Internet Foxes vs Northampton Town

Internet Foxes 6 Northampton Town 1
Date: 26th August 2006
Venue: Aylestone Park FC- Leicester

Well it had been a tough time just getting eleven players together for the first game of the season. 
Quite a few people were either injured, on holiday, got other teams to play for or have lost interest.
So we ended up with eleven and two halves - which kinda made 12 players. We got the nets up and are all 
thankful Luke Foster is still growing. Give it a year and he'll be able to put them up all himself. 
Northampton were late and a number of players went the wrong way on the A road. They ended up with 10 players 
as 2 didn't even turn up after they got lost. To balance the sides out we started with 10 players in our team
with Sam Shiels refereeing and Andy C on the bench.
Not long later Lee Stone turned up and he refereed the game with Sam playing for the IF's and Andy playing for 
Northampton to make it 11-a-side.
But as the game started we played 3-4-2 with Stevie P in goal, Bernie M, Luke F and Kev B at the back. 
The midfield was Ronn M on the left, Jon C and Chris S in the middle and Nathan K out on the right. 
Jamie J and a very hungover Luke H were up front.
Actually before the game Luke had mentioned he was injured - he'd dropped a pint glass on his foot the night before!

We kicked off because Jamie J had won the toss - we always new he was a good tosser.
We were heading for the old Linwood Playing fields end which is now just a load of dirt. 
Amazingly during the first half we never put the ball over the fence once. Very impressive considering the accuracy 
of some of our strikers.
We started very well and had them on the back foot for most of the first half. They were initially playing just the
one player up front and he wasn't getting past the three at the back. Our midfield was very strong and had some very
good distributors of the ball. They were calling for it, getting their foot on the ball, looking up and then playing 
it through to either the wings or the two up the front.
Our two strikers were causing all sorts of problems with their pace and weren't giving the Northampton defenders any 
time on the ball - forcing throw-ins in the attacking half of the pitch. We were having all the early chances but 
unfortunately Luke couldn't see straight and Jamie couldn't use his right foot. The Northampton keeper was very strong 
as well and commanded his area claiming a lot of crosses and letting his defence know when he was coming for the ball.
As the pressure mounted we knew that a chance would be taken eventually. And we finally took the lead with the ball 
played out wide on the left. Some good inter-change passing ended in a cross by Luke H (I think), it was a good cross 
but the ball evaded everyone. Jon Clayton however was on the end of it and after taking his time played a great cross
into the area. On the end of the cross was Ronn M and he glanced the ball into the back of then net for his 4th goal
for the Foxes. It was the end of a great team move and a well deserved lead. 1 - 0.
I had Ronn's name in the sweepstake so I'll take all the money next week. Actually we didn't do a sweepstake this week 
but if we had, I would have had Ronn's name. Of course whether Jon C would have crossed the ball to Ronn then would 
have been another question!
Not long after this Lee Stone turned up on his bike and he was more than happy to referee the game so we got the teams 
back to 11-a-side.
At this we changed the side to 4-4-2 with a back four of Kev B, Luke F, Bernie M and Nathan K. 
The midfield was now Ronn M, Chris S, Jon C and Jamie J and up front was now Luke H and Sam S.
Despite the change in numbers the game didn't change much with the Internet Foxes still piling on the pressure.
Northampton were relying on the break and they did this well at great pace unfortunately for them the last ball 
was often over hit or blocked by our defence.
Andy C who was playing for Northampton was causing all sorts of problems with his pace and after one such attack 
poor old Kev B was practically on the ground gasping for air. So if you take into account the quick breaks and the 
pace being used on the wings by Northampton it was a good flowing game.
Fortunately for us we were the next to score with a debut goal by Sam. After a quick one-two in the midfield the ball 
was played through the middle of the defence for Sam to show his pace and some composure in slotting the ball 
past the keeper. 2-0
Not long later the score was 3-0 with a second goal to Sam. The ball was played inside the box and he still had some 
work to do. A defender was in his way and the keeper was coming out to try and block his shot. He turned 
wrong footing the defender and basically mis-hit the ball. It went through the legs of the defender and had the 
keeper going the wrong way. He watched the ball agonisingly trickle past him and into the net. 3-0
With not long to go in the half we wanted to keep a clean sheet till half time. Unfortunately we were unable to do this.
The ball was played through by Northampton's influential midfielder and Luke Foster decided to nod the ball back to 
our keeper like he had done most of the game up until then - unfortunately for Luke, Andy read this and used his speed 
to sneak in between the two! Andy managed to get his foot to the ball and despite Stevie P getting a strong hand to 
the ball it still lobbed over him and bounced into the empty net. 3-1
We should have realised by now that Andy was a threat because not long earlier he had run free on the right just 
slightly outpacing Kev B and with Stevie P coming out to narrow the angle Andy hit his shot well wide. Bernie will say 
he had it covered anyway!
There wasn't much time for other things to happen in the first half and Lee blew the whistle to signal half-time. 
3-1 up and still a lot of work to do.

