As a youngster, BM watched his hometown football wrapped in a striped muffler and clutching a wooden rattle. The balls were laced and sodden, the boots heavy, the terraces deafening and unsafe, the players tough and unglamorous.
This is where he forged his dreams, watching unfashionable workhorses ply their trade for little more than a mockery of a minimum wage. No flash, no bling, little fame, less fortune. Working class heroes, who downed a pint in the local with the fans after a game. These were men, honest and true, who shaped BM as a player. Unfussy, hard working, demanding of both himself and his team mates. Win the ball, pass the ball, track back. Job done.
Not only does his wife demand he learn Sudoku, but has to celebrate scoring a goal. No youthful prank or Gazza's dentist's chair, no Ravanelli wrap-your-face-in-your-shirt, no Klinsmann dive. Not even an arm raised a la Denis Law or Alan Shearer. When you've played as long as BM without bothering the scoreboard, a tap-in goal for the BC warrants little more than a modest, wry smile. A knowing "Well done son" muttered in near reverent silence to yourself. Maybe shake a team mate's hand, nod to another to acknowledge the pass that finally made it possible, trot back to the half-way line, line up, start again.
This was a compelling match. Free-flow football, with a clean sheet to boot. Astonishingly, BM scored his first goal for the BC, fittingly the club's 400th in its three seasons. A 10-0 demolition of EFL basement side Credit Suisse, pushed the BC up to 4th place in the league. The next few games are against the top sides with few points between them and all to play for.
Confounding both experience and expectation, the BC began well, piecing together some intricate moves and passing the ball freely and intelligently against opposition that appeared better than their lowly ranking suggested. The goals flowed regularly and most were tap-ins at the end of some delightful passing moves as the home side opted for simplicity and the easy ball.
On seven minutes, IG won a strong tackle on the halfway line and found SM, who touched the ball on to NG. Advancing on goal, the striker's shot was parried by the keeper but, like a Teutonic God rising beyond the gated walls of Valhalla, Nick was first to react to nod in the rebound for his first goal since mid-August.
Within two minutes, IG again emerged strongly from a tackle and switched the ball centrefield to GT, who split the Credit Suisse defence and set free the onrushing MB to crack in his 15th goal of this, his debut, season.
With stand-in keeper JL little troubled and safe cover provided by TC and MN in central defence, the BC pressed forward with style and fluidity. On 20 minutes, BM passed short to DH on the left of the penalty area. Goldengroin set up MB who slotted across the face of the goal for NG to tap in his second and the BC's third.
Goal No.4 followed shortly afterwards as a no-nonsense AL banged in a fierce shot after a short free-kick. Predator turned provider moments later as Big Ant showed a deft Cruyff-like touch out on the right flank to set up GT, who slipped the ball into the 6-yard box for BM to tap in -- for his first BC goal, according to the records which, if true, has been an extraordinarily well-kept secret.
At the first re-shuffle, "Budgie" entered the fray at the heart of the defence and soon set AL free on the wing. His central pass was steered home by NG for, astonishingly, his first BC hat-trick. Moments before half-time, GT made it 7-0, swerving past two tackles and slipping in a shot off the goalkeeper.
The first period ended with a yellow card to RS for a hack on a Credit Suisse forward enjoying, momentarily, a rare foray into the BC half. In his defence, R had clearly been barged and unfairly manhandled before taking the law into his own hands ... or boot.
Understandably, the tempo dipped a little in the second half, but the BC continued to play the ball around, with some pass-and-go moves straight from the coaching manual. RS skied a couple of efforts, suggesting he may have been better off at the rugby sevens down at the Padang, and MB enjoyed plenty of possession on the left.
IG, again, began a move that led to 8-0, splaying the ball from right defence to RS advancing down the left. His ball found AL, who played a delicate one-two and created space for Goldengroin to curl home from near the penalty spot. MB added his second, again from a tight angle on the left, before SM ended the rout, sidefooting home after another neat move that began around the right-back position.
The game ended with JL making a fine, flying save from one of Credit Suisse's few attacks.
Many strong performances in what was a very good, all-round team display. It seems churlish to single out any individual. Well done to BM and NG for their personal milestones, to Budgie for a commanding role at the back, to MB for pace and passing on the left.
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