09/11/03 Wirral Nomads 3 - St. Domingo 4 Team: Richie, Jon Raffe, Did Gaffer, Big Mark, Gary Pike (Havard, 45), Matt Lammin, Tommy, Alan Maher, Pedro, Big Dave (Jon Byrne, 20), Sean (Barry, 82) Attendees: Rob C, Jon Ginger, Steve Elliott, Grant, New bald lad(Dave??), woman with infant in pushchair, couple walking dog. Today's formation was not the 4-4-3 as suggested by Did in training but instead a more orthadox 4-3-3 that saw the return of big Mark at the back, with Barry relegated to the bench to think about the subs he still owes. The lads got off to a poor start when a St.Domingo centre back lobbed a wind-assisted free kick from his own half into the top corner over a stranded Richie whose prayers for a solar eclipse remained unanswered. The saints scored a disputed second when a big bloke bundled the ball out of Keeps' hands and into the net before the Nomads got one back: Dave the Giant got the flick-on his lofty frame has been promising for a few matches now and Pedro's magic boots did the rest, breaking clear of the challenges of two defenders to unleash a tidy finish. Soon after this, Did remembered that Big Dave still hasn't paid his subs either and the Nomad's very own Emile Heskey was immediately substituted to make way for the long un-awaited return of Jon Byrne. Byrney slotted in somewhere near the middle of the pitch as the 4-4-2 was reinstigated. The new formation did us no favours and St Domingo scored a crap goal and then a good one as some fellah got hold of an attempted Raffe clearance to tonk one through a mass of bodies past the unsighted Richie. The half-time whistle signalled the entry of Did's flask and a military team-talk from Tommy. Invigorated, with Havard on for Gary Pike and the wind in our favour, the lads set about winning the second half 2-0. A calm penalty from Tommy and a far post spin and shot from a bewildered Did made things exciting but sadly the equaliser proved elusive. In the after-match press conference Did said "I mean it, bring your ? on Wednesday or you're a ball boy. I want to buy some Deap Heat." But how will he keep his large squad of 35 happy? What formation will he play next week? Will Steve manage to get the nets the right way up? Watch this space to find out... 2003-04 season so far: P10 W3 D0 L7 F21 A47 Pts 6 Goals (league games only) Sean Swarbrick 6 Matty Lammin 5 Pedro Nomad 3 Dave The Giant 2 Robin Brown 1 Steve Elliot 1 Ian Ellis 1 Paul Hurst 1 Did Maher 1 Barry Nomad 1 Craig Swarbs 1 Tommy 1 (C) Rob C 2003