THE EARLY DAYS - 2006 - A TOUGH BEGINNING AND RELEGATION
The Carpeteers joined forces in the Autumn of 2006 with Ricko Barker as Captain of the squad. Carl Webster, Dan 'Ozzie' Osbourne, Dan Nicholls, James Triggs, Jim Martyn and Luke Styles all made up the rest of the team.
It was unknown territory going into the Cornwall 6 a side leagues and we started off by replacing St Austell Brewery who pulled out of the middle division known as the Championship. We took over their points [ not many of them ] and already mid way through the season, we tried to collect enough points to survive.
In our first ever match, which was against Barney's Boys, we were taught a footballing lesson. They stuffed us 3-0 and they were clearly one of the best teams in the Championship. We also has no idea where each and every one of us best fitted in and we had tried Carl ' Webby ' Webster at the back with Ricko, Ozzie was in goal, James Triggs as striker and Dan Nicholls and Luke Styles in the midfield with Jimmy. It clearly didn't work and lessons were learned.
Unbelievably our next game was against top of the table Chenpump and we played really well to get a 0-0 draw. Ricko and James Triggs at the back with Dan Nicholls moving up front and Webby into midfield. The vibe was positive after this.
However, 3 massive defeats in the next 4 games including a 4-1 thrashing by Loco Luxulyan and a disastrous 5-0 pasting by Tesco [ OUR WORST EVER DEFEAT THAT STILL STANDS IN 2011] saw the mood in the camp sink very low. The same night as the Tesco defeat also saw our first win when we took on Gherkins on the next pitch. Only a win would keep us in the division and we stormed into a 3-0 lead only to blow it with 5 minutes left as Gherkins pulled it round to 3-2 and hit the cross bar with the final kick of the game. We hung on.
Unfortunately a 0-0 draw the following week against Niles Bakery meant we were relegated by a point to the 3rd division. Cornwall 6 a side gave us the benefit of the doubt though by keeping us in the Championship due to our late arrival mid season.
The cup that followed the league season saw us find some very good form despite our lack of firepower up front. Victories over Gover and Foxes [ later became DB's ] put us into the Shield QF where we grabbed revenge on Tesco via a penalty shoot out to reach the semi final.
We met our old enemies Barney's Boys in the semis but lost to a goal in the final minute just as it looked to be going to penalties. Confidence was high going into the new season despite us only scoring 1 goal in our last 4 games and that came from midfield.
The new season started off awkwardly with 2 defeats including a season opening 4-1 humiliation by title favourites Young Gunz. Then came our best run of results ever as we grabbed 3 good wins in a row to lift us from the bottom to promotion hopefuls. Just before all this, James Triggs was removed from the team and Luke Styles became the Carps main man at the back.
The season took a turn for the worse after our 3 wins, that saw us go on the biggest losing streak of our existence with 6 defeats in a row. Just before the losing run began, we had played our best game ever with a 0-0 draw against Young Gunz who had stuffed us early season and were to go on and win the title. Ozzie proved he was up to the job in 6 a side with one of the most unbelievable pieces of goal stopping you are ever likely to see. How he kept that ball from hitting the back of the net still remains a mystery to this day.
BIG CHANGES FOR 2007
New signing Richard Golley came in to try steady the ship as he had had enough of playing in goal for Tornadoes, but although we were dominating games....goals were hard to come by and the losing run eventually relegated us to the 3rd division.
We hoped the cup could now give us some confidence and we got it with an opening 1-0 win in our group game. The goal was scored by the deputising Craig Phillips. [ more on him later ]
It was also at this time that striker Dan Nicholls left the team. His strike rate was certainly poor for a striker when you check the stats. Only 4 league goals in 22 matches and it was clear to see why we had been relegated. It was later found out that he wasn't a striker at all and that he had actually been a goalkeeper at school. A goalkeeper living the dream as a striker? Well whatever, it certainly led to our downfall that season.
Ricko now had a massive problem as he didn't have a striker in the team. He was closely watching the situation of Gavin Kitts at team Tornadoes. Tornadoes captain Nick Thompson did not seem keen on Gav at all and left him rotting in the reserves for many games with only brief appearances. Ricko saw what was going on and liked the look of Gav to play as the Carps new striker having seen him score plenty at 5 a side when they were at college together.
He made his approach before the cup game against Gherkins and Thompson was quoted as saying ' I'm not going to stand in your way if you want to go ' . So Gavin Kitts was signed for Carpeteers and made an immediate impact as he scored on his debut in a 3-1 win over Gherkins that also saw Ricko score a 30 yard top corner effort !
The cup comp fizzled out for us as those Young Gunz knocked us out in the QF pretty easily but we went into our 3rd season now in division 3 for the first time and looking to start from a clean slate.
Despite an opening win over Niles Bakery thanks to a Carl Webster goal, their were to be massive changes still around the corner for the season ahead. Luke Styles had been showing a lack of commitment to the team and had failed to show up for 3 of the last 4 matches and with the lads very unhappy and feeling let down...his contract was terminated.
Of course, now we only had Richard Golley in the defence with Ricko and Webby in midfield along with Jim Martyn and Gavin Kitts for strikers. In yet more changes, Gavin Kitts was moved into defence as cover for the meantime leaving us with barely any attacking options yet again. Jim's strike rate of only 4 goals in 2 seasons was another problem for us.
MAY 2007 AND ONWARDS
After our opening win, then followed two lacklustre defeats with us scoring no goals. Something had to be done. Ricko was in the processing of trialling St Blazey hot shot Gareth Geach who was a free agent at the time. It was a bit of a gamble and the Carps boys were not exactly cheering when Geach appeared and went straight into the side as the main attacker. It could have been a waste of time and everyone was sceptical of Geach in the beginning.
Also, by now, Neil 'Hoops' Slaughter had become the Carps number one fan and assistant to Ricko and he was there every game cheering us on. Even he had doubts about bringing in an unknown player like Geach.
By the final whistle of the Gover match though, Gareth Geach was signed up for Carpeteers full time as he was the missing link we had so desperately needed. We romped to our biggest win ever with a 5-1 victory and Geach had smashed a hat trick on his debut leaving the rest of the squad with no doubt as to who should now play as striker.
Things weren't straight forward after that though. 2 more games without scoring left us scratching our heads yet again as our season wasn't exactly flying. It was the next game against Blades [ later becoming Kernow ] that kick started the promotion charge of that season. We went 6 games unbeaten including 4 wins and 12 goals scored. Stand in appearances and goals from the likes of Nathan Ball and Jack Walker were also appreciated.
This left us on the brink of the title in a 4 way go with Blades, Gherkins and Gover. The final night of the season we had to play Gherkins and Gover in a double header that would decide the title and promotion places.
It was a dull wet night and it was a strange one because in some respects we didn't seem up for it. I don't know, well it just all seemed to slip away far too easily as Gover saw us off 2-0 with a team of many new players from the side we beat 5-1 just 2 months earlier.
A win against Gherkins would have saved our season though [ Andy Geach filled in on the night ] but it all went wrong. We played hard against them but fell to bits after they took the lead. We lost 3-0 and our season was destroyed. We felt terrible...everyone trundled off home gutted and despondent. We felt like it had all been a waste of time and that we had thrown 2 months of great wins and great football down the drain with a shocker all on one night. We came 4th in the end as Blades snatched 3rd. Gover and Gherkins went up to the Championship.
Next was the end of season cup comp and 3 wins out of 5 put us into the main QF of the cup and we were playing well you couldn't doubt that. Craig Phillips was to trial for us in the latter stages of the cup with a possible full time move the following season.
One of our best wins ever happened in that QF. We came up against a Premiership St Stephens team who had just won the Championship and the 3rd Division the season before that. They were unbeaten in 30 games apart from once but we nailed them 3-0 here to go into the SF.
Against Redditch in the SF we conceded one of the most freaky goals of all time as a Carps defensive clearance bounced off the chest of a Redditch player and into the Carps goal from 25 yards to end our cup run. We had dominated the whole game and that result wasn't fair at all but it's football for you.
SUMMER 2007
Many of the Carps players [ including Richard Golley ] were adamant that if we were going to gain promotion in our 4th season then we would need to bring in new players. Gav Kitts and Golley had settled in well at the back of the Carps defence with Ricko, Jim and Webby running the midfield. Ozzie was still very important to us in goal and Gareth Geach was critical as our striker.
When news that Premiership striker Craig Phillips had been ousted from Poltair Predators Ricko was quick to act and immediately had a meeting with Craig about bringing him into the team on a full time basis. This player was too good to let go and he was never likely to be a free agent ever again. Quite simply put ' he had to be signed ' . Caretaker manager Hoops agreed that Ricko should pursue Craig's signature and the deal was struck within hours at the local Shoezone shop in St Austell.
Where one problem was sorted another one arose. Despite the news of Craig's transfer from Poltair Preds to Carpeteers being the biggest transfer of that season and probably one of the best ever, the deal was not met with any enthusiasm from one player in the Carps camp. All of the players were delighted to have Craig on board for the new season but Richard Golley left the team within days and rejoined former team Tornadoes.
Tornadoes boss Nick Thompson even made him Captain in an attempt to entice him back to the team in which he played as goalkeeper before joining Carps over a season ago. Thompson knew he had made a big mistake letting Golley leave in the first place and duly let him have the captaincy and an outfield position this time around.
Carpeteers were without a defender going into the new season and Ricko decided he would have to drop from midfield to defence with Gavin Kitts to fill in the void left by Golley. Craig Phillips and Gareth Geach were now a formidable partnership up front. However, Craig had to play centre back with Ricko in the first game of the season as Gavin Kitts was unavailable.
The rumours were that Gavin was on his way back to Tornadoes with Golley [ they are best friends and still are ] . Gav did decide his future lay with Carpeteers though and he was more than happy to continue being the centre back, after originally being signed by Ricko to play up front!
SEASON 4 - THE ROMP TO THE TITLE
The 4th season was a total romp for us. It all came together very nicely. 13 wins out of 14 games with only 6 goals conceded ALL season. Only a rare lapse of concentration at the mid point when we lost to the average Premier Printers 1-0 cost us the chance of going the whole season unbeaten.
Their were some tough games that season mind. Argonauts pushed us all the way but we held on to win 2-1 and the title decider against Kernow at the end was a real battle. Again we came away 2-1 winners and won the league by 9 points.
There was no denying that the final ingredient to the team was Craig Phillips as he and Geach enjoyed a season of total domination on the strikers charts smashing in 23 goals between them. Ricko and Carl Webster played their part grabbing 6 goals between them. Gavin Kitts was a total rock at the back of the defence with Ozzie doing a sterling job in goal for us. Jimmy had a great time as he deservedly got his hands on the silverware.
Even the mighty Hoops came on and got a goal from the penalty spot on the final day of the season. Wonderful times. Richard Golley was certainly not missed during the season although Tornadoes improved upon his return, gaining promotion to the Premiership. Rumour was now out that manager Nick Thompson secretly wanted Gav Kitts back at Tornadoes after seeing his incredible performances for Carpeteers, but Gav was staying loyal and going nowhere,
In the cup, we were unbeaten in all 6 of our group games which meant we reached the QF of the main cup comp. We saw off Football Furians 1-0 before losing on penalties to The Badgers in the semis. We seem destined to always go out at that stage.
SPRING 2008 - ANOTHER TITLE
For our 5th season we were back in the Championship and with the strongest team we'd ever had. We weren't sure how we would fair but it soon became clear that we had even improved another level ourselves. We did the nigh on impossible and went the whole season unbeaten as Champions scoring more goals than our division 3 title the season before.
Wins over Kernow 8-2 and 7-0 , 5-3 and 4-0 over Gherkins and our biggest win to date, 9-0 over Gover [ revenge ] meant we were a team really playing well together and our team spirit on and off the pitch was really good. Hoops even grabbed his first ever outfield goal in 38 years against Gover. Everything was good for us.
In fact the season had not gone too well at all at times as Ricko suffered several injury problems which caused him to miss a lot of games and likewise Gareth Geach who missed nearly half the season with an ankle sprain. This makes our achievement of going unbeaten for the whole season even more incredible and the likes of Webby, Jimmy, Gav, Craig and Ozzie had to be at the top of their game to cope with the absent players. What a season !!!
Someone who does deserve a special mention for having an amazing season was Andy Geach. Andy filled in for his brother Gareth when he was out injured and proved to be a fine player scoring 14 goals along the way and undoubtedly helped us to lift the title. He was so good in fact, Ricko was happy to sign him up for good and he joined the Carps full time.
So back to back titles and promotions were complete after some early dark days struggling to survive in the 3rd division. Some mighty fine players came into the team along the way and at last after 5 seasons, the Premiership was upon us. First of all though, it was into the cup for another crack at trying to end our Semi Final hoodoo.
4 wins and a draw saw us top our cup group and we were into the QF's of the main cup again. This time we defeated Premiership runners up DB's 1-0 and moved into the SF very hopeful of going all the way. However our tough draw continued as Premier League champions Chenpump awaited us. A tense game went against us as a deflected goal gave Chenpump a slender 1-0 win. The SF jinx was back to do us again.
Our first Premiership match ever was against Craig Phillips' former club Poltair Preds and we duly got off to a great start winning 4-0, Craig getting 2 of the goals. He took the captains armband for that game.
After a tight 0-0 draw against Tesco and narrow 2-1 win against Football Furians, we were riding high in the top 3. It all suddenly changed though as life in the Premier League caught us out and it showed we would need to adapt to the climate of the higher quality on offer. 3 defeats and 2 draws from our next 5 games left us dicing with relegation. This was tough and the title suddenly seemed a million miles away.
With goals being conceded by us left right and centre, some teams decided to try and take advantage of the situation. Weak division 3 sides that laughably are now extinct, tried to tempt Ozzie with the easy life of playing back in the bottom league. Ozzie began to question his own ability between the sticks and was photographed in talks with opposition teams.
Eventually he came clean and admitted that Carpeteers was his team and that he was going to focus hard on sorting out his season at the top. With Ozzie focused once again the next tactic to stop the slide was to bring Craig back to sit in front of the defence rather than attacking midfield. It worked a treat for us and we won the next 4 games , 6-0, 3-0, 2-0, 2-0. We were back, and the title hunt was still on.
3 wins in our last 6 games meant we finished a clear 3rd of 10 teams in our first Premiership season. It was a campaign of learning as much as anything and realistically we knew we were never going to romp away with this league like we had the two seasons previously even before it had started. It was a success for us all round really despite some inner camp turmoil during the middle part of the season.
Tempers had begun to flare after 5 games without a win but manager Ricko and assistant Hoops knew it would be a season of trying things out and keeping our heads on the ground and remaining calm. Eventually it worked out ok but there was no denying the domination at the top of the table. The Roses won well with DB's in the runners up spot again. We were 8 points back in 3rd and just couldn't live with them this time around. Maybe next season.
With the cup starting again Craig Phillips was seen putting pen to paper with DB's who apparently had offered him a lucrative deal to play as their main striker next season. After many days of uncertainty and turmoil once again in the Carps camp...Craig put pen to paper and signed a new improved deal with CARPETEERS and everyone was glad to see it finally happen.
The cup was upon us once more before going for a second Premiership title shot. We made a good start to our group with 1-0 wins over Hotshots and Estudiantes from the lower divisions, Ricko's new golden boots gunning down the latter team run by common thief Gareth Massey. Injuries creeped into the side that saw Webby, Ricko and Andy Geach miss parts of the cup matches, and 2 sloppy draws against Gherkins 0-0, Badgers 1-1 and a shocking 0-1 defeat to Average Joes saw us fail to qualify for the main cup for the first time in 5 attempts.
Most people agreed though that the Shield comp [ which we were now in ] had a stronger line up than the top cup but we didn't lose focus and stormed into our first ever final with a 2-0 QF win over Neil Truan Motors and a 1-0 SF victory over Poltair Preds. Only our old rivals Chenpump stood in our way who had incredibly been relegated to the Championship after winning the Premiership the season before.
After a tight scrappy game that had few chances, a sudden death penalty shoot out was to decide the winners. Craig Phillips stepped up first but was unlucky enough to have his kick saved and Chenpump tucked theirs away to take the Shield.
Despite this loss we were still very focused on the new Premiership season, our 7th season in existence. However big decisions were to be made before the off and Jim Martyn's contract was terminated at the beginning of the season. After several team discussions all the players agreed it was for the best for the team as Jimmy's heart didn't seem in it anymore in recent times. In fact he had not been seen up at the games for over 5 weeks even to watch or cheer us on and Ricko and Gav were forming a formidable partnership in the defence that had helped steer us to 3rd the season before. We wish Jimmy all the best in the future and for his services in the lower divisions.
WINTER 2008 - SEASON 7
A scrappy 1-0 win over One Team to open up our Premiership account was good enough and we took 3 wins from our first 5 games, including a 6-1 thrashing of Gareth Massey and his Badgers team. Steven Dash joined us part time to fill in when needed as he was a free agent after being booted out by Adam Tuck at Chesney United last season.
A 0-1 defeat to top of the table Poltair Preds left us fuming and the referee banned after some dreadful decisions went against us costing us dearly. Then, after losing to Neil Truan Motors 1-2 on a night to forget, things suddenly got real tough for us and yet more inner team problems reared up just when you thought things were stable.
