Burridge 2-1 Southampton BTC Reserves

Saturday 10 March

Not only do BTC have an away kit, it also features their club crest. Their crest may only be the three letters that make up their name, but that in itself is an extra three or four pounds to the cost of a shirt. Such costs are something that most clubs in the Southampton League could do without, regardless of the fact that most don’t have a club crest anyway.

Mark Reeves congratulates Chris Pye for the second goal.

BTC normally play in blue and white stripes. However, this clashes with our blue and black kit, so today they wear a red number with yellow trim. It has more than a whiff of Melchester Rovers about it. Although any further association with Roy of the Rovers is quashed by BTC’s insistence on swearing at the referee whenever they feel a foul has been awarded against them unfairly. It is unlikely that Roy’s moral compass would have allowed that kind of behaviour on his watch, even if it did seem that BTC were later denied what seemed to be a certain penalty.

It is BTC who start the brighter. Buoyed on by several men gruff men, all following the Barry Fry method of encouragement, they take the lead from a goal I can claim partial assistance to. It seemed reasonable to play the way I was facing and lay back to Marc Judd, but my pass lacked pace and accuracy. Although the danger was momentarily cleared, BTC scored from a volley from the resulting cross. With neither of us wanting to be held accountable for the goal, Judd and I exchanged insults for a moment or two.

Chris Pye was a useful outlet on the right, as was Sam Hewitt on the left. Sam Schwodler was adamant that he had been tripped in the box, as were BTC moments later, when the referee seemed to make that silent pact that referees are inclined to, in that two mistakes that neither side benefit from are in fact better than one.

Our equaliser comes from Sam Schwodler, having been put through by Martyn Barnett. Schwodler seemed second favourite to get to the ball, but a combination of goalkeeping hesitancy and BTC’s defence insistence on shepherding the ball back to the ‘keeper, gave Sam the time to get to the ball and poke it in. What turned out to be the winning goal came when Sam Hewitt received a short corner and cut in on the bye line, outing in a cross over the goalkeeper that Chris Pye met with his head. 2-1 and still a god hour left to play, but we had done enough to win this one.

GK: Ryan Jones, RB: Mark Reeves: CB:Kev Willsher, CB:Marc Judd, LB:Dan Allen, LM:Chris Pye (Paul Andrews), CM:John Rix, CM:Mark Sanderson (Ryan Hurst), CM:Martyn Barnett, RM:Sam Hewitt, CF:Sam Schwodler