The second half wasn't going to be slightly as bad as the first after Andy C had to leave to go to work. Northampton 
replaced him with one of their team-mates brother. He was 14 allegedly although he looked he was about 12. 
It remained 11-a-side for this reason and we didn't change the team. Our captain was on the way as well which meant 
all was saved! The second half was very much the same as the first half with our midfield distributing the ball well 
and the defence coping well with the breaks. Our strikers were still making a meal of things with the ball often getting 
stuck in their feet or hitting them on the arse or any such like. One of the players had an excuse for this - he was 
only 16. The other striker however????     Oh well we knew he'd get one on target eventually!
Northampton was causing problems though and we were just managing to clear the ball. They were also a threat with corners 
as they had a number of tall players. We still managed to keep them out. As we were letting the ball do the work they 
were bound to tire at some point but while there was only a 2 goal advantage had they scored they would have got additional 
energy from it and the game would have become a lot more tense.
Jon C now had an attempt at goal and after a great shot that was flying in the top corner the Northampton keeper pulled 
off a great save tipping the ball over for a corner. The game was being played in fantastic spirits and there hadn’t been 
a bad challenge all match. At this point Phil Bray turned up. He immediately replaced Nathan K who had a slight injury and 
rushed up for our attacking corner. Stevie P yelled out that “if he scores with his first touch then I am going home”. 
The corner was taken by Jon C and it made its way past everyone to the back post. Standing there was Phil B who had ghosted 
in. He had time to take a touch and then line up his shot (and as we all know how slow Phil is that means it was a hell of 
a lot of time!). He then let rip with a truly awful shot which was well saved by the keeper and the ball was then cleared. 
It was a good save by the keeper but he shouldn’t have been able to make it as the ball should have been in the back of the 
net!
So happy we still had 11 players on the park and Stevie P wasn’t heading off home the game went on. Northampton attacked down 
the right and their striker cut inside only to be completely taken out by Phil B. So scratch what I just said and replace it with the game was being played in fantastic spirits and there was rarely any bad challenges in the match except perhaps from someone 
who was a bit old, slow and late.
After another Northampton attack the ball went out for a goal kick. With Jon C yelling to take the goal kick short and pass it to one of our very skilful defenders like Kev B or Phil B, Bernie banged the ball long. It was nodded on by Sam and with his pace 
Luke had a clear run on goal. We all went back to our positions expecting a goal kick to be coming soon but Luke surprised 
us and managed to slot the ball past the oncoming keeper. 4-1 up and we could relax a bit.
We started to push forward more and Northampton started to tire a bit more. Bernie was the next to try to go for goal. 
After a pass across the goal he cut inside on the right and had a shot which was going in the bottom left corner, only for the keeper to pull off another great save and tip the ball wide for another corner.
Northampton were a bit under the cosh now and we didn’t let them off the hook. After another attack the ball was crossed over 
to Luke H, he controlled it with his usual great skills and the ball fell to Chris S who just took a first time shot on the turn. 
The ball curled into the bottom left corner and their keeper had no chance. 5-1 and Sam was heard saying to Chris S 
“You’ve still got it”. What exactly I don’t know – that was Chris’s first goal in ages! 
It wasn’t all over for Northampton with the Internet Foxes practically scoring straight from the kick-off. With pressure the ball went back towards their goal. Their defender nodded the ball back only to realise the keeper had come rushing out for the ball. Fortunately for him the ball bounced off the crossbar and came back out. Unfortunately for him the ball bounced straight to 
Luke H. Fortunately for us Luke had sobered up by now and he put the ball into the back of the empty net. 6-1.

This was the final score and it wasn’t really a fair reflection on Northampton. The three goals in the last 5 minutes had made
the game look like a bit of a thrashing. While I think the IF’s were always comfortable, it wasn’t that comfortable!
An excellent start to the season and a great team performance. We look forward to a return game with Northampton later in the season!

Team Profiles!

Stevie P – Played the whole game in goal for which we are grateful as no one else would! 
Conceded one goal but had he had stronger hands and was a bit quicker out to the ball he may have kept a clean sheet. 
Made some good saves and collected the ball well and used his area. 
We were lucky he didn’t go home after Phil’s missed chance although had Phil scored we probably would have put him in goal!

Kev B – As solid as ever. A player in the back you can obviously rely on to control the ball and pass it well to one 
of our players. Oh who am I kidding – has perfected the panic on the ball and long ball clearance technique which serves him 
well. Made some key challenges and despite being skinned by Andy a few times didn’t stop and got back to put enough pressure
on to stop a scoring opportunity. Struggling with the breath a bit and perhaps needs to carry some extra oxygen with him.

