The best managers aren’t just tactically astute, they keep a disciplined dressing room and ensure the squad is all pulling together. A mini crisis was averted tonight when both Monkey Allen and Clarkeycat were dropped from the starting team after returning late to pre-season training. This bold manoeuvre from Rocko hammered home the message of this being a team not a collection of individuals. The days of the entire club revolving around the celebrity of Brian Tinnion are long gone.
It was a gutsy call to drop the two top goalscorers from last season and an even braver decision to call up bland Fran in their place. But it was a move that paid great dividends as TFK got their winter campaign off to the perfect start, securing a 2-2 home draw against WTS.
Indeed but for a woeful performance from co-captain Rocko it could have been ever greater. The gaffer was laid low all week with a dose of the 'flu and careful to avoid a Ronaldo at the '98 World Cup Final situation, this fact was kept secret all week. Unfortunately the team’s talisman was wasteful with chances that came his way and culpable for the WTS equaliser that forced the draw.
There was an element of controversy about that goal. Before a free kick was taken, Rocko asked for the game to be paused while he bravely retrieved a flare that had been thrown onto the pitch. No sooner had he flung the object off the pitch but WTS resumed play immediately and Rocko never properly recovered his position, allowing a deft 1-2 from the visitors to present a goalscoring opportunity that wasn’t turned down.
Earlier WTS had taken the lead after a swift counter-attack from a wasted TFK corner. A numerical advantage for the visitors was indicative of a sluggish retreat from the TFK team and though Bandage saved the initial shot the ball spun wickedly over his prone body and onwards into the unguarded net.
The response from TFK was swift and decisive. Cesc4 latching on to a through ball, cleverly lifting it over the goalkeeper and the last defender and nudging it home on the goal-line for an exquisite goal. Things got even better when Fran impressed the watching scouts from lesser teams with a tidy (possibly volleyed finish) after a move of such breathttaking beauty it would break my heart to even begin to describe it.
The concession of the late equaliser notwithstanding this was a terrific performance from TFK and a real boost to their hopes of avoiding the drop this season.