Blue Moanday

Blue Moan-day.

As I sat at Penydarren Park with a cold pint in my hand, with the baking sun setting over the David Miles Stand, I watched our Local Heroes take on League Club Yeovil Town, for a friendly football match on a balmy Monday Evening .

To me it was to me as good as it gets.

Our 'Phoenix Club', once homeless, penniless and rudderless, was now on the eve of yet another season of blind optimism, after a resurgent Wales Euro campaign, it was a joy to be privileged to see the hard work and 'pipe-dreams'of so many loyal fans coming to fruition.

To witness so many Martyrs replica shirts being proudly worn by both youth and seniors, a clubhouse with functioning air conditioning, beer ( not in cans) and fully refurbished changing rooms for the officials to hide in after the game.

Every Martyr deserved to be proud.

Now it was no coincidence that I had four pints on this hot Mid-Summer Nights dream occasion, which was only fair- if the players were entitled to water breaks then so too was I.

In fact, it was so hot I am sure that the linesman on the near side -like the David Cameron figure in Madam Tussaud's - was actually melting.

Rivulets of sweat ran down his sunburnt bald pate, like tributaries to the River Taff, as the away side Yeovil Town came to Town in honour of one their famous sons -Super Gavin Williams.

The Somerset team showed they took the match seriously by fielding a full strength side that proved they are no 'Yeo- Yeo' Club and mean business this Season.

They even decided to disrupt our tactics by making us change ends, play into the sun so their Somerset Kamikaze Pilot strikers could score without being seen beyond our Manfred Mann keeper.

The only problem with this ploy by the Yeovil master tactician, Darren Way was that he had a striker up front who was 6 feet five and built like the proverbial Penydarren Park Theatre End toilets.

The aptly named Ryan Bird may have his head literally in the clouds ( and a danger to Cardiff Airport Flight Paths) but the footballing equivalent of John Bunyan was not likely to go missing from the radar of our Centre Halves and he was well 'air' marshalled by the impressive Rhys Baggridge and new 'Virgin' flight attendant Curtis McDonald.

Now I have had a 'Curtis'y call on two occasions and the lad looks a real prospect- at first with my myopic eyesight, I thought Barry the Kitman had put my favourite ever Martyr- Cortez Belle in the washing machine and shrunk him - but this guy looked to be an able replacement and a real 'Gibraltar' at the back in the heat of the action.

On the pitch, the yellow and green stripes of the Yeovil Team pressed forward like a squad of hungry caterpillars looking to munch on the multitude of weeds growing from every part of our ground.

Where is the Bridgend Alan Titchmarsh when you need him?

But time and time again they were repulsed by Merthyr's own Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in the shape of Player of the Season Adam 'The Pearl' Davies and 'The Tank' on the Flank.

In midfield, Ashley Evans was busy 'Good 'Will' Hunting' adding a few stud marks to League shin-pads, as he went about the orders from Gav the Gaffer.

The game ebbed and flowed with the Home Side having a lot of possession although not troubling the Yeovil keeper into any save of note.

No one dared enter misty, swirling, hazy six yard box of the goalie -Jonny Maddison's Square garden- as it became known, because of the flow of dandelion and Japanese Knotweed seeds blowing in from the neglected terracing.

The First ended goalless but not pintless, as I did a Paul Gasgoigne impression combining football and alcohol effortlessly.

After a couple of more pints, my 'New Order' needed to be restored, as the speed of the passing of the' Glovers' had my World in motion.

The second half saw mass changes to personnel and the best comment of the day.

As an entirely new Yeovil 11 removed their electronic tags on the side of the pitch, the only seventies radio DJ not to be interviewed for Operation Yew Tree - announced- ' In a friendly match there is no limit to the number of substitutions on either side'.

An absolute classic.

Talk about unlock and load at the Lok Load.

Merthyr replied in kind by making changes of their own with the replacements too putting in great performances to stifle the Yeovil attack.

As usual Ian Traylor was sublime, Refell- a revelation, and Corey Jenkins who has traced his lineage back to Beano character Billy Whizz blaze-trayloring, as our Wing Commanders commanded.

A draw would have a fair result but if Yeovil's crossing had been more accurate - more Danger Zone than Ozone- then they - like their humongous striker's head in the clouds -would have been out of sight.

Merthyr matched up well but didn't really look like scoring against a well 'Thatchered' Somerset Squad.

But the last word belonged at Penydarren Park to a Welshman - a not so good Shepherd.

Like Father like Son - the match winner came from Swans loanee Liam, who was credited with the final touch on a cross that beat the unsighted keeper tantalisingly rolling over the goaline.

His innate goal-nav more deadlier at Trundling than a Swans striker at a burger stand.

The match ended a great night, a decent rapport with the Yeovil die-hards and a performance that the Manager, the Team and our 'Joy Division' Fans should be proud of.

The only moan from me on Blue Moanday , was that the far- travelling Yeovil fans didn't get to see their former favourite grace the 3G.

Luckily - we home fans will at some point this season.

With the return from a cruciate knee ligament injury of the one-legged Former Hammer, let's hope he finds his feet again on the pitch.

That will be the true measure of our ' progress through stability'.

Boz

Bloody hell that ale was good.

rustic wrote:Bloody hell that ale was good.

Too true. I must still be p***ed after Monday, cos Boz's photo doesn't look right!!!

I suppose Nubs you are wondering 'what the Dickens' the photo is all about- the answer is - I got a mysterious paper cut from an original volume of Edwin Drood from an Old Curosity Shop and every so often at Twilight when the Moon is full when the I try and shave the person in the mirror appears different everytime.

Strange but as true as a Sun newspaper headline.

Boz

The football break of all two weeks has rejuvenated your bard like juices along with the beer on Monday night. Some good one liners especially about the radio DJ, the new season of Merthyr watching and reading has begun.

It is not just the beer but the inspirational crowd and 'fanzone' at PP....the extras from One Flew over the Cuckoos nest...Boz