Phil B – Well can’t say much more than has already been said above. Turned up late, fluffed a great goal scoring opportunity, took out their striker in the one bad challenge of the game. Didn’t do much else. I did enjoy it when 
Jon C yelled get your foot on the ball and pass it at which Phil replied “What me?! You must be joking!”

Nathan K – a slightly dodgy game by his standards. The outfield lines were on a bit of an angle with new pitches laid
out and Nathan obviously got a bit confused as he seemed to spend the whole time kicking the ball out. 
Still very strong on the right and played well until he had to come off injured.

Luke F – Another great display by Luke despite the fact he was solely at fault for the goal and if it wasn’t for 
him we would have kept a clean sheet. Won a load of headers and did well playing the ball back to the keeper except for 
the one time when we conceded a goal which was all his fault by the way. Luke is very strong and very tall and wins a 
lot in the air which was fortunate in this game given his centre half partner.

Bernie M – Played at centre half / sweeper and controlled everything at the back and if it wasn’t for Luke and 
Stevie P would have had a clean sheet to show for it. Used his pace to cover everything and could even keep up with 
Andy. Was able to get his foot on the ball often and pass it to Chris S, Jon C and Ronn M who were all showing for the 
ball at one time or another. Pushed on a bit in the second half as was out on the right and could have scored one with 
a good shot and could have scored another if Luke H had actually looked up! Another fantastic performance.

Ronn M – Played at “left-midfield” although was given licence to roam about and help Chris S and Jon C in the 
middle of the park. Scored the first goal with a good glancing header. Linked well with Luke H and Sam S when they 
were out on the left and helped pass the ball through the Northampton defence. Is very good in the air and won his 
fair share of headers. No dives and no stepovers which is very disappointing from the team Ronaldo. Mind you 
no one booed him either.

Jon C – A very influential player in the centre of the midfield. He is loud and gets the team going. He always 
shows for the ball even if half our defence like to kick the ball way over his head. Set up the first goal with 
a good cross and could have set up a few more if our strikers were a bit more awake. Takes a lot of the set-pieces 
and most of them are pretty good. Some are truly woeful though (especially the odd corner) and we expect better. 
Could have scored a screamer of a goal but the Northampton keeper made a great save – perhaps Jon should have placed 
it a bit better!

Chris S – Another influential player in midfield who can pick a pass and often sends the strikers through on goal
only to see them stuff it up. Another player that always shows for the ball, gets his foot on it and then plays it to 
someone in blue. Fortunately we were playing in blue this time. Does his fair share of defensive work and does a lot of 
running but then if he wants to play centre midfield then so he should! Scored a great goal and it is about time too.
Has still got it – apparently.

Jamie J – played up front and then later at right midfield. Didn’t score but worked very hard. Made some great 
challenges coming back and winning the ball off of the Northampton midfielders. Still can’t use his right foot. Had 
one good run where he tried to score a goal like he did last season against Northampton but the ball just kept running 
away from him so he couldn’t have a strike on goal. The ball does seem to run away from him quite a bit – can’t think why. 
As already mentioned – a winning tosser.

Luke H – arrived looking a little worse for wear. Also played with a beer injury so well done for the commitment 
front. Got better as the game went on and as he started to wake up. Could have and should have scored a hat-trick 
but missed a few good chances. Went on many good runs but did his usual thing of once he got the ball, his head went
down and he only had one thing in mind. Anyone in a better position was never going to get that ball. I guess that is 
the sign of a good striker and his scoring rate shows that. Caused the opposing defence all sorts of problems with his 
pace. Ran into the corners well to collect our defenders well placed long balls / panic clearances. As his record also 
shows, when he scores one goal, he often scores two or three although he would have been shot if he missed the second 
one.

Sam S – debutant who played very well. Another youngster helping to bring the average age of the team down. Was 
supposed to play in midfield but ended up front and then scored two goals – both of which were real flukes. Seemed 
to perfect the art of controlling the ball with his backside during the game. He also had a part in one of Luke’s goals 
and had a very lively game. Good signing but he needs to stop telling people they have still got it because he might 
end up isolating a few of the older crowd! Looks like another player who can partner Luke up front and puts added 
pressure on Tom M which is a good thing!

Andy C – need to mention him even though he never played for the Internet Foxes during this game. Only played 
about 35 minutes but made a big difference to Northampton’s side injecting a lot of pace and go forward. 
Scored a goal gifted to him by Luke F and Stevie P and could have scored another but put his shot well wide. The rest
of the time was covered by Bernie who wasn’t the least bit worried by him. Need to mention that he actually turned up 
this time having been a no show in the previous 3 or 4 attempts!

Thus brings the end to another match report. These are quite tedious to type and I can’t see myself doing this all 
season but I’ll do what I can, when I can.

Next game – Grimsby away Saturday 2nd September – IF we can get everyone there!