The game lasts ninety
minutes you know!
You’ve heard of the scenario: five minutes to go, 1-0
down away from home playing badly, might as well go home (for that important dinner date)
- not me, I’ll always hang on for that elusive goal we all know only arrives once
every infrequent blue moon. That is until I decided at Oxford that I could safely leave
with ten minutes to go thinking it won’t happen today, I mean how ridiculous a late
brace of goals to snatch the points – dream on!.
I was making my way back to Oxford station on a
bus with no passengers, which was no surprise as the driver admitted he didn’t know
where he was going and was following the No. 2 bus in front, hoping it went the same way
as he was supposed to – I kid you not! The shrill ring of my phone sounded to the
news of a looping header from Steve Davis that had given us a point and wiped away any
grumblings from Firmo; all was sunshine and roses again. We never doubted the Clarets for
one minute, we knew they had it within them, and that vital point would make all the
difference to our promotion push. I disembarked the bus once we arrived in the town
centre, thanked my learner driver who then confessed he’d never driven a bus legally
before! I was lucky to be alive; my progress was brisk towards the station as I only had
minutes until departure time, when the phone rang out again. I almost dare not answer it,
had we thrown away that valuable point? But no, the news was incredible, another heart
stopping 90th minute winner. I was over the moon, overjoyed, punching the air
in celebration and so pissed off I left so early. This is the strangest feeling of
happiness and depression all mixed up. Still, Firmo had got his own back on me for the
endless Colchester jokes (he missed the first two goals of the Friday night 4-0 win, ha
ha!). I’m sure I will hear no end of jokes for the foreseeable future, but anyway,
who cares, we won. The moral of the story is: if you’re about to leave that drab,
dull impending defeat, don’t move a muscle - it might just be the game we turn around
into a glorious win! However unlikely it may look!
Julian Booth
May 2000
Firmo's match report
