Sat 16th October

The Mighty Rockets delivered a far from ‘mighty’ performance against Franklands Village at the Colin Anderson playing fields on Saturday. Rockets were without their striking talisman Arron Zimmatore who was at a wedding, Mark Champion (gammy knee), Stu Perkins (sun worshipping in Espana) and the womanising lothario, Craig Fowle, who was.......just away.

Adam Dart was not playing golf for once so he was between the sticks and even Bish turned up this week and on time to boot.

Kick Off
The game started quickly and the opposition were there to prove a point. They seemed like they had a high average age but were quite physical. This was nothing that Dormansland couldn’t handle.

The referee, who was only a young lad, was keen to maintain a grip on the game and establish his authority. He blew up for a number of early fouls but to be fair to him he was unphased by the numerous appeals being screamed in his face.

Goal
Rockets opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes with a goal from ex-skipper (still hurts) Chris Arrow. A corner pinged in by Figuera found Arrow on the near post who flicked the ball past the stranded keeper and into the back of the onion bag! 1-0.

Rockets were off to a flyer and keen to maintain a 4th clean sheet in a row. Just after the kick-off following the goal, loan striker John Richardson was tackled from behind by one of the Franklands Village defenders. This fairly innocuous challenge led to a close exchange of words between the two players with it finishing off when Richardson ruffled the opposing players hair. The young and school-of-comedy-like referee immediately stepped in which resulted in JR being shown a straight red for raising his hands. It was probably a situation where following the ‘letter of the law’ could have been dealt with better. There was no malice or intent to injure. It was just a light ruffle of the hair. Nonetheless, JR trudged off with a £36 fine and leaving Rockets with 80% of the game left and 10 men. Nice one JR!

After the sending off, the game became a bit messy. Rockets started to pump the ball forward but it was just booted back by Franklands defenders who could sniff an opportunity if they could actually get anywhere near the Dormans goal.

Goal
Just as Franklands began to gain a foothold in the game Rockets were awarded another corner. This time the ball was floated to the back post and ‘hero for the day’ Chris Arrow rose like a salmon once again to beat the defenders and head the ball into the net. 2-0. There was a roar by the 4 supporters on the sideline and Avram was left wondering why Arrow didn’t do this every week!

Half-Time
Rockets had done enough in the first half to gain control of the game. Franklands hadn’t really troubled the solid home defence and Dormans looked dangerous when they got the ball out wide to the wings. Rockets had also hit the bar three times in the opening period so the 2-0 score line was quite flattering for the visitors.

Second Half
The second half started where the first half had left off. It was frenetic and messy with both teams trying assert their dominance but with neither getting their foot on the ball. To be honest the second half was quite poor in terms of footballing quality. At times it was a bit like watching the under 10s with players chasing after the ball like a pack of wolves, tripping over it and making many mistakes.

Goal
The one piece of quality was delivered by that reliable little munchkin that is Andrew ‘Tiny’ Twinn. Angry about his mummy not being there with his sandwiches, he was keen to prove a point. Tiny picked the ball up on the right wing before beating a defender and sweeping the ball past the keeper at his near post to make it 3-0 and kill the game.

The village heads went down which gave Rockets more emphasis to get forward. The score line could have turned embarrassing for them but missed sitters from Figuera and Foyle kept the score at 3-0.

Final Whistle
Rockets had done the job needed to secure another 3 points and had done it with 10 men. JR’s sending off had taken the shine off the win but the quality of football had been enough to do that. It hadn’t been pretty but grinding out results like this one is what makes champions.
Following the win against Turners Hill last week, the result leaves Rockets at the top of the table with a 100% winning record – 5 wins out of 5 – and a far superior goal difference. This week they are away to Crawley boys Pheonix United who preparations were dealt a blow with a loss to local rivals Furnace Green Galaxy in the Monty Cup on Saturday.

Just a quick ‘get well soon’ message to Pat Twinn who is perhaps Rockets most prolific supporter. Pat was hit by a ball whilst watching Rockets last Sunday and has broken here wrist quite badly. We wish her all the best in getting better and back to her screaming best very soon. :-)

Click here to see previous match reports

Congratualtions to Dazza who is now an engaged man after biting the bullet and proposing to long-time girlfriend (8 month) Hershey Fernandez.

He has asked the Thorpeedo to deliver the best man's speech when he ties the knot in the Philippines ate next year.

At last, revenge is on the horizon. I have a whole year to prepare a speech that will make his life hell! Brilliant!

I am sure your congrats go out to the both of them. I just hope Hershey hasn't made his legs weak!

Is it me or does Dazza look a bit creepy in this photo?

After months of time-wasting and being scared, the Disco-crisp loving Adam Dart is finally having his op this weekend. No, it's not a sex change, the op is to repair the ankle ligaments of the former Rockets Player of the Year. If we can get Darty back after Christmas, Rockets will have a belter of a second half of the season. That is, of course, if Darty is good enough to get back into the side!

