A couple of Heard on the Sidelines from the Wainui game

Ref: 'When I reach into my pocket I won't be getting my credit card'.

Wainui player to Rauru after scuffle: 'get out of it pretty boy', Aaron: 'That's the first time he has been called a pretty boy', Wainui striker: 'Welcome to Wainui'.

Okay, lets just get this pony thing out of the way

Let the caption contest begin!

Monday Match Report

Wainui 0, Stallions 2 

This week it was the big trip to the ‘Nui.  If this was a practice road trip for larger trips to Kapiti and Masterton, then the turnout of many players at 12:27pm doesn’t bode well.  Time to get those baked beans in earlier.

Conditions:  Fine with a chilly southerly. 

Game started fast and with Bakky warming himself on the sideline, I was restored to my glory days up front.  Why is there so much damn sprinting?  Is this why Carrick hardly talks during the game? 

The wind and length of grass made passing a bit difficult but the game was good quality with both sides having chances.   

The pony award was earned at about the half hour mark.  While lining up a free kick from the left, Gerald gave me the secret nod ‘this is coming to you buddy’.  He duly sent it in over a couple of defenders.  With no one to beat, I rose, closed my eyes, and nodded the ball over the crossbar.    

Half time it was 0-0 but the Stallions have been second-half specialists this season.  This was challenged when the Stallions went down to 10 men and it was one-way traffic.  It wasn’t looking good at all until Phil (the man for the big occasion) Bak chanced his arm from 40 yards.   I’d like to use words like ‘piledriver’ or ‘daisycutter’ to describe the shot but ‘stern backpass’ seems best.  Not sure how the keeper let it through. 

Fair to say, it broke the ‘Nui.   

It was Stallions from then on.  Rauru, after a bit of nose-to-nose with a centre-back, ping ponged his way through 3 defenders and slotted home.  A good, battling goal.  2-0.  Game over.

Huge games from everyone on the park.  Paul was immense in goal, the backline (Graham, T, Aaron, Paddy/G) put on one of the best shows of the season, Milky was up to his usual standards, Dan was seen defending two sides of the pitch??  Anyone else? 

Looking forward to someone else wearing the pink this weekend…

Ha, has Nick ever been part of a team that doesn't take the piss out of him?

'Island Bay created a multitude of chances in the first half and really should have been 3 up in the first 20 minutes. Alas it took an ageing bald centre back to show the attackers where the back of the net was, as Nick Goodall got on end of a great cross from Sumit Kumar to score a tremendous headed goal.'

Stallions 2, Wainui 0

God that win looks good on paper, but it was a bit tougher than it appears: playing with that wind with 10 players for most of the second half, scoring a couple and keeping a decent team out (first clean sheet of the season!) was a damn fine effort.

2 pretty odd goals:
Bakkie from (what was it Bakkie  - 60 metres?, drawing a Brooks out of their keeper and celebrating like he had scored the best goal in the world)
Rauru the most exhausted goal I've ever seen - just waited to be tackled until the moment came he decided, screw it I may as well throw out a leg.  Graham with the near-but-not-quite-assist.

Stallion: Bakkie - All hassling aside that goal for the ages broke the deadlock, and at a time when we were under the hammer.

Pony: The Stallions have had 4 wins a row now - has Heath being Pony every time? This time he led the halftime argument that we should make all of our substitutions (well, our one substitution), and then broke down with a pinged hammy 5 minutes into the half leaving us with 10 for the rest of the game. I can see Tim smiling right now!

Since Heath will likely be on the sidelines for a couple of weeks Graham will *ahem* 'be wearing the pink' on Saturday as reserve Pony, and Heath has promised a match report!

Goals of the season?

Those polls never really worked, but we should keep a running tally on here on the best goal of the season.

What are the nominations (not counting of course what is going to happen today)?

Staccies finally win something

Every year the best and brightest of the Stallions battle it out for Fantasy Football supremacy. This is where the brains of the Stallions are revealed. There is only ever one true champion (except for that time when Tim somehow snuck an underdog victory - but this year he has folded like QPR).

So with 2 rounds to go, I think its time for everyone to admit defeat and offer their concession speeches. There will be those who proclaim that they don't care, lost interest and haven't changed their team for weeks (these will be the same people who sign up first next season and will be all in until they find themselves at the bottom of the table and 'lose interest' again).

Then there are those who tried really hard but just do not have the chops and plain suck (Rauru, Nick). To give some credit, there have been some challengers this season - who have at least raised my eyebrow occasionally - Gerald, and especially 'the little engine that could' Heath. He's played well (including an inspired captaincy of Charlie Austin on a double game week which brought him within 40 points of the untouchable leader.) There is even the slightest of chances that with 2 weeks to go and 50 points to make up he might just be able to nudge ahead - but that's a bit like saying Liverpool might win the Premiership.

