Gurkha FC 6 – 0 SkyWind FC
Manish (3)
Sunil (1)
Gakul (1)
Shintaro (1)

There were goals galore in GFC’s 2^nd match with SkyWind FC at the Mt Gravatt Soccer Club which now stretched GFC’s unbeaten run to 7 matches. With the Yeronga ground being under repair for the next 6 weeks (or so), GFC played their first match of the season at the Mt Gravatt Football Ground. With the previous week’s game called off due to bad weather and having beaten SkyWind earlier with a score of four to nothing, the players were in a confident mood as well as having the “khuta chilauni” disease (itchy legs).  The players were all up for this one, that’s for sure!!

As with the first game, it was GFC who dominated the first half throughout, although passes went astray as the team tried to settle into the new ground. Within a few minutes after kickoff, after a neat exchange of passes, Pata released Sunil on the right wing for a one on one situation with the keeper, who deftly slipped it under the despairing keeper. 1 – 0 to GFC within the first ten minutes!! Was it a sign of things to come?

The next incident was one of the most memorable of the match as Dipen, our marauding left back, started one of his overlapping runs into the box. As he received the ball and dribbled his way into the penalty area, he barely avoided a lunging tackle by a defender as he skipped over his foot but lost his footing. Penalty!! There could have been serious consequences had that tackle connected with Dipen. No, no, no, not a broken leg, but an all out fight!! Anyway, everyone willed Dipen to take the penalty which he did, although he looked rather bewildered about the prospect of scoring his FIRST goal for GFC! But he stepped up anyway and really, should have done better as his tame shot was easily parried away by the keeper and the follow up scuffed. Still 1 – 0 up!! No worries Dipen, Just Chill…

A looping ball over the top barely reached our half and Pata, who was in fine form, headed the ball forward for Manish. His first touch however let him down, but he nevertheless gave chase and challenged the follow up ball fairly with the keeper, who was now stranded; Manish stroked the ball calmly into the empty net. 2 – 0 up to GFC!!

A through ball to Thulo by Upesh, sent the right-back on his way but who then blazed it skywards. That’s what happens when you try to get a defender to finish like a striker!! Pramod was being frustrating in front of goal as well as he didn’t shoot when supposed to and shot when was supposed to pass. Ryu was having a great time in goal as the defence, led by Ashok and Shin, lapped up all their attacks; he touched the ball only once in the first half. All in all a well played first half with the players slowly getting to grips with the new ground.

Half time blew and there was nothing much to talk about except the opponents. Seriously guys, they had names such as Batman, Spiderman, He-man, Tommy etc; on the back of their pink coloured jerseys with a sponsor named BubbleGum or something like that.

Anyway, back to the match as the 2^nd half kicked off with Gakul (who had been on the subs bench) taking the field and Raj (aka Josh, aka Barnes, aka Talu, call him what you may) also making his debut for GFC. His first course of action was a dribble down the left flank followed by a great cross which evaded everyone else. Nice entrance in any case.

On the right flank, good interplay between Sunil and Thulo resulted in a throw in. The throw in was trapped neatly by Upesh before releasing a clean pass to Manish, who flat footed the defence with a drop shoulder, before ramming the ball past the keeper. 3 – 0 to GFC and this surely was game set and match!! Or so we thought.

From a seemingly nothing move, Gakul received the ball from the centre of the field, made his way forward and from outside the penalty box, had one look up and tried one of his now-trademark placement shots, which looped over the keeper and into the top right hand corner. 4 – 0 up and this was becoming a stroll in the park for GFC! (I did NOT want to sound arrogant here!)

All this while, Shin who was playing in the heart of defence, had been consistently barraging upfield to get on the score sheet. In his first of many runs into the opposition box, he headed the ball straight into the hands of the keeper, from a corner. In his next foray up, he headed the ball way over the crossbar from a superb cross by Barnes.

Bad luck for our import all this while, but as the Latin saying goes, ‘Nil Sine Labore’ (Nothing Without Hard Work) and this is exactly what he got. From an un-cleared corner, the ball fell nicely to Shin, whose quick feet belied his position as a defender taking him past a couple of defenders before finishing into the corner of the goal. A well deserved goal putting GFC 5 – 0 up!!! Probably had enough by now one would think. Not really.

The last goal was a case of raw power added with a spice of luck. From a free kick, Gakul rolled the ball to Manish, who rammed the ball straight through the keeper’s legs via a deflection off a defender. 6 – 0! Hat-trick for Manish, his second of the tournament and that was surely the last goal of the game! Even the recollection of all the goals was getting this writer into a dizzy state as there were too many to remember! But this was it! Finally, the ref blew for full time. Phew!! What a game!!

Our final match of the season will be against Black Star Roasters and this will be a 6 pointer; i.e. winner takes all, due to ground bookings, referee availability, etc, etc. So with third place still not guaranteed, (look at the league table on Facebook for a clearer understanding on the situation) the final match will be a must win match!! Actually, it’s just so that we can boast about having beaten at least one “khuiray” team. No draws allowed!! Well actually, a draw will seal the third place position and that would be a good overall standing for GFC. But for now, stay prepared and see you in Mt Gravatt.

Gurkhali Ayo!!

Next Match

Gurkha FC vs Blackstar Roasters FC

Date: 11th August (Sunday)
Time: 11.00 am
Venue: Mt Gravatt

Please be at the field by 10.00 am!

Side Notes

On a side note, GFC now has a new page on Facebook, which is being regularly updated. Do join us on our Facebook Page and ‘likes’ us. Don’t worry GFC fans, this site will still be kicking alive and regularly updated as well!!

On a more important side note, tickets for the “Dashain Ayo 2011” are now on sale. GFC cordially invites everyone for this Pre-Dashain Dance Party of the year right here in Brisbane! For more information on this great event, click here. Please approach any of the GFC players to purchase your tickets. This event will surely be a blast!! So do join us!