TLW at the HJC Cup
| Tournament Goals - Mick Furlong (4), Rene Dif, Terry McDonald, Alex Woo, Cain Connolly, Dave Usher
Venue - Playfootball, Crosby
Date - Sat 24 May 2009
Star Man - Cain Connolly |
TLW were in action in the HJC Cup last Saturday, but despite a valiant effort the lads went out in the group stage after suffering three defeats from six group games. It started well for TLW, as goals from Mick Furlong (2) and Rene Dif gave them victory in their opening game against EURED.
Unfortunately they followed it up with a 2-0 defeat in their second game against 'The Frontline'. The scoreline didn’t reflect the even nature of the game, which was in the balance until late on when TLW were caught on the counter attack whilst desperately trying to force an equaliser.
The Liverpool Way lads - or ‘Real Liverpool Way’ as they were for this competition seeing as some cheeky bastard had registered a ‘Liverpool Way’ team despite having no affiliation with TLW - felt aggrieved at the officiating of this game. There were numerous contentious decisions and repeated cynical play from the much more streetwise opposition, but the punishment never matched the crime.
Usher was almost the victim of a particularly nasty challenge, but luckily his cat like reflexes helped him avoid a clattering as two opposing players ended up kicking eachother instead of him. Still, the ref had a good laugh about it, not bothering to have a word about the dangerous attempted tackle from behind, instead choosing to say “haha it’s a good job you kicked your own player there lad!”
He found it even more amusing when Usher was denied a shooting opportunity by a fallen opponent, who just decided to handle the ball as he lay on the floor to prevent the shot coming in. Having a free kick in this kind of game is actually more of a handicap than anything else, as the opposition can just stand over the ball and prevent the taker from doing anything with it. 'The Frontline' made full use of this and gave away numerous fouls whenever TLW had a sight of goal.
With seven teams in the group, there were often lengthy delays between games, and TLW had a 40 minute lay off between games two and three. That’s not ideal preparation, and it showed as the floodgates opened, with five goals conceded and none scored. No complaints though, the scoreline may have been harsh but there was no doubt that TLW were second best in this one, despite having numerous chances to score. The opposition, ‘The Judean People's Front’, would go on to win the competition, so congratulations to them.
The lads problems with the ref would get worse in the next clash however, a game that ended 2-2 against ‘CCO’. After falling a goal behind, Alex Woo levelled for TLW with a tidy finish on his first start of the day. Furlong added a second, but the lead didn’t last long as keeper Dan Thomas was beaten by a deflected free kick that went in off the post.
Both Usher and McDonald were denied by the woodwork as TLW piled forward looking for the win they needed to keep them in the tournament, and the game ended in highly controversial circumstances when the referee blew for time just as the ball arrived at Furlong’s feet in front of the goal.
Furlong had been involved in an exchange of words with the official in the first game, and was warned he’d be sent off if he opened his mouth again. The young midfielder apologised to the official immediately after that game, but it didn’t do him any good as the referee was seemingly determined that TLW weren’t grabbing a late winner. In no other game did he blow for time when a team was about to shoot, and this was ridiculous.
The subs protested, but the official responded with ‘You’re not on the telly you know, I don’t wait to see if you score before I blow for time’. More protests followed, which were dismissed with ‘It’s always the refs fault. All those chances you missed, but you blame the ref”. Only for the TLW boys being huge fans of the FA’s ‘Respect’ campaign, this fella would have been in deep trouble.
So bad was the official’s performance, that even Ice Cool Dane Rene Dif completely lost his head. ‘This referee is terrible” he was heard muttering under his breath. Given the defender’s normally quiet, calm demeanour, this outburst was akin to Drogba losing his head with Tom Henning Ovrebo the other week. Team-mate Alan Morgan remarked
“I’ve never seen Rene like that before, he was absolutely mildly irritated.”
TLW’s hopes of qualification were virtually over now, and even a win against their next opponents 'San'Saddle', wouldn’t necessarily have made any difference. But to have any chance, they needed a win, and to do this they would need their star players on the field for the entire game.
It started well, as combative Ulsterman Cain Connolly opened the scoring with a cool finish after being found by McDonald. San’Saddle levelled soon after with a fine individual goal from their star player, and that’s how it stayed until a couple of minutes from the end, when keeper Thomas made a stunning save only to be left helpless as a San’Saddle player pounced on the rebound. Two more quick goals followed as the lads slipped to a 4-1 defeat.
The final game was now no more than a dead rubber, but there was ‘website’ pride to play for as the opposition were fellow LFC fansite ‘This is Anfield’. TLW raced into an early lead, with goals from McDonald and Usher, but TIA came back to lead 3-2 before Furlong added a deserved late equaliser.
The draw ensured that TLW finished on five points, in fourth spot in the group. The two teams to qualify from the group went on to do well, with The Judean Peoples Front lifting the trophy and San’Saddle finishing third after losing their semi final on penalites after conceding a last minute equaliser.
TLW at the HJC Cup (May 23 2009) Exclusive Photos
Squad: Dan Thomas; Rene Dif, Mick Furlong, Terry McDonald, Alan Morgan, Cain Connolly, Alex Woo, Dave Usher:
