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Old Wulfs travelled to Glades this week off the back of their 10-2 thrashing at the hands of Walsall Phoenix the week before. This was a must win game for Wulfs as only goal difference was keeping Glades from swapping places with them at the foot of the table.
Things were looking good from the off with Skelly Thompson recovering from a scrotal infection just in time to make the XI. Mike (the hammer) Garner and Paul (I'm getting a new Beema) Janos also returned to the starting line-up meaning Gary (Speedos) Dimmack and Sam (the lips) Cole reverted to defence and Nick Ling moved to the bench leading to protests from his fans.
The game started well for Old Wulfs with lots of possession and some joy down the channels for Skelly and Janos. Mike Garner and Stuart Wright were also having some joy down the flanks and were making the most of the fact that Glades were rubbish. This opinion was cemented when some inept Glades defending led to the opening goal after nine minutes. Failure to clear their lines saw the ball eventually fall to Paul Janos ten yards out after some good approach work form Adam Hughes, Janos making no mistake as the finish came off the underside of the bar and crossed the line. A great start for Wulfs in an important game.
The first half was one way traffic, Wulfs pounding away at an incapacitated Glades and showing no mercy. They went further ahead through a Skelly Thompson strike thirty-eight minutes in and at half time it should have been four or five. The best first half performance was from linesman Nick Ling, who stole the show with some great, impartial decisions that helped to stabilise the game and make the refs job a lot easier. Lingy was spotted by a match officials scout on Saturday and would have been in the World Cup Finals team for next year had it not been for a nasty finger injury that effectively ended his linesman career. This is good news however as it frees him up for a return to the starting line-up for next week.
After some half time praise from Manager Sheena Marsh, Wulfs began the second half much the same as the first - sheer domination. Glades were however putting up a little bit of a fight this half - although they were never really a threat with some resolute defending from Stuart (the rock) Drury. Incidentally, Stu has recently taken over from Peter Kay as the new face for John Smiths brewery. The first advert is said to show a young lad ball juggling and doing lots of fancy tricks, when from out of nowhere Stu Drury comes flying in and breaks the little tykes legs and back with an overzealous challenge.
The scores stayed the same until the introduction of mercurial midfield wizard Nick (the face) Ling with twelve minutes to play. No sooner had his feet touched the turf than Mike Garner popped up with the third - and what a third it was! Adam Hughes skinned about twelve of their players before laying it off for Mike Garno to strike from thirty yards. Unfortunately, Mike was challenged late and ended up on his backside so was unable to see the ball he had just rifled spank off the underside of the crossbar, hit the floor and back into the roof of the net. It was indeed the best goal of the season so far.
There was still time for Andrew (Radox) Skedgel to bag the fourth with a fine left foot finish following up from good work, again by Adam Hughes.
A great win to move Wulfs two places up the table and closer still to mid-table mediocrity. Great performances on the day from all the back four, Adam Hughes and Skelly Thompson. Special mention to Sam Cole for a commanding performance at right-back (well he never was a striker was he!). Highlight of the day was Marshy's story about how many times he had snapped his banjo. Lowlight of the day was when he actually showed us his banjo.
Final score: Glades Athletic 0 Old Wulfrunians 4.
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