Crystal Man

Yesterday was the first semi-competitive game of the year.

It was a beautiful day, sunny with a steady breeze. The ground was still wet and muddy from three days of rain during the week, so I went with my Nike soft ground boots. They felt really comfortable, once I put an extra pair of socks on underneath my shinpads. Running and turning was effortless.

I started on the sideline, and came on shortly after in right midfield. On my first possession I was double-teamed, and I was having a hard time getting into the game as, as usual, our game involves more north-south work than east-west movement.

Once we gave up a couple of goals and made some changes, moving people around, suddenly I found myself playing in the hole. This was both necessary (someone on our team started invading my territory, so there was a positional overlap) and strategic (someone else volunteered to man-mark the opposition's best player and free me up to attack).

I thrived in it. Running at the D, finding space between D and midfields. One brilliant through-ball for Matthew, who scored on his second attempt. Then a one-two with Addy, who returned the ball with an inspired chip (almost like Paul Scholes to Wayne Rooney, circa CL semi-final vs. Milan, first leg), leaving me to slot the ball past the advancing keeper.

Unfortunately, the keeper clipped my knee as I went in to score, and subsequent cramping (in both lower legs, front and back) meant my effectiveness was limited thereafter. But all in all, I was satisfied with my performance. Short, accurate passing, not giving the ball away easily, good movement to find open space, some good defensive work. The problem is it only lasted 15 minutes.

Just like a piece of crystal. So brilliant, yet so fragile.