Classics Hold the Aces and Win the Game of Patience...........
It was a beautiful summer evening at McLeod Athletic Park in Langley and the Classics took the field looking to build on their excellent start to the season. Ex-players Al Burton and George Wadsworth were guests of honour in the crowd. The early pressure was all at the Langley end of the field and Mike Snow had three efforts in the first five minutes which were all unfortunately off target, unless of course he WAS trying to hit the corner flag!

In the bright sunlight it was hard to discern Doug Smith but some extremely tricky footwork on the right wing, resembling something that Ronaldo might have conjured up, had the fans close attention. Was it his dazzling silver boots or his dazzling footwork? Unfortunately for the flying doctor the ball ran out of play after his show of skill.

The first goal came after 7 minutes when Larry Thorlakson was on hand to fire in from 15 yards after a sustained spell of pressure. After the opening goal the Aces were packing their defence to good effect. A combination of poor shooting, some good defending, and a lack luster performance from the Classics meant that the remainder of the half was uneventful and petered out.

The second goal came in the 52nd. minute after a powerful run from Rick Geary ended when the ball was passed out to Billy Ranger who was lurking on the left wing. Ranger centred and ex-Classics player Paul Davies fumbled the ball but Ray Marrington was there to pick up the pieces and hammer it home to increase the lead.

The referee was maintaining a good hold on the game but some off-side decisions were very questionable. The Aces play all their games at home in the summer league and McLeod Park is artificial turf. The contractors must have agreed a special deal with the Aces as they built into the field a “Bermuda Triangle” area of the pitch where players are drawn towards, and when entered they mysteriously disappear. “Innocent” referees are unaware of this phenomenon and when they emerge from the area they are still on-side. Hmmmmm!

The Surrey Classics (TSC) turning point came when Langley broke through only for Dave Moore to get a timely block to send the ball out for a corner much to the relief of Garry Hackel (pictured). The importance was immense as the game could have turned there. Ten minutes later Langley pulled one back with a great goal. It started from a free kick which was powered against the underside of the bar. The ball bounced down onto the line and, as coach Erker was having flashbacks to 1966, an Aces forward was on hand to hammer the ball into the roof of the net past the hapless Hackel, who otherwise was having a quiet time of it.

The lead was short lived though as a few minutes later Billy Ranger was on hand to restore the two goal cushion. Martin Chipperfield was then cautioned after a deliberate hand ball when he accidentally forgot that he wasn’t in goals. Soon afterwards, Chris Arcari continued his recent scoring run when he chipped home from 22 yards. The 1-4 score flattered the Classics after a relatively poor performance but sometimes the result is more important than the performance.

Stats:

MWG: R. Marrington
Yellow Card: M. Chipperfield
"You Were Crap" award: D. Moore