Juno United vs D&C ATHLETIC

Juno United 4-2 D&C Athletic
Sunday 27th September 2009
William Scholes Playing Field

After the massive boost of a win the week before D&C were looking confident as they stepped onto the pitch today. They faced a new team to the division, which on most occasions works in the favour of the established team.

With Juno being a young team, D&C aimed to use their strength and long ball game to cause problems for the young inexperienced kids. It was Juno however who took the lead first, after 2 minutes, pouncing on a seemingly over confident and sleepy defense as the Juno striker beat any D&C defender to the follow up of a spilled shot to round the keeper and place easily into the goal.

This woke D&C up, and they started to look slightly more dangerous. Jordan Clough won repeated free kicks on the left hand side and was duly rewarded. Around 20 minutes into the game Atem Eyong rose at the back post to head a Tom Owen free kick across the 6 yard box so that Clough could poke it home for the equaliser.

D&C could have had a second identical goal but Gareth Harley was adjudged to have been offside. Jake Taylor saw a snatched volley flutter by moments after. Dean Couling snatched nothing but saw his strong right footed volley saved by a full stretched Juno keeper.

At 1-1, D&C looked in control and kept using their height advantage and long ball to trouble Juno. On 40 mins Adam Cummins' long goal kick from his hands found its way to Atem Eyong who was released one on one down the left hand side. Eyong, who scored an identical goal last week, saw his Henry-esque side foot palmed away but only as far as a switched on Jordan Clough who reacted quicker than any Juno player to calmly side foot his second and celebrate with a working mans flip. HT 1-2.

D&C encouraged from taking the lead into the half, again came slow out of the blocks. Within 5 mins, Juno took advantage of some more confused marking and their striker managed to bobble an equaliser over Adam Cummins.

Despite this set back D&C dominated possession, yet without really creating many chances. Atem Eyong saw most of his shots blocked or closed down and Mike Burt saw his biggest chance gobbled by an oncoming Juno keeper. It was Juno who took the lead in the second half when a mistake by Tom Owen at the back allowed the Juno striker through on goal. Adam Cummins was more than equal to the shot and the rebounded shot but a third was too much as Juno lined up to take turns.

After a flurry of substitutions, D&C went for broke. Pushing further up the pitch and had plenty of chances to draw level. Most notably was when Nick Kiefer was played in 8 yards out and struggled to get a kick at the ball eventually being dispossessed. As they kept pushing Adam Cummins came up for a final corner, leaving an empty goal behind. Juno played the ball ahead (to a player who the Referee later admitted was offside and he had made a mistake) and placed the ball into the empty goal to finish the game.

D&C will be disappointed to not take at least a point from this game. They will be looking to the the return fixture at home with the idea of getting some points in mind. Take nothing away from the new boys, they showed grit and determination and hopefully D&C will learn from this game and move forward.


GK - Adam Cummins
RB - Mark Stanley
LB - Dean Couling (C)
CB - Tom Owen
CB - Jake Taylor
RM - Martyn Barlow
LM - Jordan Clough (Matt Davies, 70)
CM - David Slater (Andy Barlow, 65)
CM - Gaz Harley
CF - Atem Eyong
CF - Mike Burt (Nick Kiefer, 60)

