When Saturday came and just sort of fizzled out...

From Our Brussels Correspondent

The hush of the double digit crowd was deafening as the 1st Vets ran…dribbled out individually onto the pitch. Top flight football (almost) was back at the Stadium of Dreams (sort of).

The pitch looked good. Most of the holes had been filled in, there was grass in both goal areas and it even looked relatively flat. Even before the game began there was a dressing room crisis as El Capitano reluctantly agreed to release Nick to the 3rd team. No subs and against a team with the full 17 on the team sheet! The captain was in no mood for the team to rest on its laurels and spelt that out in his team talk.

However, the game started well as British picked up where they finished last year by dominating the opposition. The story of the first half was one of British pressure but the ball failing to hit the back of the net. The bar, inside of the post, goalkeeper and players getting into each others way somehow conspired to prevent the ball from crossing the line. The defence coped easily with the fleeting opposition attacks and it appeared only time until British finally scored.

Half-time: 0:0

The talk at half-time was of securing the goal that would settle the nerves and surely open the flood gates.

Despite using their allotted substitutes the pattern of the second half was the same as the second, sustained British pressure but with no reward. Gerry C hit the inside of the post (again) only for the ball to come back into play. Jez lined up a couple that went wide and as the half went on the situation became more and more desperate.

This began to filter through the team as the rare oppositions attacks were dealt with less and less comfortably, with the ball all too easily given away and players beginning to fade (oh for a substitute!). Just as it seemed that the game was destined for a 0:0 draw, the ball was lost in attack. A hopeful ball over the top caught the defence out of position and the ball was in the back of the net.

British valiantly raised their game for the final two minutes but to no avail. What appeared to be a game where two points would be dropped turned out to be three and a losing start for the season.

Full-time: 0:1

British Match Statistics:

Team: Turner, Lees, Mulholland, Ljung, Martinello, Bajraktari, Dixson, Murray, Swartjes, Nevin, Cain.
Subs: None.
Shots on target: Too many to count
Shots in the back of the net: 0
MOM:
Broken noses: 1