It’s not long since Vets 1 were taking Azur on in Vets Division 1 (6A). We had a disappointing return of 1 point from two matches in the 16-17 season – you can read all about the 1-1 draw with them in the February 2017 cold here. We were keen not to flatter to deceive on a sunny October day in 2021 in as we took them on in Division 6B.

Only Christensen and Rice survived from the 2017 squad. Christensen was only fit enough to be on the bench having tweaked his groin at Monday evening training. Who trains on a Monday in their mid-40s? Or indeed on a Wednesday when another 5 limped off!

Still, Captain Lolo was delighted by the response of the troops who strapped up their ankles and thighs, changed their weekend plans and generally displayed extreme commitment to the cause. JC joined us from the threes for his first taste of the big time and rampant Vets2 loaned us true blue Chelsea boy Nigel for the weekend.

4-4-2 was the chosen system. Costa joined Nigel up front. Ed and Horacio in the middle of the park, with Thierry left and Cian right (Editor’s note: Cian is always right). JC and Oli as full backs, Totti and goal machine Moreuil in central defence. Tommy, clean sheet machine, in goal.

The ABSSA refs were obviously all injured too, Sylvain assumed whistle blowing duties for the second home match on the trot. Merci Sylvain!

We started well, pushing Azur, in their unsurprisingly blue shirts, back towards their own goal and leaving their sprightly striker isolated against our 4-man defence. Then Horacio tweaked his groin and Lolo re-shuffled the pack. Shielsy alongside Moreuil. Totti to left back, JC into midfield.

The pattern of the game was uninterrupted, us pressing, their defence holding firm. Nigel was holding the ball up well and bringing the midfield into the game. Our fullbacks were overlapping. Our bleu libero was carrying the ball out of defence. But the score remained the same. Rice wasted a very presentable opportunity, doing well to get up between two defenders but missing the target from a Thierry corner. At the other end, Shielsy invited a bit of trouble shepherding a ball back to Tommy but the Azuri striker could only poke the ball wide.

Sylvain was the busiest of the 23 referees on the pitch. Oli went down under a challenge from their follically challenged centre half, who offered some possibly less than entirely sincere apologies. Oli responded and whatever he said – I think he may have suggested that the opposition were playing in indigo rather than azure-coloured tops – the defender saw red and dragged Oli back up onto his feet by the shirt collar. Sylvain decided a yellow card each was the appropriate colour of response.

At half-time, the captain illustrated why he is paid the big bucks. A switch to 3-5-2. Oli, Matt and Shielsy at the back, Totti pushing into midfield to give JC license to roam forward. No further substitutions just yet. Azur, however, brought on their two subs, a kamikaze move at half-time in Vets football.

Five minutes into the second half, Nigel succumbed to a pert hamstring, our eighth injury of a punishing week. Ben G slotted straight in up front, playing some lovely combination football as Vets1 cranked up the pressure. Lars came on for Oli, a calf injury making way for a groin one.

JC and Ed both had cracks from distance, fading narrowly wide. From another peach-coloured cross from Thierry, Rice got between the defence and the keeper but with the ball landing slightly behind him he managed to drag it wide of the gaping goal. From the side-line, Nigel swore that Rice had actually managed to divert it away from goal. Either way, the vice-captain had amends to make.

And he made them, just about, a few minutes later. The left footed Beckham, Thierry Levionnais, swung a free kick in from the right and when an Azur defender crowned the ball over the heads of two of his better placed team-mates, Rice forced the ball over the line from six yards.

At this stage, Azur were down to 10 men and not long before the end of the game they lost another player to injury. Griffiths also managed to do his hamstring so it was 10 v 9 for the final few minutes. We ran the clock down comfortably to register an important win and to end the day in second spot in the league.

The team doctor is going to have to perform some midweek miracles to get the troops ready for the trip to Ecusson of Anderlecht next week.

The season is young yet!

Tommy Sejersen; Oli Nelissen Grade (Lars Christensen) – Mathieu Moreuil – Alessandro Giunti – JC Thuan ; Cian Rice (1-0) – Horacio henriquez (Paul Shiels) – Ed Ricketts – Thierry Levionnais; Nigel Davies (Ben Griffiths) – Costa Dumbrava.

Mom - Moreuil