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THE ECSTACY AND THE AGONY
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After 2 seasons, the players all remember the moments that made them jump for joy, and the moments that made them wish for the ground the swallow them up. There have been heroics, there have been cheers and tears, and now we bring the 3 moments that made the lads proud to be wearing the blue-and-blue of AFC Maidstone. And, to add balance, the 3 moments that made the players regretting the decision to waste their sunday evenings playing football.
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1. vs Super Nova, 20/8/00, L 1 -2
Having been beaten just an hour earlier 6-0, the players really wanted to go home. The last thing that wanted to do after such a beating was play against the run-away leaders. The entered the field of play shattered and nervous. Then something bizarre happened. Within the first 5 minutes, Ward and Sam Charman had rattled the wordwork and Chris Martin in the AFC goal hadn't been tested yet. They had lost their previous 12 games, never won and hadn't even gone half a game without conceding a goal. Yet at half-time, the league leaders Super Nova were being held by the league whipping boys, who had a 0% record and whose best result ever was a 3-0 defeat.
The second-half and tiredness showed as the lads were out-done by some cheating from the Super Nova players (the worst offence being a free-kick awarded to AFC which was actually taken by an opposition player!). They conceded two goals, after mistakes from Ward and Epps, but kept playing well and Epps scored a goal which is still remembered fondly now - a looping header which went in after hitting the underside of the crossbar. Classic performance, perfect balance amongst the team and were unlucky to not get at least a draw.
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1. vs F.G.Barnes, 8/4/01, L 1 - 4
After beating F.G.Barnes 4-2 earlier in the season, and having beaten 3rd-placed The Blues just a week earlier, a win seemed like a fore-gone conclusion. Add to this demoralising defeat to GAP a few weeks before for F.G.Barnes, and you'd have bet your bottom-dollar on an AFC victory. Ryan looked to have got AFC off the mark early in the game, but his effort was disallowed, and F.G.Barnes took the lead following their striker controlling the ball with his arm and slotting past Cope. Should never have stood, and knocked AFC for six. They were losing 1-0 at half-time.
The second came within minutes, Pilcher slipping and looking up just in time to see a powerful shot fool Cope. A third came after some dreadful marking leaving a player to smash in from close range. Hopes of an unlikely comeback came following a lucky punt by Ryan Charman beating the previously unflappable F.G.Barnes keeper. However, yet more embarrassing play saw F.G.Barnes further increase their lead. The final whistle was met with relief by the AFC lads, who had been embarassed by a team that had just been out-done by whipping boys GAP.
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2. vs The Blues, 1/4/01, W 4 - 2
The Blues were 3rd and fighting for a play-off place; AFC had returned to the bottom of the league by a mere point following GAP's defeat of F.G.Barnes. The stakes were high and neither side could really afford to lose. AFC had already resigned themselves to defeat, against a top side, but took the lead within minutes after Sam Charman beat a crowd of players to the ball to stab home. Ryan Charman then missed a penalty within a minute, and The Blues hit back. The first was a superb curler that left Cope with no chance, the second a bizarre goal that changed direction wickedly just as Cope came to collect. The Blues held a 2-1 lead at half-time, but AFC improved. They took the lead after the break, with Pilchers wayward shot rebounding off the wall to fall perfectly into the path of Ryan Charman. Goal of the Season came soon after, with Cope passing to Pilch, who brought the ball forward, passing to the left, Ryan dummying it, and Ward shooting with accuracy from distance. Cope pulled off two superb saves, before Ryan rounded things off with a late right-footed shot. Great performance, with a great goal, and superb performances from the 6 players involved.
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2. vs The Blues, 18/6/00, L 0 - 11
AFC's much-awaited first game. There had been talk of promotion in their first season, with them expected to be fitter, faster and more talented then the "fat businessmen" they were expected to be up against. Yet within a minute of their debut, they were a goal down and then goals were flying in left, right and centre. No-one played well and everyone was completely astounded at the skill possessed by the opposition players. Many of them later admitted it was like an outer-body experience, as you saw the score get bigger but you couldn't do anything to stop it. The score ended at 11-0, but could have been far worse had The Blues not decided to pass it around towards the end of the game. It was a real shock but words of encouragement came soon after the game from the manager of Hammer It Home, a well-respected Division 1 side. The advice was to tightly-mark the opposition players and pull their shirts, and the lads were also told not to hang on to the ball for too long. He didn't, however, tell us to ditch the woeful David Bond in goal and put Adrian Cope between the sticks instead - which would have been much better advice and served us well in the long run.
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3. vs Jaffers, 21/1/01, L 1 -2
The Jaffers had completely outplayed AFC just a month previously, and so AFC were bracing themselves for a drubbing. But 3 minutes into the came, just after Pilcher gave many people a laugh by staggering about in agony by blocking a powerful shot with his crown jewels. They won a penalty just after he came off, with Robin Cleisham putting his penalty wide. Another penalty was awared within 30 seconds, this time Ryan Charman making no mistake with a decent effort. A superb defensive display from Cleisham, Cope and Pilcher was vital in helping AFC take a 1-0 lead by half-time.
5 minutes after the break, Jaffers equalised. With mayhem around the area, the ball came out to a Jaffers player who struck with power from distance. Pilcher got a foot to the ball and succeeded in taking a large percent of the power off; however the ball ended up trickling through Cope's legs. (Whether the original shot would have gone in, or whether it was an own goal, are still debated by Cope and Pilcher to this day). With time running out and AFC being completely outplayed by the league leaders, a point would have been more then originally expected. However, with 3 minutes to go, Jaffers were awarded a penalty. The penalty came following Sam Charman being pushed into the area. With the AFC players outraged, Cope was clearly off-put and dived the wrong way. It was a brave performance but a controversial penalty decision (which the referee later admitted shouldn't have been awarded) led to another defeat. Or a 'glorious' defeat, as many like to maintain.
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3. vs GAP, 14/1/01, D 3-3
You may be wondering why a game that AFC got a point from worked its way into their 3 worst-ever memories of 5-a-side. But, as anyone associated with AFC would have told you following this game, there are several reasons. The main reason was that this was the first ever point for GAP, and this against a team who had 3 ex-AFC players. Another reason was the fact that AFC were 3-1 up with a couple of minutes left. The performance itself was appalling too.
GAP had the best of things and were only denied in the early stages by a very-alert Cope. But it was AFC who took the lead with just their second shot. A penalty was given and Sam Charman sent his penalty into the top corner. Within 9 seconds GAP were level. Craig Welch sent Pilcher the wrong way twice on a surging run forward and cracked a shot past Cope. GAP then had a goal disallowed. Ryan Charman gave AFC the lead again, with a free-kick knocked through a gap in the GAP wall. They held the lead at half-time, and increased the lead after the break through Ryan again. Jack Martin decreased the deficit with a rocket of a goal from distance. Former AFC 'favourite' David Bond had an effort disallowed, before with just 11 seconds remaining Ward's 'pass' to Craig Welch allowed him to rocket it past an unalert Cope. AFC were second best against a team who had never previously earnt a point. Which is saying something.
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