ON what happened to be a typically cold and quiet afternoon elsewhere on the South Coast, such a description could not possibly describe the scenes at Test Park, where Solent’s second and third football sides battled it out in a tense and fiery fixture.
Building up to the game, faces were welcoming and vibes were immaculate. Spectators crowded against the pitchside fences to get as close as possible to the pitch, huddling together amidst the spectacle of a Solent vs Solent football face-off.
The winner would go top of the table if there was one, and in the event of a draw, neither would catapult themselves high enough to be able to do so. This was a true decider of which team wanted it more and which manager had served up the more potent cocktail of determination, spirit and inspiration amongst their respective sides.
Off the pitch, there have been rumours of a rivalry between the two head coaches, with this fixture acting as the perfect stage for an all-time University classic.
And it surely proved to be exactly that.
The first half left much to be desired, with both teams holding back in an attempt to control the ball and not leave themselves defensively open, with any form of physicality sparking frustrations on the sidelines between both managers and the fresh-faced referee.
Unnecessary stoppages and incorrect decisions plagued the early parts of the game, which only grew more frequent into the second half.
Two fairly scrappy goals were scored within 85 minutes, the second team first and then the third’s levelling, and with most attempts at goal thwarted by the defences and challenges flying in with no caution, watching from the sidelines, you could sense that a storm was brewing.
The referee seemed to add more minutes to the scheduled 90′ than there were players on the pitch, despite announcing just six minutes of added time initially.
The looks on both managers’ faces were ones of hope and equal frustration, with players all over the pitch going down with cramp – again, unnoticed or ignored by the referee until both managers had to unwillingly join forces in yelling at him to stop the game and allow for injured and tired-out players to be taken off the pitch.
Yet there was still belief that just one moment could change the whole game amidst the endless chaos of the early evening.
And that was when the penalty was given to the Solent thirds.
The energy was unlike anything I have experienced at a university sports game before, and you could tell that everyone watching was truly invested.
Everyone ran to the corners to prepare to storm the pitch in celebration, anticipating the late winning goal.
And with nonchalance and a cold effortlessness, the penalty was dispatched via a no-look-slotting into the back of the net, struck low past the ankles of the helpless goalkeeper.
Solent thirds 2-1 Solent seconds.
Euphoria and ecstasy as the third team’s fans went wild, swarming the boys in red.
As suspected, however, there was a swarming of a different kind between the two sides during a corner in the final minute, where players looked to elevate the sporting clash into a full-blown civil war.
Covering the events that took place in the final minutes of the showdown, Melvin Armstrong reports
Check out his video package below via Youtube:
by Cody Deadman
