A Fairytale U-turn in Fortunes for BUFC 2
By Jon Warne

"Second to the right...and straight on till morning!"- was the description of how to find Neverland in the J.M. Barrie classic. We should have expected, therefore, that a football team of the same name would be similarly hard to find as BUFC went up hill and down dale in search of not just a stadium, but a long overdue win.

The team looked strong, and with the rare luxury of substitutes the air of anticipation was evident. Pre-match rituals of half-baked warm ups and drilling shots over and wide of the goal were kept to a minimum - but the message from captain Fitzgerald was clear: shoot on sight. The match started brightly, and clearly 'high flying' Peter Pan were not expecting BUFC to come out of the traps as fast as they did - energetically closing down their creative players and harrying defenders into rushed clearances. The looks on the faces of their subs said it all - this doesn't look like a team with only one point this season.

Two quick and skilful forward players were marshalled by a BUFC back line of Jooles, Daniele, Richie and Tanel who restricted Peter Pan to various pot shots, 'Hook-ed' clearances and over hit crosses. Peter Pan accomplished what Tony Adams couldn't - and hit the bar only once - during a first half where BUFC continually probed forward - the pace and skill of wingers Stéphane and Jens causing particular problems. As always, the midfield was patrolled tirelessly by Simon and Benjamin, and their determination to win every loose ball and stop Peter Pan from playing was mirrored by all the outfield players, and time after time the opposition was frustrated. Up top, strikers John and Will were making their presences felt, and were taking up Fitz's advice of shooting on sight - Will was close to pulling off a long range dropping volley that even van Basten would have tipped his hat to. Half time came, and a call to arms was needed. Fitz echoed what everyone else knew - it was the most energetic, controlled 35 minutes of football so far this season that had a decent opposition on the back foot - but only half the battle was fought, and it would all be for nothing should a second half collapse occur.

Cue a second half where Peter Pan showed themselves more than capable of matching BUFC's physical play - and a few tackles went unpunished on Stéphane who was proving to be more than a thorn in the Peter Pan side. Calls from the BUFC bench for the Peter Pan team to 'grow up' were falling on deaf ears. The dissention and fouling was all to the BUFC advantage, however, as Peter Pan seemed incapable of getting the ball on the ground despite the howls of frustration from their manager. BUFC tanks were draining though, and substitutes Jon and Vincent were called into action in place of Tanel and Will.

At last, the spirit, if not the play of BUFC was rewarded as a cross fell to Ben who took his time before hammering a right footed shot past the keeper who had found himself in Neverland, er, I mean No man's land. 1-0, and well deserved. Peter Pan were desperate to hit back, and spent the remaining 15 minutes re-enacting the Zulu assault on Rorke's Drift, but the goal advantage meant that BUFC had something to defend, and were not going to surrender lightly. The last few minutes seemed to last an eternity, but despite several dangerous chances the BUFC goal remained in tact. The opposition were speechless - a superb performance from bottom of the table BUFC had made Peter Pan look like Lost Boys.

In conclusion, an outstanding display by one and all, and an excellent basis for turning the season around. There are far worse teams than Peter Pan in this league and if the effort and determination can be replicated week in, week out then an ascent up the table is inevitable. Here is the player breakdown:

Fitz- Cat like performance to put the ghosts of last week to rest.
Jooles: Solid as a rock. Defender in the old school style: "If in doubt, put it out"
Daniele: Class freekicks, class defending, class act.
Richie: Cajoled, encouraged, stood firm. Mellberg would approve.
Tanel: Powerful, solid performance.
Ben: Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Quality goal, Trojan performance.
Simon: Creative midfield dynamo, broke up play (mostly the oppositions) and kept the passes flowing.
Stéphane: Constant threat- pace and direct running will always cause problems.
Jens: Excellent debut from the Germanator.
John: Strong physical presence, constructively criticising and encouraging as always.
Will: Defied the laws of nature to play well (again) while heavily under the influence.
Vincent: Fresh legs and a calm head helped the team cross the finishing line.