a bit weird on the pages... some of the files may not have uploaded properly and I can't sort them out til I get home later]

Edited by Minty
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anyway we can buy/save certain pictures?

 

Yeah, I need to talk to Steve and Baj about it but they'll be available soon. I just wanted to get a basic gallery online for now.

 

If you know what you're doing you can easily download the small versions that are on those pages, which I don't mind, but I'll sort something out to make hi-res versions/prints available.

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My report. The evening started with us meeting in dribs and drabs in reception. Scud was there and we saw the programme he had gone to a lot of trouble to get done. He still has some left and is still £25 out of pocket and so if anybody wants one they are a £1 and so should PM him. They are a great souvenir.

Granty appeared and gave us our wristbands that allowed us through to the dressing rooms. (it was fuuny to see most of us still were wearing them when we got to Dock gate 4 after the game)

The lads were chatty and after getting introduced the moment to out on the pitch arrived. Some spectators were already there and there was light applause and some cheering as we made our way out to have a kick around.

Baj was soon damaging the seats in the northam with his pin point shooting.'Watch this Gaffer' he said as row z ducked. Bp (the keeper) was leaning against the goalposts picking his nails as Baj got his range. Getting tired off going up the steps to retrieve the ball baj then called on the team to warm up poroperly as on SMS it will 'kill your legs.' Baj had to be substituted with 20 minute to go as both his calves had given up...snigg##.

We went back into the dressing rooms after deciding that we did have a decent selection of youth and experience. Dubai Phil and his sidekick FOS1 the highly experienced manager and coach/player were doing free kick practice and lots of other things that you see the pro's dong before games. FOS1 was a veteran campaigner.. the Somme was my understanding. (ps Fos im heading for 10k posts. Lol)

With anticipation and excitement building the bell went , some of the younger players who are still at school thought it was the dinner bell but was told it was to inform us to go out on the pitch.Photos were taken as the teams were led out by Granty and Baj and there was cheer as the teams were seen by the crowd.

The game kicked off, the Hamster (home side) decided to make presence felt and went into a challenge that late it took about 10 seconds.Thankfully my star midfielder was not injured and Hamster got away without being spoken to the Norwgian ref. As with all these types of games at first there is a lot of misplaced passes and it takes time for the game to settle. Then a moment of brilliance Griffo got the ball and slid the most delightful pass through for The9 to score. The home team tried to respond and Bigdavewatson was a real handful in the air for SaintsmadSi although he kept him in hos pocket when the ball was on the ground as he couldnt use his arms and big a### to knock him off the ball. The Flying Finn alongside mopped up any loose ball and also made some tough tackles. I felt very comfortable especially as Baj took a swing at the ball from 25 yards that was heading to row zz but hit a home teams hand and the ref pointed to the spot.Of course there was a lot of whining form the home side that it wasnt a pen and it was unjust but Baj held his nereve and left the banafactor standing in the middle of his goal not attempting a dive and slid it in to his right. 2-0 and well deseved. A hoof down the middle caught us napping and undeservedly they were back into a game we were controlling. Again Andy Porters endeavour and Neilza on the left were stopping any threat from the home side. Phil tried to change their formation into wingbacks but they were making little impression apart from a few hopeful long balls that were mopped up or confidentiall y dealt with by Si and FlyingFinn and if got past them Bp took the ball comfortably.Forever red and white was working well with LeeSaint and making Griffo free to take on the totally outclassed Justmike who was run ragged until he limped off complaining about his twisted knee. Considering it had been spun around so many times by my superb team Im not surprised. A cracking tackle by Influenced helped the ball break to the9 who superbly slotted the ball home. We now had the right scoreline for the play. FOS1 came on for the last 10 minutes of the half ,a phantom injury (what a surprise!) to one of their team and his old football brain calmed their team and their defence was more solid as he made a screen in front of them. Then disaster struck,from our corner a hoof set up the home team 2 on 2 Andy Porter did his utmost but the ball broke kindly for Granty and his attempt that was such a scuff that it took a divot out of the penalty area the ball bounced into the ground and then upwards over the onrushing keeper who had it covered unti lthe ball took an unusual flight.There was a flurry by the home team and BP had to palm over the bar a tremendous effort by Bigdavewatson (?) Leesaint, Influenced and Foreverredandwhite were controlling midfield and we kept the initiative until

