More Bouncebackability and the return of ‘Old Man’ Obi

ATB FC were buoyed by the news that our ageing forward ‘Old Man’ Obi had finally managed to clear his busy schedule of monopoly tournaments to find the time to play for the out-of-form boys against ‘Greg Walsh FC’. Despite his previous lack of commitment to the team Manager Maticevic’s need for a striker to replace a certain Polish striker who’d dropped out meant the Mancunian magician was back in the team.

The boys were strangely confident heading into the game partly because Greg Walsh FC hadn’t won a single game (and therefore were unlikely to test their inconsistent keeper who had a virus), and partly because we were playing on our lucky pitch.

The team’s performance was excellent from the off, with the Old Man capitalising on a lazy Carragher-esque back pass to mark his return with a goal through the keeper’s legs (made a nice change to see it happening at the other end).

Obi was delighted with his return to form

The whole team were playing well with the Old Man’s immobility complimented well by Brown’s pace in attack with support from Maticevic and Atherton. Despite his advancing years, Obi still managed to harass the defence from beginning to end with plenty of efforts at goal.

However, at 1-0, Greg Walsh FC still threatened with promising and sustained attacks, meaning the gangly goalie was called upon to make some low diving saves to keep the Boy’s advantage going into half-time.

After the break, ATB FC stepped up their attack, with the pressure eventually paying off for another Obi goal. At 2-0 the Boys’ defence seemed to drop off, with the mazy dribbling skills of Greg Walsh FC often leaving Sam ‘the Rock’ Butler alone against 3 attackers.

Fortunately Davies was on form and managed to put his face in the way of several shots – including a particularly painful stop in a one-on-one. The Boys continued to link well in attack though, and Brown finally got in on the act with an assured finish from a through ball by Obi.

Man of the Match and Tab reporter – a real renaissance man

At 3-0 the result seemed certain despite Greg Walsh’s continued pressure. Davies’ rare burst of good form ensured ATB FC kept only their 4^th clean sheet out of 14 matches.

In the post-match interview Martin ‘The Boss’ Maticevic was delighted “After his mental breakdown (probably associated with Alzheimer’s), it was really encouraging to see Obi return with some serious form. To be fair to Greg Walsh FC, they were nice lads and we really enjoyed playing them”.

Despite Obi’s fantastic performance the man-of-the-match award went to your very own reporter thanks to some impressive saves despite battling a virus. Atherton was valiant enough to take the wooden spoon this week after a fairly average performance by his standards which included an embarrassing nutmeg.

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