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It was a cold, windy and dark Tuesday evening that Wulfs travelled to the depths of Smethwick for a must win encounter. Richard Marsh and Nick Ling arrived some time before the rest of their team and were lucky not to have been mugged or raped given the venue. It was bad enough that they were wearing a shirt and tie let alone the fact that Marshy's Beamer attracted a little unwanted attention. Not as much unwanted attention however as Lingy's pink shirt - he may as well have worn a sign that said, "Make me your bitch!".
The game kicked off a few minutes late and got off to a frantic start with Smethwick pegging Wulfs back. The Smethwick formation was causing havoc in the Wulfs midfield and they were getting the better of the game through some good runs from deep. They opened the scoring just after twenty minutes after having the majority of the play.
Wulfs were not going to back down that easily however and Lingy was proving that in the Wulfs midfield. Although he could not get anywhere near the ball as has been the case so often this season, he still managed to foul a few opposing players and get a ball in the face and a bloody nose. Andy Carey was cursing the fact that he would have to use more of his Vanish stain remover on Lingy's blood stained shirt. Wulfs battled their way back into the game and deservingly got the equaliser on 34 minutes. A great delivery from a Sam Cole corner and a fantastic jump and powerful header from Skedge brought the game level. Although he was playing at left back, Skedge appeared to be one of Wulfs strongest attacking threats and proved this with a few menacing runs down the flank. Shades or Roberto Carlos and Kenny Samson from the big-headed wonder.
Despite Skedge's brilliance, Wulfs failed to hold onto their lead and an unfortunate own goal from Stu Drury and a good near post finish meant they went into the break 3-1 down. They were also unfortunate to lose inspirational player-manager Gary Dimmock to injury just before the whistle. Roll on Sean Walkden - back from his exile for his first game since late September.
The second half was a sorry affair and football definitely wasn't the winner. The first 15 minutes or so were quite miserable with both sides having few clear cut chances. Then came a moment that would change the game completely. Stuart Drury hacked down Smethwick's lanky midfielder just outside the box with a hard but fair challenge. Their player saw red and leapt to his feet striking Stu in the face. This was followed up by minor scuffles and Andy Carey waving in his face and saying, "bye-bye!".
He had to go - there was no two ways about it in anyone's mind except the cowardly referee. He chose to not see the incident and booked both players to the obvious disgust of some of Wulfs more senior players. This incident left a bitter taste in the mouth that was washed away by the reward of a very dubious penalty in Wulf's favour 10 minutes from the end. Andy Carey dispatched the pen. with aplomb to notch his 5th of a very successful goal-scoring season.
Wulfs however weren't finished there - conceding goals that is. Straight from the kick-off after scoring, for the 4th games in a row, Wulfs conceded a sloppy goal. The heads went down after this and another one soon followed to make the final score 5-2 to Smethwick.
Disappointing result despite a half-decent performance. Good performances on the day from the workmanlike front pairing of Tomo and Sam Cole and also an assured performance from Rami Labib at the back. Sean Walkden also did very well on his return. Wulfs were left the rue what might have happened had their player been sent off and had the ref not been a complete plonker.
Final score: GNG Smethwick 5 Old Wulfrunians 2.
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