Rumours have been circulating that Man U want-away striker Wayne Rooney has been on the blower to Avram Twin trying to secure a move to the Colin Anderson playing fields. The reports are yet to be confirmed but this picture above was found under PTs windscreen wipers, thought to be placed there from the Shrek/Beast-man himself.

Our best wishes go out to the brave and heroic Chiliean Miners who were stuck underground for 69 nine days. We think Goalkeeper Craig Fowle's absence at the weekend's game has meant that he's gone to visit them. The problem is all Craig heard was 'Chilean Minors' and '69'! Worrying!

Dormansland Rockets Match Reports

Turners Hill 0 - Dormansland Rockets 2

Sat 10th Oct

The mighty Rockets produced a resolute display to dispatch a previously unbeaten Turners Hill side in the local derby on Saturday. Two goals from Zimmatore was enough to take the spoils and send Dormansland to the top of the Division 1 table with the only 100% record.

Avram’s side had something to prove and prove they did. Richard Foyle was away with some ridiculous excuse so it was left to the transfer-covered Lee Champion to sit in the middle of the park. His bro Mark was also away injured so Chris Lancashire, who has had an impressive season so far, was left to marshal the back line with Chris Arrow. Nick Levett was back to play on the opposite wing to new boy, Miguel Figuera, who had scored on his debut the week before and Stu Perkins was back from a Tuk-Tuk ralley in India.

Kick-Off
The game started in aggressive fashion with both teams trying to gain an early upper hand. Rockets played Turners Hill twice last year and didn’t manage to score a single goal so revenge was on the cards. Turners Hill had a couple of close chances in the opening period but the first clear cut chance came to Zimmatore who sent the ball just wide of the post on 15 minutes. It was clear that he was baying for blood and he knew his chance would come.

As the first half went on, the home became frustrated. They looked busy but had produced nothing to threaten or worry the Dormans defence. A few late tackles began to fly in and the game was really on fire. Rockets began to dominate in the middle of the park with JR, Tiny and Champs. Every time the ball went to the wide areas they looked dangerous and broke quickly.

GOAL - On the 25 minute mark Dormans broke the deadlock with a well-crafted goal. The ball was played out of defence to Figuera on the left wing who beat his man and drove a fantastic cross into the box. The cross was delivered at such pace that it eluded the defenders and found Zimmatore at the far post, who slid in to make it 1-0.

Hill were clearly riled and were losing the fight. There was a lot of ‘huff and puff’ but that was all. They did manage to create a couple of chances but Rockets very own sex symbol, Craig Fowle, was up to the task. Craig patted away a couple of goal-bound attempts with ease.

Half Time
At the break, Turners Hill looked demoralised. All their efforts had been in vain and they had nothing to show for it. It was clear that Rockets had the advantage and both teams could sense another goal coming. Avram and Thorpe told their teams to stay calm and just get the ball wide. The strategy had worked so far and the home side had no answer up to this point.  

Second Half
The second half began where the first half had left off. Hill started at pace and were clearly looking to make an immediate impact. There were flashing chances at either end but both keepers did well to stifle the efforts. Turners Hill began to apply the pressure and began to win a few corners. The corners were dangerous but Rockets stalwart defence of Ansley, Arrow, Lancashire and Bish-up dealt with them easily as Hill’s average height was hobbit-like (about 4 foot 6).  

Unable to make an impact after the first 20 minutes, Hill made a substation and changed to a 4-4-2 formation hoping to create something. To be honest, all this did was to open up the game and enable Rockets to dominate the centre of the park even more. Where the game had been had been over-crowded it was now possible for Rockets to again find the holes in the home side.

GOAL - In the middle of the half, Rockets struck again. A superb through-ball from Levett found a prowling Zimmatore who rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home. It was just desserts. 2-0

Hill were distraught. It was clear they hadn’t done enough to keep the lively Rockets players quiet and they knew it.
Flash Point – Another ball through from Tiny was floated to Zimmatore who had beaten two defenders and was through on goal. In his blind spot he did not see the on-rushing Turners Hill goalkeeper who collided and brought him outside the box. As the last man, the keeper should have walked for an early shower but for some reason the referee didn’t see it that way. With just a yellow card, the keeper escaped luckily.

Hill’s frustration was evident. Captain Matt Lake, who was a possible Rockets signing target in the Summer, was dropping deep to get the ball but could do nothing to kick-start the ailing Turners Hill team.

Final Whistle
After a few minutes of injury time, the final whistle went and Rockets were clear at the top of the league. They had come to a tough ground to play a well-organised Turners Hill side with a strong work ethic and had played them off the park. Dejected Matt Lake trudged off considering his future at The Ark and you could see by his green tears of envy he was wishing he had made the switch in the Summer.  

It had been a fast and frenetic encounter but the Dormans had proved why they had won consecutive league titles and were favourites to move up into the Premier to mix it with the big boys. It is still early days but this now opens up the league and places Dormans firmly in contention with a game next week at home to Franklins Village.
Zimmatore is now top of the league scoring charts with 8 goals in 4 games.