Sheddocksley, AAFA Division One (East), 30/4/25
Me still 343
Football Club Polska
Founded – 2007
Nickname – N/A
Honours –AAFA Division 2 (East) – 2023/24.Barclay Cook Cup – 2023/24.
Random Fact – The club are the longest serving “foreign side” in UK football
A great man once said “Football, bloody hell”. Sheddocksley made the saying ring true and then some tonight. This pretty much had it all raising heart rates to dangerous levels across the Thistle touchline throughout the night. This despite looking like Ellon being on easy street early doors after Michael Moffat and Callum Donald sent the visitors into a an early two goal lead. With the teams meeting last week at the Meadows sharing 13 goals, was this to be another high scorer? Yes put simply. But it was a lot closer than the 9 v 4 a week ago. The game could easily have seen another 13 if Thistle took their chances in the first half with Donald and Moir spurning big chances. When you come to somewhere like “Sheds” you just want to come in, do the business and get as far away from it as possible as the overused pitches usually complete with tyre tracks (no different today, as were the quad neds zooming about) can be a leveler. Thistle did have the ball in the net for a third time and looked to be flying like the above planes coming and going from ABZ. This when Moir swung in a fantastic corner which was met by the head of David Coutts. I am sure most thought that was game set and match even though it was early in the match. But oh no, that was not to be the case at all. Polska nabbed one back straight after Thistles third when a slack ball from Coutts found its way back into the box leaving Przemyslaw Nawrocki to slip the ball under Thistle keeper Morris who although closed the angles was helpless. This clearly rocked Thistle as did the roughhousing from Polska that was clearly the tactic this week after being beaten by football last week. The dark arts were apparent but there were blatant fouls that referee Finney was clearly doing nothing about. This while picking up Ellon for the slightest of things. Polska were leaving feet in, elbowing, kicking out and just being shitehouses in general. But don’t get me wrong I am all for this and feel it is missing in the game these days. But when a referee fails to deal with it, it sends the message that its fair game and it increased as the game got older. The ref even saw an elbow to the face off the ball then spoke to the assailant once the ball was out of play saying he cant do that. Incredible. Especially while booking Thistle players for asking questions about the off the ball antics and late challenges. A referee has a job of looking out for the welfare of the players involved in a match and this guy was failing miserably. Then there were offsides being called against Thistle that were yards onside while Polska would have been as well just putting a striker on the goal line given the offsides they were getting away with. Then came a stonewall penalty being denied when Moir was viciously scythed with two feet from behind in the box. There were also a couple of occasions where the referee allowed the game to restart without the whistle blowing, but only when the white team were restarting. The officiating was so one sided I genuinely could not believe what I was witnessing at times and it all played into Polska’s hands as they got stronger and stronger as the half went on. It may sound like I have my Thistle tinted spectacles on but this was truly shocking. I thought the poor officiating at Maud last night wouldn’t be beaten for the season. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This was arguably the worst I have ever seen.
HT 1 v 3
Polska started the half as they finished the second and fair play to them as they looked good and were pinning Ellon back. You could see a goal coming and the inevitable happened when Damian Adamczyk rose brilliantly to place a header across Morris. From a neutral point of view. Game on. From a Thistle point of view it was potentially a disaster unfolding. It almost got worse when Konrad Hyszomierski fired a bullet off the post. This Thistle goal was just waiting to breached again, and Polska sensed this and upped their dirty antics to try and make Thistle wobble and it was working as the referee allowed it to work. Thistle were all over the shop being perfectly honest. Then against the run of play Cammy Moir took advantage of a goalkeepeing error from Omernick as he smashed the ball in from around 15 yards. Breathing space again but it was not to last long as Polska were given a penalty and Ellon reduced to 10 men when Tom Blakey palmed one past the post on the goal line. Two rare correct decisions for once in a game littered with refereeing errors and Adamczyk struck the penalty past Morris despite the best efforts of the Ellon keeper. So close to a great save in the bottom corner but it was not to be. Half an hour to play with a man down. It didn’t seem a recipe for anything good. Surprisingly, Thistle then restored the two goal lead when Moir slammed home his second of the game as he fired once again from distance into the bottom corner. What a night of fitba we were being treated too. The ten men had got their noses further in front again but like before it was short lived as Polska made it 4 v 5 with a goal that from a spectators point of view was too easy when Robert Pawlak was picked out with a through ball which went past too many Thistle men was finished well into the bottom right corner of Morris. My heart was doing summersaults watching this unfold given my fondness for this great wee club. It was almost a heart attack when Polska made it 5 v 5 and heavily aided by another clear offside that was ignored. As the ball was played, the Polska striker was well off, the ball took a nick off a Thistle man slowing the ball to land perfectly for the offside striker to knock the ball over Morris and drop in the goal. How on earth this was allowed was truly unbelievable. This causing outrage from the large Thistle support on the side line and eventually leading to the referee stopping the game to call over manager Les Forbes to send him off for failing to control his sideline. At this point I had a feeling this may have been down to me for telling the ref “you are quite easily the worst referee I have ever seen in all my days”. As it turned out someone else had told him to “fuck off” and that was the reason Les was sent on a long walk, which amusingly saw him met by police as he walked towards the changing rooms. But to be honest there were many expletives sent in the direction of the official from all areas of the sideline given his substandard performance, fuck off actually seemed pretty tame compared to others used. A point of note though, I am sure a referee has to warn a manager first before a red card. This did not happen. With not much room for error so late in the season was this the night Thistle let a possible promotion slip? Step up talisman Michael Moffatt. A ball down the left saw Moff get in behind and cut towards goal and unleash a fine arrowed effort across Omernik and into the far side of the goal sending the Thistle sideline and players into a frenzy. But given the few minutes left and the nature of the game this far, nothing was a given and Polska were denied in the last minute when Adamczyk snuck in as the Thistle back line relied on Morris to come out and collect, the forward got there first but Morris stood big and saved it with what looked like his shoulder. A save that could end up being invaluable as seconds later the final whistle sounded and Thistle had added another three points and returned to the summit of the league with three games to go.
As stated above, Alex Ferguson was right when he uttered those words in Barcelona. Sheddocksley may be a far cry from the Nou Camp but fitba is fitba whether it is the Champions League or AAFA Division One (East). The sport entertains at all levels and what a show from these two teams tonight and hats off to everyone involved. Except the referee.
Entrance – Free
Attendance – 44(when i counted but fluctuated)
Pie – N/A
Pint – N/A
FITBAWBAG 