Match Report

European qualifying continued last night in a bad-tempered encounter between struggling teams at the Riverside Chamber of Dreams.  These matches are gaining a reputation for stifling entertainment in the interests of gaining a result and last night was no exception.  Some players did try to play their natural game - there were several mazy runs down the right wing - but, inevitably, all attempts at open play were snuffed out by robust defending.  Claims that players had literally been "stabbed in the back" in the penalty area were waved away, the referee booking several offenders for diving. Indeed many of the participants seemed too intent on playing the opposing man, rather than the ball.  Tempers frayed and that match official called over The Blues captain for a lengthy finger-wagging lecture.  Opposing players surrounded the referee attempting to influence him to issue a red card.  This merely incensed the crowd who could be heard shouting "you don't know what you're doing" and "the referee's a w**ker," from behind the crowd barriers at the shed end.  The match descended into farce when the opposing captain attempted to go home with the ball.  There was some doubt whether she should even have been on the pitch at this stage after persistent ungentlemanly conduct or, indeed, whether it was her ball in the first place but her actions only served to galvanise The Blues into some last ditch defensive action.  They immediately played the ball towards the corner flag in a blatant attempt at time-wasting and began a complex parliamentary version of the Mornington Crescent tactic. This frustrated the opposition and allowed the home side to get some more players on the bench although the officials appeared powerless to enforce the "no alcohol" rule usual at these European events.  Eventually, The Blues did get their result.  I spoke to their manager afterwards who told me "sometimes it's not about how you play - it's just the winning that counts.  We haven't been playing well recently and just to get some points on the board is a relief."  Quite what the usually secretive owner thought about tonight's debacle we can only speculate - how she must be regretting signing that 5-year contract.  So once again, the only winners in this game will be the players whose salary and bonuses are contractually fixed.  The fans, meantime, went home disappointed with dreams of qualification for the European Knock-Out stages in 2017 hanging by a thread.