Unused Subs - Paul Watkins

TO

Extract of a Kiss

Ryan looked into her dark brown eyes. Like pools of chocolate they drew him closer, begging to be stared at. He looked at Scarlet, her hair cascading down like an avalanche of carnal desire. He knew that she hadn't spent long attending to it, and this only made her more appealing. She seemed to do nothing wrong in Ryan's eyes. He found this strange as he had spent a lifetime dissecting the women that had come into his life, finding faults to devoid his own happiness.
However, this girl was different. He could sense that. She seemed effortless. And made him feel effortless. Like he could truly be himself. But this had the unusual effect of ruining all the 'game' he had. But every time he appeared nervous, she just giggled.
Ryan put his hands tenderly on her shapely hips. He felt her sides. They felt as he imagined them to feel when he first saw her. Toned and defined yet still soft and curvaceous.
"I've waited all night for this embrace." he said as he held onto her protectively. "I wasn't sure of how you felt."
Scarlet looked at him with amusement. She knew from the moment they met she wanted to kiss him, but she couldn't help the gratification that came from seeing a man of such stature helpless for her.
"And what makes you think I feel anything?" she mumbled while desperately trying to disguise her glee. "I mean, are you sure I want to kiss you...?" she continued, worrying he would lose interest.
Ryan smirked, "who said anything about kissing? But good to know whats on your mind!"
Scarlet blushed, knowing the sexy mysterious facade was fading quickly. She had never been very good at flirting, but now more than ever, she wanted to woo this man.
Before she could even consider her next move Ryan used his surreptitious hands to firmly pull her closer. He did with such vigour it shocked her, but with such control his strength calmed her.
Scarlet's soft lips were exactly what Ryan had imagined, and her kiss was ten times better. Pressing firmly at first he gently softened the pressure to make the kiss linger, that way he knew Scarlet would feel butterflies as if kissed by the perfect man. He moved one hand from her waist and caressed her cheek and neck, causing shivers down her spine and goosebumps to form on her arms.
They both knew that this was the kind of kiss that was the beginning of something beautiful and their lives would somehow change.
As he pulled away, Ryan gazed into Scarlet's eyes. They were the most divine he'd ever seen. They were so innocent and inviting, he could stare for hours. As Ryan looked, he realised that he loved this girl. And this terrifying feeling was one of utter delight and sheer worry, combined. This girl had ventured somewhere no one had ever gotten near before. His heart. Scarlet had the power to make or break him, and the very fact she was unaware of this made this burning feeling even more intense.
Ryan took Scarlet by the hand and continued with the evenings festivities. They both felt an spreading warmth inside, a mischievous emotion, guessing that they knew something the other didn't. They however, felt exactly the same. They were falling love.

This is just an attempt by myself at fiction writing.



TO

D&C ATHLETIC vs Edgeley Villa Reserves

D&C Athletic 5 - 1 Edgeley Villa Reserves
Sunday 20th September 2009
Lacey Green

This game marked the first round of League Cup and while D&C like to concentrate on the league this game was vital for confidence and fitness after a tough loss the week before.

Edgeley started the brighter without creating much as it took D&C a while to switch on. However, when they did the improvements D&C have made began to show. Playing nice football is beginning to pay rewards for D&C and for one game at least, they looked dangerous from set pieces. Martyn Barlow's right foot became hot property for 89mins as he was swinging corners in all game with purpose.

The deadlock broke after 15mins with a Barlow cross that sneaked past a leaky defense and miraculously straight into goal. D&C could have doubled the lead when a deflection fell to Atem Eyong on the penalty spot with a open goal, but...he missed...badly.

D&C kept pressing with most of the possession. Atem Eyong had a chance to atone for his TERRIBLE miss and hooked onto the end of a route one kick from Adam Cummins and calmly chipped the grounded Edgeley keeper.

Matt Davies return from work duties added more width to the team and the flanks kept opening for D&C and just before the half finished a Dean Couling cross made its way through the 6 yard box to Atem Eyong at the back post for his second.

To their credit Edgeley came out from the second half with renewed vigour and pressed tightly, managing to subdue D&C's dominance slightly. However, this didn't last long as Edgeley were reduced to 10 men. An Edgeley player reacted badly to an altercation for the second time and after a fracas from both teams was eventually resolved the game continued.

Ironically, with their reduced numbers, Edgeley rallied and pushed harder forward. They pounced on a sliced miss kick from Cummins and scored with a half volley from 25 yards.

This woke D&C up who knew that 3-1 wasn't safe and they pushed harder, again scoring from a Barlow corner. Jake Taylor popped up in the 6 yard box to poke the ball into the net from the scrambled defending.

Atem Eyong finally got the hat trick to make up for missing and open goal in the first half. Turning a defender on the left hand side he made his way into the area, cut inside, and finished nicely into the top right hand corner. Seeing Adebayor at the weekend inspired him to run to the corner flag to celebrate to the capacity crowd of 3.

All in all this was an encouraging performance from D&C. From an encouraging debut to countless chances D&C showed more to give. However, they must not rest on their laurels as there was plenty to work on before the next game.

