BAGGIES vs POTTERS

BAGGIES vs POTTERS


At half-time, the baggies were leading the game 2-0, no one expected the potters to make a comeback, thereby denying the baggies the 3 points that they were sure they would have secured, were it not for mistakes in their defences and a pair of stunning strikes, both coming off the “find of the season”,DJ.

1st half

The baggies were remarkably quick to get off the mark, with Abhinandan scoring with just 5 mins being played in the game. It was no surprise when the baggies celebrated after that particularly sweet shot from Abhi, as everyone was expecting that to happen, sooner or later, given Abhi’s history of goal scoring. Then, around 2 mins later, a long throw from C.V. produced a window of opportunity for the baggies to go 2-0 up, But, the strike from X was not awarded a goal, as the throw from C.V. had its first bounce on the other half of the field. Celebration instantaneously became frustration as there was an ensuing argument about the decision, however, the decision by the linesman Kart, held.
The potters created their own chances, with Prak and Ar working well together, almost scoring once but the shot from the latter was agonizingly close to being a goal, but sadly was not, because “less than half of the ball went over the post” according to referee Dash. C.K. played consistently thought the first half, and was part of the baggies’ 2nd goal, assisting R.sid to goal at the dying moments of the first half.
The first half concluded soon after, but not before another strike from X was denied the worth of a goal. This one was a lofted shot that made Sai stretch to the fullest, but eventually miss the ball. This shot, even though much clearer and much less controversial that the first, was almost equally frustrating.
Half-time : baggies 2- potters 0

2nd half

The 2nd half was much the opposite of the first, with the potters dominating the game in all aspects. The number of potential goals increased and so did the mistakes made by the baggies. With X trying to pull off a clearance, he almost did an “issi” as the ball went rolling the direction of the goal, which was well protected by C.V. The corner that followed was the answer to many spectators’ doubt as to when the baggies would concede. The short-corner, taken by Ar, arrived at Prak’s feet, only for him to cross one in to DJ , placed well inside the box, to set up the potters’ first goal.
As the time remaining decreased, so did the morale of the baggies. They looked shaky, even quite desperate,wth X failing to capitalize on the corner by C.K, which the former tried to volley without controlling, and so ended up completely missing. The following play would result in the potters’ and DJs 2nd goal.Apowerful strike from his right foot, left C.V. to decide whether to duck or not, and the moments hesitation was enough to put the game the way it started.
Not much more can be said about the 2nd half, apart from the fact that with the passage of time, the number of players going to ground increased, and so did the number of fouls being given. And when the final whistle was sounded, the teams left the pitch feeling that a few more minutes could have tipped the scales to their balance.

Full time- baggies 2 – potters 2.

Quote: “…with DJ ‘potting’ 2 well deserved goals, the baggies tried, but failed to ‘bag’ 3 points, and were forced to settle with just one…” - X.