With a successful maiden season in the books, the Clapton Men’s Over 35 squad flew to Germany for their season finale, facing capital outfit Roter Stern Berlin.
Based in the Wedding district, the club finds itself at home within a vibrant, multicultural and historically working-class neighbourhood located in the northwestern part of the inner city.
The plethora of street markets, local grocery shops and international eateries are a nod to the diversity of local communities – and by extension, the inclusivity and anti-discriminatory values woven into the fabric of both football clubs.
It was a fitting backdrop to a friendly match, in the sunny and gently rising afternoon heat of Berlin, which heralded the imminent entrance of the summer season.
The game was sandwiched between the festivities enjoyed by earlier arrivals of some members of the squad and the titanic Champions League Final clash between Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain. If the Over 35s had the gentle weight of a corner of East London on its shoulders during their European adventure, it would later appear that PSG had the burden of the entire footballing world on its own – in attempting to repeat last season’s final triumph.
For now, Clapton’s spritely veteran XI, had a slightly more youthful Roter Stern side eager to put a difficult Landesliga St.1 FZ league campaign behind them and hoping to impress the locals trickling in for the spectacle. The opening few minutes proved to be somewhat cagey, with sporadic moments of promise – the midfield trio of Matt Prout, Ollie Drew and Jason Hounsell doing well to recover possession and catch Roter Stern on the back foot in threatening areas. The deadlock was broken around the quarter hour mark, with Dan Lipman receiving the ball on the left had side of the pitch – and cutting inside to arrow a brilliant shot into the top corner.
Roter Stern sought to respond immediately, mostly probing the Clapton defence along either wing – with the occasional attempts to build play to attack through the middle. However, the 35’s boasted the second-best defence in the league and this was evident in the way it remained resolute under a spell of pressure. Marek Marczynski and deputy left back for the day, James Traynor dealt particularly well with the constant threat from their respective opposition wingers, as they sought ever-ready outlets in transition via Lipman and Jon Akaly. The latter will be wondering if he could have put Clapton 2-0 up, when running through on goal – but that would take away from Roter’s keeper, who did exceptionally well to anticipate the through ball into space.
Marvin Afrane entered the fray for Dominic Amodio a few minutes before the end of the half to give an injection of pace, and a slight tactical shift. Mere seconds later, he probably wished he came on a little less zealously: appearing to pull his hamstring and continuing to labour after a ball, the Roter Stern defence were all too happy to recycle in front of the resulting tentative Clapton press.
Clapton were in turn, happy to go into the half time break with the lead – and deservedly so on the balance of play.
They were greeted by an even warmer temperature in the second half, as the home side sought a way back into the game. It was a much more assertive start, looking calmer in possession at the back, as they worked their way into the final third with incisive passages of play. The centre-back paring of Jamie Foran and Chris Woolgar – in what would be his farewell game as Manager for the Over 35s – sought to be equally assured in containing the threat of the Roter Stern attack. Foran, made a couple of notable last-ditch challenges – on one memorable chance for the hosts, sparing keeper Patrick Elliot from an almost certain 1-on-1 goalscoring opportunity.
Fortunately for Clapton, the Roter Stern’s search for an equaliser also left them exposed on the counter attack, with Traynor regaining possession and exposing a gap in the defence to find Lipman early along the left wing. The latter slotted a through ball to Afrane, who rolled a first time shot past the keeper. Sadly for him, the referee’s whistle had gone for offside a second beforehand.
Moments later, Amodio re-enters the action for Afrane and subsequently switches to the right wing – with Akaly now occupying the lone striker position and very much willing to run at the Roter Stern defence further into the final third. It proved to be the positional switch which troubled the host’s defence the most in the final quarter of the game, with space now opening up in the middle of the pitch as a result – Hounsell exploiting this effectively to find Amodio and Lipman stretching the play at either side.
Roter Stern took the cue to sit deeper and remained stubborn, before making counter attacks of their own. The Clapton double-pivot of Matt Prout and Ollie Drew did well to limit the supply through the middle – the latter catching the hosts by surprise with an interception and drive through midfield which became a dangerous Clapton counter and chance. It appeared for a moment that Drew had injured himself in the process, but thankfully, he was able to continue – as the hosts had now decided to venture into the Clapton box more directly, chasing an equaliser.
This ultimately proved effective, as they made a series of direct passes over the top and on the outside to find crosses to the box. One last-ditch effort to equalise finally paid off in injury-time. Foran was adjudged to have fouled their forward running into the box – and they were awarded a penalty. Whether or not it was a foul in the first place, was an opinion which split both sets of supporters: an earlier foul on Marczynski after he got the best of an exchange with their winger, was blatant – yet not given. If that was the standard, then this foul was on the softer side.
As it was, the hosts had the chance to equalise with what would be the last kick of the game – and they duly obliged. Elliot could very certainly count himself unlucky to not keep a clean sheet, given his performance over the 90 minutes, along with diving the right way for the penalty.
The final whistle was blown almost immediately for what was, in the end a fair friendly result for both sides. 1-1.
The customary post-match joint-team photograph, drinks and chatter ensued – followed by a temporary parting of ways before the Champions League Final.
It was a chance for some of the squad to explore the local community, shops and aforementioned street markets for food, whilst others made a quick dash to their rooms to rest, recover and prepare for the evening ahead. For others, it was another chance to take in the sights and sounds of summery Berlin. Be it on foot, scooter, bike or car, there was a conviviality in the summery Berlin air – the kind that precedes the imminent start of a major sporting event or a big night out – or in the case of the 35s – both. A story for another day.
All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable time in Berlin for the squad: a time of bonding, commiseration (sorry Dan, Marek and other Arsenal fans…) and for those visiting for the first time, being able to experience a charming corner of Germany’s capital city.
It was also a bittersweet time, with it being Chris Woolgar’s last game in charge of the squad. He leaves behind massive shoes to fill, so it’s just as well he is staying on as a member of the squad – and perhaps he gets to reprise his centre back showing, this time next year – on another away day abroad.