The third game of pre-season saw Old Parmiterians take on Bealonians in a midday kick-off. FYI for all those playing at Peter May, you can’t take smoothies into the ground, groundsman will lose his nut. Paul Franklin opted for a slight mix up in the formation and handed Marcus C his first start of the season. Parms failed to start with the same conviction as last week and found themselves having to do a lot more to retain possession, Beals continued to attack but our defence controlled them comfortably with Sam Melling keeping his respective winger at bay and Dan Kelner keeping the structure at the back. We began to grow into the game and this allowed us to find the feet off Ryan Franklin a lot more, our first big chance saw Harrison Mockler dance around several players, cutting onto his right foot, he saw his shot ping off the crossbar and out of play. He had another chance shortly after which saw Ciaran Foster find Harrison with a quick free-kick and his shot just missing the target.

Our continued pressure paid off eventually when Mike Diebelius whipped in a corner and found a wild Joe Massingham who rushed in and finished nicely off his pigeon chest 1-0. Peter May erupted and the sheer noise and atmosphere in the stadium helped intimidate a young Bealonians team. However, Beals, we’re unfazed by the homes fans flares/chanting and managed to score a decent goal 1-1.

The second half saw Freddie make his Debut, Sam Davidson long-awaited return since February 1963 (Not injured, just got a bird) and the introduction of everyone’s favourite player, Terry Blue. Terry’s presence was instantly recognised as we began to control the game a lot better, Paul Franklin slight tactical shift saw Marcus tuck in and get closer to Ryan. What Paul didn’t tell him, was to drop the shoulder, nutmeg the defender and coolly finish under the onrushing goalkeeper 2-1. A great goal by Marcus, good eye by management and hopefully the first of many for him this season. Freddie was also instrumental in the build up with a great through ball that kickstarted the goal. The game fizzled to a rather unimpressive end with no further goals, for the second game in a row we witnessed solid performances from a variety of players, including Charlie Holmes and Ben Davidson. MOM this week is Charlie Holmes, another solid performance from the main man in the sticks.
Match report by Mike Diebelius #MD17