GK - Adam Cummins
RB - James Wallis
LB - Dean Couling (C)
CB - Tom Owen
CB - Jake Taylor
RM - Martyn Barlow
LM - Matt Davies (Will Gayle, 60)
CM - Cole Smith Mk.II (Mark Stanley, 75)
CM - Gaz Harley
CF - Atem Eyong
CF - Mike Burt (Matt Wharton, 65)

Unused Subs - Paul Watkins, Nick Kiefer

TO

Unwritten Rule of Life #6:

"saying 'Your Mum' wins ANY argument...EXCEPT...if shes dead...then, well...you're a c*nt"

Peover vs D&C ATHLETIC

Peover 4-0 D&C

Sunday 13th September 2009
Peover Park

With the new fine system in place D&C look to be going to the Bahamas with their off season tour as the winding roads of Cheshire again managed to fox the highly intelligent members of the squad causing a few late arrivals.

This appeared to show on the field as D&C started slowly but steadily nonetheless. There seemed to be relatively few chances early on for both sides with Peover looking slightly more dangerous.

After 15mins the D&C captain, Nick Hughes, received a nasty facial [injury] from a clash of heads and had to be subbed off to go to hospital with a broken nose. The team missed the solid anchor in front of the back four and goals followed. The first came courtesy of a missed tackled by vice-captain, Gaz Harley, in the penalty area through which Peover's striker calmly finished past Adam Cummins near post on 20mins.

D&C stayed united and worked together for their chances. Atem Eyong nearly converted a well placed cross from a Tom Owen free kick, narrowly heading wide from 5 yards out. Striker, Mike Burt, also had a couple of shots narrowly missing wide.

However, Peover were 2-0 up before half time when the referee missed an off-side call and then recovering defender, Owen, miss timed the interception of the cross to which the Peover star striker chipped the ball over Cummins leaving Owen in the netting trying to redeem his mistake. A relatively united D&C then began to bicker again going into the half leading to a hairdryer treatment from gaffer, Andy Barlow. HT 2-0.

The second half didn't see much improvement with most of the play going Peover's way early on. Within 10mins, Peover were 3-0 up thanks to loose marking on the left hand side allowing a bobbling strike to skim off the dirt and make its way in off the back post with little Cummins could do. That being said, when called into action Cummins showed why he is regarded as one of the best Goalkeepers in the division making repeated camera saves.

D&C then changed to a 4-3-3 formation in an attempt to push for some goals to make the game more interesting. The change appeared to spark some life into the team and Eyong had a few chances to get some efforts at the opposing Goalkeeper were it not for some dubious challenges (not that he wasn't lucky to not be carded himself.) D&C brought on some fresh legs up front in Paul Watkins after 70mins.

However, with D&C pushing forward, Peover took their chances on the counter and this paid off again when they won a corner on 75mins. With the new formation D&C were left a man short when marking from corners, despite being shouted they remained a man down and one unmarked player managed to poke a toe at the ball and put it in from 5yards.
D&C had a few chances late on with Eyong crashing a header into the crossbar and Harley having a shot whisker past the post.

All in all, D&C had a mediocre to poor outing. All players know they have things to work on and this will surely come with match fitness. With lots of new players the team needs time to gel together. This being said, the team was surprisingly supportive of one another and apart from a couple of occasions were a million miles from the bickering team they have been in pre-season friendlies of late. Some pros and negs to take from this game but D&C should definitely not be disheartened by this result.

Onwards and upwards.

GK - Adam Cummins
RB - James Wallis
LB - Dean Couling
CB - Tom Owen
CB - Jake Taylor
RM - Nick Kiefer (Paul Watkins, 70)
LM - Martyn Barlow
CM - Nick Hughes (C) (Cole Smith, 15)
CM - Gaz Harley
CF - Atem Eyong
CF - Mike Burt

Unused Subs - Andrew Barlow


TO

Film Review: Funny People

It firstly should be noted this film is LONG. At 150mins running time its a test of patience. And there is only so long one can potentially laugh for so I wouldn't watch this with a tired mind.

The premise is simple. Adam Sandler plays a famous stand up comedian who is dying of a rare disease, only to be told his radical medicine is working and he has a second chance at life.

Sandler plays the role of a faltered star with redeeming lovable qualities well and portrays a character you both emphasize with and want to slap.

Seth Rogen continues to be type cast as a bumbling idiot, but not quite as idiotic as his friends. He plays this role fantastically well, but theres only so many times he can accept these types of films before people begin to want more from him.

