*NOTE* This has been a long time coming, but take a quick look at the trailer below to get an idea what this is about...
Event- 28th May, 7pm, Fareham Town’s ground, Cams Alder Sports Stadium
By Simon Reed (CSA at the West Moors Co-op)
Being the last two of the Co-op team to arrive at the Cams Alder Sports Stadium my fellow colleague Russell and I had just enough time to don our yellow co-operative shirts and take to the pitch. We little idea what to expect from the game, but personally, I was very nervous.
As we lined up next to the All Star team in front of a crowd of around 300 I couldn’t help but notice that their teams titular player, Lee Bradbury, was strangely absent from their line up. This was no weak side we were playing though, as Darren Anderton, Sammy Igoe, Joel Partington and Linvoy Primus-all ex stars or current pros- were all lined up against us.
It didn’t take too long to find out that we were no match for the All Star team. The game quickly set into a pattern of constant All-Star attacks, with our team unable to get hold of the ball for more than ten seconds.
One of our main problems was opposing player Darren Anderton, of ex-England/Tottenham fame, as he was near impossible to get the ball off. He knew exactly what he was going to do with the ball about an hour before he got it, and none of our players had any answer on how to deal with him. Or the All-Star team in general.
It was a great achievement then, that the game stayed 0-0 for the opening 20 minutes. The inevitable did occur though, when the All Star’s broke through, and then made it 2-0 shortly after. I believe it was at this point that many of our team realised the game could turn into the rout we had feared and expected.
Fortunately, the compete lack of attacking threat we had displayed up to this point worked in our favour. A few minutes before half time my colleague Russell entered the All Stars box, and was held off by ex-Portsmouth player/man mountain Linvoy Primus.
Primus did obviously not expect a Southern Co-op worker to be capable of turning him and blasting the ball into the bottom corner. But that’s exactly what Russell did, and all of a sudden we were only 2-1 down, and actually back in the game.
Sadly this act of resistance was like awakening a sleeping giant and the All-Stars quickly regained their two goal lead to make it (a still respectable) 3-1 at half time.
Our half-time team talk pretty much consisted of attempts to be more organised and have a better shape, so that we wouldn’t be ripped to shreds like in the first half. But when your opposition consists of ex-England and Premiership professionals we all knew the aim was damage limitation.
Unfortunately in the second half the All-Stars were still running right through us; but at least in this half we were each organised enough to know where to be on the pitch to allow them to run right through us.
Lee Bradbury however, finally turned up, and seemed in a playful mood, helping out one of our players when he pulled up with cramp and laughing off one of our players when he hauled him to the ground. Bradbury failed to score as I recall, but the All Stars still racked up three more goals, making it 6-1 at full time.
Overall though, we were a more consistent attacking threat in the second half, and it was only the ball hogging antics of one of our forwards that meant we failed to add to our goal tally of one. Even near the end when we decided to throw all our players onto the pitch, meaning we outnumbered the All Star players at around two to one, we still failed to score.
With the final whistle going and the score 6-1, most of us realised that being a mere team of convenience store workers, only losing by five goals to such an incredible team of players was probably as good as any of us could have realistically hoped for
Well done to all those who played, as well as thanks to those who came to watch, as all the money raised through the event went towards the Help For Heroes Campaign.
