After a run of poor games, Vets2 took on old rivals Brussels LTC knowing that a point would secure safety with 2 games still to go
Vets2 returned to Rosières knowing that a point would be enough to secure a position in the league for next season, while LTC still had an outside chance of promotion.
In personnel terms, the Vets2 team saw Jamie McCreath return in goal and welcomed Jean-Baptiste Charvet, coming into central midfield for the first time. Shortly before kick-off, the news that George was forced to drop to the bench due to injury meant that things needed to be rejigged. The 4-2-3-1 formation was familiar, but the decision to play Ian Hoskins as centre forward left a number of the fans scratching their heads.
The game started with a bang, however. Within 20 seconds Vets2 took the lead before LTC had even touched the ball! We worked the ball out to Nic on the right wing and he centred for Ian to finish first time. 1-0.
To be fair to Brussels LTC, they picked themselves up quickly and soon started to make a game of it. Their movement in midfield kept Carl, JB and Thierry busy in the middle, and frequently pulled in their wide men, giving Cedric and Milan enough to do at full back. Benoit and Roger could cope with the centre forward, but were sometimes overrun by oncoming midfielders. Indeed, 15 minutes in, Brussels LTC released one of their midfielders through the inside left channel, who produced a very good left foot finish into the bottom corner, giving Jamie no chance. 1-1.
With Brussels LTC clearly having the upper hand, would Vets2 slump again and let in more, as in a couple of recent games, or could they pick up their game and get back in it? LTC had a number of attacks, but nothing too dangerous. In fact the only real test for Jamie was a skied clearance by Roger - 30m in the air - which he punched to safety. There was also a short moment on the half way line when Milan thought he was in goal, after slipping - and managed to persuade the ref that it was an accident.
Just as it looked like the stalemate would last till half-time, the spectators saw a spark of genius to change things. With Ian calling for the ball in the middle, Thierry swung in one of the famous Levionnais left foot crosses into the mix. The keeper came out, the defender jumped, Ian barely moved...and the ball ended up in the net, with the mercurial Hoskins smile indicating he had got his second of the game. 2-1 to Vets2. And so it stayed till half time.
The mood at half-time was very positive, the best for several weeks. There was one change, however, with Mikey coming in on the left wing and Will dropping to left back.
The second half saw a tighter game - with Nic and Mikey trying to probe down the flanks. The main action was in the very centre of the park, however, where Carl and JB were working particularly hard. JB worked a bit too hard on one occasion, however, and was given a yellow card. Five 5 minutes later, Carl was taken out by one of their midfielder with a similar sort of tackle. Whereas the LTC victim on the first incident had rolled around on the floor, for this second clattering, Carl immediately jumped up and grabbed the LTC villain by the shirt. One can only assume the ref didn't really see the tackle properly because he gave Carl a yellow and didn't even talk to the LTC player. This did not go down well with Yorkshireman Ledbury who needed to practice a few arpeggios through gritted teeth before carrying on.
Vets2 were coping well defensively and strengthened things further with 15 minutes to go with a tactical switch. George came on up front, with Hosky dropping to central defence where the altitude was more normal for him.
But then with 10 minutes to go, LTC got only their second corner of the game on our left. And from the sharply directed cross into our 6 yard box, the unfortunate Carl stuck out his left leg and deflected the ball into the bottom corner 2-2.
While LTC tried to motivate themselves to score again, it was in fact Vets2 who put on all the pressure. With no subs, LTC were finding it more difficult to cope with Nic down our right and now George through the middle, too. Both George and Nic went close on three occasions. Thierry also fizzed in a free kick, which the keeper saved well. And a series of 5 corners produced a couple of near misses, including a free header for Hosky on the far post.
But Vets2 kept pushing. With 3 minutes left and yet another corner, the LTC defence had by now worked out that the main danger was at the far post. So this time, Thierry swung it in low to the 6 yard box. And there, instinctively, Nic buried the ball in the back of the net. 3-2 to the good guys! Our South African wizard was so happy he took his shirt off, to collect his 5th yellow of the season - in order to keep ahead of Carl in the season's statistics.
Brussels LTC did manage to have one final chance, which Jamie hung on to well, before the ref blew the final whistle.
Speaking after the game, the coach said: "After the last few games we’ve had, where we’ve leaked goals and not been able to score, today was a very welcome performance. All the lads did really well and I’m proud of them. Delighted to have secured our place in the second tier of veterans football, having been promoted rather unexpectedly at the end of last season."
The post-match ballot saw Man of the match votes for JB, Carl, Nic, but the winner was our goal-scoring hero - Ian Hoskins.