H/T

I was very pleased how things were going, although not only we were to lose top striker the9 who had caused problems all game but our c/b pairing at the break and with trepidation i realised that we had OOOTerryhurlock and a thin and wiry Norgegian Bugenhagen to take their place.The centre of my defence that had been so comfortable even against a good centre forward and now we had a new pairing. My fears were allayed immedaitely as OOhTerry although not a lithe as he once may have been took control and totally overpowered the home sides forwards. Bugenhagen was alongside him and made a couple of very strong and timely tackles. FOS1's old head had realised that they were not going to beat us with silky football. He would call it a good raking passing game although to the educated it would be hoofing to take advantage of our less speedy centre half. Bp was forced to do a little tidying up but in general when I put Bugenhagen into sweeping behind the more solid OOhterry things setttled again with UmBongo and Nielza both coping with any threat coming down the flanks and the skillful MLTheadedgoals linking well with Influenced who was the leader in midfield with tenacious tackling and a will to win. Foxy was linking with Baj and it looked like we were going to regain our 2 goal lead as a chance opened up for Baj but unfortunatley it went begging. I went to the ground holding my head in despair.Baj lay prone but got up limping and Drogba came off for a few minutes milking the crowds applause before going back on again. Bravely he tried to carry on but his head ruled his heart and he dejectedly came off.Andy Porter came on and I switched Griffo up front alongside Foxy and the threat was back again. It was only bananafactors ability to sweep as a keeper stopped the enevitable 4 th goal.

The referee had been obviously been nobbled by phil as he booked Infuence for disssent much to the crowds dismay, and didnt notice the underhand trickery by my opposite number in putting on a sub during play without the referees permission (Bigdavewatson) and although i howled my displeasure he ignored the fact. With 3 minutes left with the game open we broke away Griffo was surley going to get to the ball before their keeper but his boot managed to whack the ball over our defence for their forward to be clean through on goal, a scuffed effort seemed to everyone (fans and players alike told me afterwardsthat it looked as though it was going well wide) that it was missing and the keeper left it confident it would go for a goal kick but it hit the far post and rebounded out to their forward who had the easy chance to stab home 3-3. This was just a minute or so after Baj had sportingly said to me he hopes they equalised as we were there for the day, i answered in my best gutter English that i didn't hold to that, something like 'I dont agree old boy'

The lino now joined in to the fray and as i passed him the brown envelope that had fallen out of his back pocket with Air Mail Dubai across it he failed to flag the onrushing hoike forward who slotted home the unfair winner although he did take it well.

A crestfallen away team had the victory taken from them and a minute later the ref blew for time.

The home side tried to celebrate but they knew they had a hollow victory and it petered out and there was a very sporting shake of the hands with no overhypeing thier victory. i must admit had we won the celebrations would still be going on now, as i think 1 or 2 of our side had practised routines.

As i walked back into the dressing room it was amazing what pride i had in my team. On the night not 1 of them had shirked a tackle and had given their all.We had been strangers only 3 hours before but we now had a bond and friendship that had grown in those few hours.

I went and did an interview for the dvd but couldnt get back to my team to talk to them and enjoy the comraderie that had grown.It is with a tinge of sadness that the team that I had seen grow was for 1 night only and hope that we will do the same again.The Greys I salute you, no quarter given and unlucky to lose on the night.

All of them were tremendous not 1 could not be proiud of their display and if pushed I would put Influenced as my player of the match but there were so many it is harsh to choose.

Thanks lads.The Gaffer

Edited by OldNick
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How about now? :cool:

 

http://www.2amphotography.co.uk/events/saintsweb/

 

We took over 1000 photos so in order to get them done (and get some sleep, and get to work on time today!) I've only done some very basic editing.

 

Without the floodlights, it became quite difficult to get good shots as the second half wore on, as you'll see from the quality of some of the later photos with a lot of noise in them, but they still show some of the key moments, including the winning goal!

 

If you look at any specific photo, use the back button to go back to the last index page... the 'Back to Thumbnails' link at the top takes you back to the first page, annoyingly.

 

[Please excuse any layout errors or bits that look a bit weird on the pages... some of the files may not have uploaded properly and I can't sort them out til I get home later]

 

Great pics Minty, many thanks.

 

Perhaps someone could put name to faces using the photo numbers?

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