With that extra ninety minutes under their belt, and playing against a supposedly superior opposition, a heavy defeat was a safe bet prior to the match. This opinion seemed to be validated when two of Frazzles first team stars, in the shape of Gav and PJM, failed to appear at the team rendezvous point in the morning.
Frazzle made the bold move of giving himself a starting roll for the first time since his appointment as manager. Flu victim Scott was left on the sidelines for the first half. FPC started the brighter and it wasn’t long before they had taken the lead. A wonderful piece of skill from Big English Gav in the midfield and a lovely lob forward led to Joe dinking the ball over the head of the onrushing keeper for the opening goal.
Surprisingly, the visitors managed to keep it tight for a spell after the goal and should have added to their lead when Gardiners close range strike came back off the base of the post. This seemed to be the warning shot the home side needed, as they scored two goals in quick succession shortly afterwards.
The gaffer roused the troops at half time and introduced Scott for Joe Smith, who was unable to continue due to a severe attack of the munchies. Sadly, the second half began as the first one ended and PTFC made it 3-1 before Ra Corner had woken up.
Not to go down without a fight, the lads put in a brave display and played some nice football. They were rewarded when Gardiner slotted pulled a goal back with a neat finish into the corner of the net. The wind was now in FPCs sails and for the first time in the match, they seemed to have the belief that they could go on and win the game. However, the recent run of misfortune continued when a refereeing blunder handed the hosts the crucial fourth goal to bury the match.
Dave was making a rampant run towards the opposition goal when he was clearly hacked down just outside the penalty area. Every player on the pitch stopped as a defender petulantly kicked the ball away. The man in the middle, for reasons best known to himself, waved play on and allowed a nippy striker to latch onto the loose ball and dispatch it into the net.
Again, FPC rallied but the effects of the previous days match and the feeling of injustice started to show and there was only ever going to be one winner from then on. Throwing everything forward, gaps were left at the back and PTFC added a fifth, with a sweet strike into the top corner of the net.
Frazzles troops did manage to pull another one back when Scott tapped into an empty net late on, but it was too little, too late as they slumped to yet another defeat. The manager was heard to comment later “I’m much happier with todays game than yesterdays as I felt that the players were all playing for each other. Perhaps it’s got something to do with having a small squad as they all pulled together and had a real go and I’m proud of their efforts. My only complaint about the performance was the poor defending of set pieces but this isn’t a new problem and we’ll continue to work on it in training. I’m still optimistic.”