It had seemed that Dan ' Ozzie ' Osbourne had been settled with the Carps after turning down a move to a weak division 3 side before the season had started, but another offer, this time from Chesney United was tempting him away yet again and with Chesney offering him free football at the 2008 Xmas tournament Ozzie couldn't resist saving some cash and duly left Carpeteers.
With Captain and player manager Ricko refusing to pay for any of his squad to play in any match in any tournament, the gauntlet was laid down. ''Anyone who thinks they shouldn't have to pay can leave the team''. That was the message sent out to all players. The Carpeteers held urgent talks and all decided they were sticking together and Chesney United goalkeeper Jason Hoare was quickly snapped up to fill the vacant gloves left by Ozzie.
Jason had been instrumental in helping Chesney gain promotion from the 3rd division and the Championship last season and the team was delighted to have him on board.
With the turmoil still on everyone's minds and Craig Phillips unavailable for our next game, bottom side Gherkins duly took advantage of our confused state and rushed into a 3-0 lead before we realised what was going on. Jason could not have had a worse start to his Carps career but back we came to make it 3-2 and somehow we never got the equaliser.
It was the next game that really kicked off our season again. With 3 defeats in a row [ our worst run for 85 matches! ] we knew we had to beat Chesney United or the title was as good as over as early as game 8 / 18. You couldn't fault our spirit as we dominated the match to win 1-0 when it should have been 5 or 6 and Jason kept a great clean sheet. The charge for the title was back on.
INTO 2009........
What followed the Chesney victory and all the turmoil mid season, was a sensational run in until the end of the season, with 10 straight games without defeat with 6 wins and 4 draws. Unfortunately, despite playing hard ball with all of our opponents and grinding out results to avoid defeat, it was our attacking which perhaps suffered as we ended up drawing too many matches and perhaps being too cautious.
In those games, eventual shock champions One Team, long time leaders DB's and the ever dangerous Poltair Preds and Neil Truan Motors, all threw the kitchen sink at us but couldn't beat us. The DB's game in particular was frustrating in that Captain Ricko will not forget a glaring miss in front of goal when the game was delicately poised at 1-1 with just 5 minutes left. As it turned out, it made no difference to our actual position come the end of the season.
The run in did feature some great victories though. A battling 3-1 win over Football Furions amongst them, an easy 3-0 win over rock bottom Badgers who continue to employ the utterly useless Gareth Massey, who predictably dragged them to relegation this season without even a hope of looking good.
Carps saved the best til last though with 3 great victories to end the season on a high, and 3 clean sheets to match, as all players dug in deep. A 5-0 thrashing of Gherkins [ who like Badgers, also ended up relegated ] saw the Geach brothers in scintillating form and Ricko playing with a broken nose! The best win of the season maybe came in the penultimate match as Steve Dash gained revenge on Chesney Utd for booting him out, with 2 clinical finishes to destroy them good and proper.
A solid 3-0 win over Team Supreme in the final game of the season meant we sneaked into the runners up spot in the Premiership final table, level on points with Preds and DB's and 6 points behind incredible winners One Team. Congratulations to them it has to be said.
The cup followed an incredible season for us, something we have still yet to get our hands on. We always play for the big cup however, while many of our rivals field weak sides to lose games, play in the weaker competitions, and grab weak silverware. Not us.
Neil Truan ended our undefeated streak of 10 games in our first cup match. Then there were 2 easy wins against low league sides Burton and Jedi Mind Tricks. JMT included former Carpeteer flops amongst their ranks and predictably, JMT were beaten.
What followed though brought everyone down to Earth with a bang as a new looking Boyzone outfit destroyed us 3-0 and then an unbelievable 1-0 defeat to Gover !!! [ who we had beaten 9-0, 12 months earlier ] despite us camping in their half for the whole match, hitting the woodwork 6 times ! and having all the possession, Gover broke away in the final minute to score and win.
We crashed in the QF of the Shield to Londis in a somewhat poor way to end our Shield campaign. The news of Hoops damaging knee ligaments and Andy Geach limping out with a twisted ankle also gave us cause for concern going into the new season.
SUMMER 2009
However the new season started brightly with 2 wins and a draw from our first 3 matches. This set up a mouth watering tie against Chesney Utd who had 9 points from their opening 3 games and looked very dangerous having signed Martin ' Slugger' Sleaman from Football Furions during the close season.
