Having been crowned ABSSA 1st Division champions the previous week, RBBFC’s first team had earned the right to some special treatment for the last game of the season. A bus was arranged to take the team from town to La Rosieres. A big crowd was expected for what promised to be a fantastic day. Whilst the pressure of the league title might have been off, the crowd had come to see the best amateur team in Belgian football and the players were eager to live up to the bill….they would not disappoint.

The squad was a little slimmer than usual with Simon Yearsley, Al Lamarra and Diederik Lebbink all unfortunately unable to join in the celebrations. Once again Mark Wrigley had very selflessly offered himself as a sub. The starting eleven therefore picked themselves. Ad Drury in goal, from left to right at the back: James, Massimo, Ali and Xmas. From left to right in midfield: Laurent, Steve, Johnny 5, Matty M with Nils and Hodgy up front.

The game started a little slow. Tourinnois, still battling the drop, were content to keep things tight at the back and hit on the counter attack. RBBFC showed their class on a couple of occasions, creating 2 or 3 half chances following neat, passing moves. As the first half progressed it became clear the Tourinnois defence weren’t going to keep RBBFC at bay for long.

The breakthrough finally came on the 25 minute mark. Following some good work on the right, the ball broke to Steve Lamarra in the box. Surrounded by 2 or 3 defenders Lamarra pulled off some fantastic close control to work himself half a yard. His toe-poked finish would have capped a great individual effort. Unfortunately for Lamarra, still chasing the golden boot, the ball hit the underside of the bar and bounced out. Luckily for RBBFC Hodgson was in the right place at the right time to sweep in the rebound at the second attempt following some heroic defending on the Tourinnois goal line.

Tourinnois nearly went in at the break all square after a minor hiccup in the RBBFC defence. Keeper Adrian Drury, “forced” into taking a heavy touch trying to dribble an oncoming attacker, put the ball right into the path of another opposition player. Thankfully the Tourinnois player lacked the deftness required to lift the ball into the net and the ball sailed well over. 1-0 at the break.

Giving his final half-time team talk of the season, coach McGrath made it clear he felt the team could perform a lot better. Only one team was ever going to win the match but an improved second half display was needed to quench the supporters thirst for more goals. Yet again his words of wisdom paid off.

RBBFC were quickly out the blocks in the second half pinning Tourinnois back. The ball was moving around with ease in the final third and on the rare occasion Tourinnois did venture into attack midfield maestro Johnny 5 was on hand to put a halt to their progress. Matty McGivern on the right and Laurent Legere on the left were stretching the defence allowing the offensive triangle of Lamarra, Hodgson and McGrath to cause danger. One particular move, ending with a sweetly struck, left-foot, half-volley from McGrath, would’ve been a strong contender for goal of the season had the ball not whistled inches over the crossbar.

However, controversy was about to strike. With Tourinnois becoming increasingly aware of impending relegation the game took a violent turn. In a rare moment of madness Laurent Legere lost his cool. Unable to resist the temptation of his opponent remaining inches away from a throw-in Laurent threw the ball into the opponent’s body. The referee, with the ABSSA referee’s inspector in the crowd, had no choice but to dismiss the skilful Belgian with a straight red.

However, rather than encouraging Tourinnois this seemed to galvanize RBBFC and they pushed for a second goal. Eventually it came after another flowing move allowed McGivern the chance to hit a sweet strike on the volley from the right. The keeper, to his credit, made a great save but with the ball ricocheting up into the air and Steve “the gazelle” Lamarra waiting underneath there was only ever going to be one outcome. A solid, well-placed header and it was 2-0.

Again Tourinnois made a half-hearted attempt to rally the troops but to no avail. The RBBFC defence has been quite outstanding this season and to end a campaign of 26 games with only 9 conceded is a credit to their talents and their determination. They might not always get the credit they deserve but the RBBFC back 5 have every reason to be delighted with their season. As the saying goes; “Strikers may win you games but defenders will win you championships”.

With the game coming to an end RBBFC were able to close out the match in style. A long clearance from Massimo Guarnaccia was misjudged by the Tourinnois defender. The ball broke to Nils McGrath on the left. His abundant natural talent was then the catalyst for a crowd-pleasing third goal. With a fantastic first touch and great speed on the ball he easily took one defender out of the equation. This forced the last-man to come across and deny him a straight path to goal. With Hodgson in support on the right McGrath unselfishly laid the ball sideways leaving Hodgson the simple task of slotting the ball passed the on-rushing keeper. The crowd gave its loudest cheer of the day and with it a stamp of approval on the performance. The final whistle blew and the real celebrations began. RBBFC had therefore ended the season with 60 points, 6 wins on the trot, 6 different men of the match and 6 different scorers in these games….what a team!

The support for the first team from all those involved at RBBFC has been a credit to the values of the club and the players were quick to repay everyone…showering them with champagne. A great day for a great club.

MOM: Jonathan Mojena-Rodriguez

Reporter: Andy Hodgson