Use kris kamaras voice Shanty town 3 Victoria park whites 2! This might be part fiction due to my heading induced mid-game concussion. I honestly thought the game ended 2-2! The game started in the worst way possible. We found ourselves 1-0 down early, and VPW seemed to think they had our number by bombing down the wings. But we’re Shanty, and we adapt. We shuffled our back four around, adding extra support to shut down the pacy number 9, Keiran and Minton locked down the right, Louie and I took control of the left and this allowed us to grow into the game! It didn’t take long to get things back on track. Our first goal was a thing of beauty, straight out of the Shanty playbook. A pass from me to Paddy, who flicked it onto Louie. Louie then played a defence splitting pass through to Kris, who slotted it away to level the score at 1-1. We didn’t stop there. We quickly switched gears, getting the ball wide to Slater and Penrose as often as physically possible, who linked up beautifully. This was the basis of our attacking play, and with the defensive unit holding firm, we were in control. Then, we got a free kick in a dangerous area. Penrose smashed it goalwards. The keeper makes an interesting attempt at a save (not for the last time), and Kris, in his usual poacher style, was there to pounce on the rebound - stealing what could’ve been a goal for Penrose on the line….(maybe that’s why he didn’t square it in the second half) The second half we started slow. The pressure was on, and despite our best efforts, the pacey number 9 cut through the middle and leveled things up 2-2. But that’s where we really impressed. We didn’t play our best football, but our off-the-ball work was top class. Matt in goal pulled off some incredible saves to keep us level, the back four sniffed out any danger, Jay on the right wing was running his socks off giving relief which allowed us get back in shape. Our midfield trio always wanting the ball & tracking runners. On the left, Slater and Penrose were winning everything, and Kris didn’t stop running the channels, and could rightly feel aggrieved not to have at least one more! Mid way through the second half, it was another free kick that would decide the game, Penrose put in a dangerous cross, The Viccy Park keeper decided to channel his inner Monk—rather than catch the ball, he thought it was punch worthy which ended up hitting it his own defender. We were 3-2 up with 10 minutes to go! Despite me trying my best to rally the team forward (again, I thought it was 2-2), everyone else knew what was required. We went full FIFA keep-ball mode #shithousery! That being said, we still had a couple of big headers from corners to keep us in front, and we held on for what will go down as one of the most professional performances of the season. Special shout out to Louie, who played on after going down mid way through the first half! Up the Shanty!