Pleasure Park, Grill League Cup Group Stage, 10/8/21
Entrance – £5 me, Wee Man £0
Attendance – 53
Pie – £3.50 pie and coffee
Pint – N/A
Maud Junior Football Club
Founded – 1973
Nickname – N/A
Honours – Grill League Cup – 2011/13, North Region 1st Division – 2003/04
Random Fact – Maud were one of the two teams involved in the first ever Junior game I ever watched (v Ellon United circa 1997)
Today was Wee Man’s turn for a milestone. One he was personally chasing. He was determined to hit 66 grounds at 6 years old. Mission accomplished for him fourteen miles from the house door and with a month and ten days to spare. However, Pleasure Park was not originally on the cards. Logie Park in Forres was to be destination but over the last day or so I noticed a slow puncture on the motor. A twenty eight mile round trip was a better and safer option than a one hundred and thirty. Pleasure Park is a ground I have played and spectated at in the past and once upon a time saw me receive a booking while a substitute. This when a Maud man made a ludicrous tackle on the wing and ended up as good as in our dug out so I stood up and volleyed him as his attempted assault was not on. Incredibly it only merrited a booking which to this day I still have to ask the question, what did the ref actually see to only brandish a yellow card? A red if ever there was on. A revisit it was to be for me, but a chuffed loon makes it worth it and a continuation of his fitba education which he clearly loves.(Plus I got the obligatory thumbs up photo which was not in the collection thus far as my last visit came long before I started).
This was not a classic and will most likely be forgotten in not long, but there were goals, all three being quality in their own way and it threatened to boil over a couple of times so not all bad.
After the days rain the pitch was slick and perfect for the game to be played on the deck, which both sides did try to do throughout. More so Maud in the opening stages and it wasnt long before the Superleague team had the ball in the net. A poor clearance from the Bay centre half dropped at Maud’s 10 who took a touch twenty yards out, as he looked up he noticed the pink clad visiting keeper slightly off his line and quickly proceed to lob him with an unsaveable effort. Quality stuff from the wee striker. The game was barely three minutes old and we were off to a great start. It should have almost immediately been two when a Cruden Bay defender misjudged a ball which he expected to go out for a goal kick. The ball stayed in and the Maud man nipped in and crossed to 9 who really should have done better but his effort was tame. I shouldn’t have got my hopes up for a lively encounter as the game lulled and seriously lacked notable action. For the first twenty minutes Maud dominated possession but did very little with it. Cruden Bay came into the game midway through the half and started knocking the ball about well but again didn’t really do anything with it. Maud continued to have the better (half) chances and finished the half as the better team. Barring the goal it was really hard to find anything of note to report. I will mention the choice of kits though. The home side in the royal blue of their away kits and Cruden Bay in their home of purple. Surely Maud should have been in their home red as royal blue and purple is far more similar. Strange choice I thought and surprising that the referee allowed it. Also another note. The amount of tractors to head through the town during the course of the first half was incredible.
HT – 1 v 0
The second half continued in the same manner. Mostly Maud possession with the occasional bit of Cruden Bay good play but again, very little threat from either side. Maud’s 9 did have a great chance when the Bay number 1 miscued a punch at a corner which travelled very little distance landing at the Maud man’s feet but he lashed it wide past a mostly unguarded net. Number 8 was also guilty of missing a big chance after being on the end of a good move but again the home side were guilty of poor finishing. It came back to bite them too when the men in purple equalised through a superb move. The ball was knocked about between five players covering half the park, this resulting in 10 one on one with the keeper but instead of taking the chance himself laying off his team mate 5(very much the Bay’s best player) who thumped home into an empty net. A very impressive team goal. But what Cruden Bay could do Maud could do equally as well and within a minute the home side restored their lead with a similar team effort to the Bay equaliser but instead being rounded off with a quality volley across the face of goal and into the side of the net from number 8. Goal three of the match and the third that brought a clap out of me. Really good team play from Maud. This spurt of goals and excitement didn’t last and the game troughed again. The only thing of note was a Cruden Bay claim for a penalty. From my view it looked stonewall but the reaction of the Maud defender(4) said otherwise when he jumped to the ground and into the “divers”(8) face and made sure he made his feelings clear with possibly a a sneaky headbutt in the mix. If it wasnt a headbutt then the second absolutley was when the visiting players came in to defend their team mate, 4 directed his cannister and made contact for sure. The referee didnt seem to know what to do and resorted to the usual cop out and booked the original players in the melee, Maud’s 4 and Cruden Bay’s “diving” 8. That was about that for the game and Maud went on to start their Grill Cup campaign with full points and on a whole shaded it and deserved it.
Me still 200, Wee Man 66
FITBAWBAG 