Leslie Mann just simply annoys the hell out of me. She has a strange face which is attractive but completely not at the same time. And her very presence in yet another of her own husbands (Judd Apatow) films is enough to make me angry. Can she not get an acting job without his involvement? Same goes for their kids...do their paychecks just go back to him?!

As for the film, the length hurts it tremendously and while there are plenty of terrific stand up shorts that are full of great comedic content the rest of the film lacks any punch or quality to keep you from looking at your watch.

I'd rate this film a rather low 5.3/10. For me 5 says I don't resent using my time watching the film but wouldn't recommend. This is one of those times.


TO

Unwritten Rule of Life #5:

"fantasy is ALWAYS better than reality, keep it in your head and enjoy the simple things you've got"

TO

Unwritten Rule of Life #4:

"sit back, relax and enjoy......Theres still time for a coke and popcorn"

TO

Film Review: (500) Days of Summer

This 'offbeat' romantic comedy is stylishly made and refreshingly different. The story follows the never ending hope of one man and the crushingly honest uber b*tch female.

The film is a perfect antidote for those who are tired of the standard Hollywood Rom Com al a 'The Proposal'. It is told from a juxtaposed perspective, therefore one gets to see both the highs and lows in comparative positioning rather than the normal chronological technique.

That being said, the film appears to just confirm what most already know and one can only but cringe as the stars make the mistakes we all know they are going to make, and appear to do so regardless.

The general consensus for this film appears to be above average and I would tend to agree. I'd give this film a 7.7/10.

TO

Unwritten Rule of Life #3:

"99 out of 100 women are clinically insane, so when you find that 1, appreciate her. However be aware the odds dictate most of her friends will be absolutely f*cking crazy"

TO

Unwritten Rule of Life #2:

"Anyone that calls THEMSELVES a legend is automatically NOT a legend, and remains NOT a legend for all time"

TO

Film Review: District 9

With this summers blockbusters being relatively disappointing I wasn't expecting a lot from this film. The trailer and premise for the film do very little to reflect the true epic nature of the story.

Like it or not, the style is different. Much like Cloverfield, it is filmed mostly in handheld style as it follows the main character on a journey of self discovery and metamorphosis; both physically and mentally.

It is easy to understand why the film is set in South Africa and the sharp sociopolitical undertone is clearly evident. When one starts to consider the aliens as a metaphor rather than a different species then there becomes an empathy that attaches oneself to the characters making the viewer truly care about the outcome of both 'heroes'.

As the pace of the film gathers, the handheld style gives way to true cinematic techniques. This is remarkably done, as with the rest of the movie, and doesn't knock the film off course.

Even the way in which the lead character swears becomes hilarious rather than annoying throughout the film. His thick South African accent appears to switch to a Liverpudlian one with every "f**k" he shouts.

I'd rate this film as an epic 9.1/10. Its takes a while to fully engage but when it does the messages and plot soon become clear and are fully enjoyable. One of the films of a generation that will be talked about for some time.

:)

TO

Unwritten Rule of Life #1:

"Never spend too much time with your girlfriends male friends, its not natural and looks like you can't find your own"

TO

Can Dreams Come True?

This is something everyone has to ask themselves in life. Everyone has a dream. A goal that appears unreachable, or at least difficult to obtain. In this instance:

1. A wild fancy or hope.
2. A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration: a dream of owning their own business.

The key to this question depends on which number you believe is more accurate. I find personally it hovers between the two depends on my mood at that time. If I am feeling confident and good about everything then my dreams and aspirations appear reachable. When I am not my dreams seem to change to something attainable.

This is another area for consideration. Aspirations can change. Priorities alter as much as daily life. But does the idea of the original dream ever disappear? This is where resentment can harbour if a person feels they could have achieved their dreams but something out of their control stopped this from happening.

This is why as a friend or partner it is your duty to support people in their dreams for as long as you can, even if you feel it is a lost hope. The fact remains that if you were in the way of their dream then they would resent you for it and it wouldn't be worth the pain it would cause.

That being said, you have to hope that the person in question will constantly prioritise their dreams to know exactly when it passes over from achievable to unachievable, if it ever does.

I've heard the saying "dreams are like rainbows, only idiots chase them", however i'm a fan of self-actualization and if you never try you'll never know.

Dreams can come true, but ironically you need the very people that the pursuit of those dreams potentially hurt. It's something that has to be considered and constantly revised but definitely to be undertaken.

Peace

TO