So here's how it looks. The reason Tim plays so hard is that Rauru always jokingly promises that the winner can play striker for the Stallions. Since I've started striker the last couple of games (with a Charlie Austin-like goal and assist to the good)  I don't even need that charity.

Until next year losers, and can we please get some new contenders ...

Stallions 3, Tawa Bulldogs 2

Bulldog striker eyes up the back of the net

3-2 - its how we do it.  Classic Stallions pre-match, a scramble to get started, a genius decision by the captain to change ends and play into the sun, kick off begins - and then within minutes 1-0 down - the opposite of last week. A great goal though, beautifully lobbed into the net. All on from there ...

Our goals were good - worthy of a sentence each

Carrick (Aaron assist): Graham and then Lloyd clear danger down the right, Aaron through ball to set Carrick off - a hell of a lot to do - 20 meter run, around the keeper, great shot.

Logan (Gerald assist): Second half, absorbing a lot of pressure. Gerald and Heath causing carnage down the left all half, some great interplay results in a cross from Gerald right to Gus's head who nods it in and celebrates Cantona style - like he does this everyday. A GREAT team goal.

Milky (Carrick assist) - goal of the game - possible one of the most simple but perfectly executed. Carrick destroying their D again, fires across an inch perfect ball to Milky who finishes perfectly (joked later that he has upset Carrick found his left foot).

As Dan said in the email, the win puts us to second-  bizarrely with a neutral goal differential!

While we are winning on the park we are losing in terms of bringing drinks to games and also awarding Stallion/Pony. Lets call for nominations again:

Stallion nominations:
Somewhere in there Carrick has to get it - chose your moment really, but probably the ball through to Milky to win the match.

Or, Paul's double point-blank save during the ugliest of goal mouth scrambles was pretty special - how the hell did they not score?

Pony nominations:
Paul - waving their second goal into the net.
Paddy - the worst back pass in the history of the Stallions: waist high, to Paul's left, with quite a bit of power. Paul did amazingly well to control to the point where inevitably the striker took the ball from him - how we recovered there again who knows?
Others?

Once you go black you'll never go back

...or so says my wife anyway...

The unveiling of the new strip went off more or less without a hitch (no keepers jersey and our old one is black) with a good, but closer than needed, win over Masterton.

Aaron will tell you that he was the first scorer in the new strip but no one would believe that, not even the ref who awarded the goal to Heath. Bakky even had his goal attributed to Paul (who was in goal but wearing the #9 shirt. I so wish I had left the scorers listed as they were when I sent it off to Cap Football.

Here's a few more photos to please the sponsors. Big thanks to Graham and Welman Technologies for their generous support to the Uni Stallions. If you have any website demands,  make sure you get in touch with Graham.

Stallions 3, Marsterton 2

Lets face it - all anyone cares about is who scored the first goal in the new strip. The rest don't matter.

Okay, maybe some - we need a Stallion and a pony. Nominations?

Stallion: Paul - that lovely tap onto the bar and then recollect?

Pony: Struggling to think. Any nominations? A couple of those conceded goals in the first half seemed caused by error? Can anyone be blamed? Can Rauru be ponied for pulling his hamstring on Anderson Park AGAIN?

One of the best heard on the sidelines ever:

Tangihaere: 'Go on, smash him - get sent off!'. Chris - who Tangihaere just offered to be smashed looks sheepish.

Goals:

Aaron

Bakkie

Milky (Heath)

New Strip - its true

First day of the 2008 season - here the Stallions are in their new, shiny strip (Damn, its only Nick, Paddy and I left). This strip has seen us well - promoted from Div 7 to Div 4, attracted many fans, and struck green and gold fear into opponents from Wainui to Island Bay. Over the last (shit!) seven years, the strip has shown its age - especially on those wet, muddy days when it feels like a sail. Tomorrow, it gets retired (or becomes a second strip).

Yes, the new strip has arrived.

We will save the reveal for tomorrow. Expect a more simple and clean design (arguably a little too clean!), a return to the look of the original Stallions strip, custom numbers, a new (and non-alcoholic) sponsor across the front, new strip manufacturer, and yes, a good fit (sorry Bakkie, you get the XL you ordered last season, not the L you say you need now). Well, we hope for a good fit - the twilight boys will recall the really 'snug' fit strips we got last season. Only Rauru has tried one on.

So, we clearly need another pre game team photograph before these strips hit the mud of Anderson Park - so lets try to get there 5 minutes earlier than normal, and someone bring a camera. Who knows - in 7 years when we get the new 'geriatric' strip we can put that photo on the blog in place of this one.

God, look at that team - losers - no wonder we were stuck in Div 7 for so long. Goodall, Robin, Hodges - ha!

And of course, lets not forget - bad things can happen when you do shit like this. This photograph was taken 5 minutes before the following:

http://unistallions.blogspot.co.nz/2008/04/and-ludlow-curse-strikes-again.html

So what colour strip do Masterton wear? Not pony pink like our new one? Bring normal black shorts/black socks.