The 'big' match was just that and with Chesney's new star signing at the centre of it all, they ran out 3-0 winners over a Carpeteers team that threw the kitchen sink at them. Former Carps keeper Dan 'Ozzie' Osbourne was star man, keeping out shots from everyone of the team from all angles.
We did not let it get to us and bounced back with a 6-2 mauling of Boyzone the following week and a nice win over One Team [ champions of last season ] who were now rock bottom with 6 defeats in 7 games.
With the title charge back on track, we again suffered our usual mid season dip in form to lose to former Premier League champions Chenpump due to lack of players available.
2 more good wins for us put us back into 2nd place but Chesney were running away at the top with a 100% win record after 7 games. The next game was against the improving Football Furions, and Furions destroyed us 3-0 after a tense looking match that seemed to be heading for a 0-0 draw. 3 late goals from Furions when we pushed for the jugular, finally ended our title hopes except for miracles.
Of the remaining 8 matches of the season we won 5 of them to finish a close 3rd place, just 3 points behind Furions and 8 behind Chesney Utd. We scored more goals than last season, although conceded more as we attacked a lot more. The only reason we didn't become champions was that we didn't win the games against the top 2.
6 of the last 10 games of the season were played on the grass pitches due to the relaying of a new astro surface at Poltair school and we took to the grass well, only losing one game 3-1, which was to eventual champions Chesney.
The shock of the season was champions from the previous campaign, One Team, disbanding.
On the squad front, Craig Phillips enjoyed a very fruitful season grabbing 20 goals, including his 100th Carps strike in the first game on the new astro surface vs City Boys. Injuries were scarce apart from Hoops' ongoing treatment for a niggling knee injury along with a double toe nail removal. Ricko Barker had a torrid 2007/8 with injury after injury [ including a very painful in growing toe nail problem like Hoops ] but has worked back to fitness with heavy running and training sessions and came through the whole season having played a part in every game. He also had his best goal scoring season for 8 seasons.
Gavin Kitts filled in between the sticks on many occasions if Jason Hoare was absent and impressed several times. This adds an important new dimension into the team to fall back on if required. Jason Hoare left the team at the end of this season [ 8 ] to pursue new work ventures abroad. We thank him for his time in Carpeteers.
Another long time hero to play for Carps also hung up his boots during the season. That was Carl 'Webby' Webster. Webby notched 31 goals in his time with the Carps from midfield and played a huge part in the rise from Div 1 to the Prem in recent seasons. Him and Ricko were the 2 originals who pushed the team onwards with the new signings coming in like the Geach brothers and Craig Phillips.
Webby will be missed in the centre of the park winning all those headers and passing the ball around so well and despite him concentrating on other projects now, including a career at 11 a side football with Mount Charles, he has said he is happy to fill in if needed at any time.
His shirt will be hung above the mantle in his front room with pride and we all thank him for being a top player.
After 3 seasons in the Premiership, with 3, top 3 finishes it was once again onto the elusive cup competition that still continues to elude us.
Captain Ricko took a well earned break for the 3 week comp as he concentrated on his Eden Half Marathon race while skipper Craig Phillips took on the job of steering the team to some virgin silverware from the cup.
5 straight wins with 5 clean sheets followed and we topped the group in fine style. New goalkeeper Shaun 'Moley' Hicks also making his debut during the cup run with a debut clean sheet and also Ben Hemingway doing a fine job between the sticks as he to kept a couple of clean sheets for us. Well done Ben. He's never been on a Carps losing side yet !
Sadly, Carps met a real tough City Boys team in the QF of the cup who wanted this comp more than anything. They inflicted our heaviest defeat for 168 games as they thrashed us 4-0. It was a total shambles and new Carps keeper Moley was left with no chance. This was not what the Carps wanted going into the new season.
However, on a real foggy and miserable evening to start the 4th Premiership campaign of the Carpeteers [ and our 9th season together ], we fought out a 2-1 win over Neil Truan Motors to get the season underway with a bang.
2009 /10
Further convincing wins over Boyzone 3-0 and a fantastic 6-0 romp over Tesco saw Carps top of the table after 3 matches. In game 4, Carps led 3-0 over bottom club Team Supreme at half time with an Andy Geach hat trick and the bookies were slashing the odds on a first Carps Premiership title.
However, in 10 short minutes, the season was to be completely changed and relegation became the teams greatest fear since season 1 back in mid 2006.
Team Supreme, led by the ever flamboyant Scott Laughton, turned around a 3-0 deficit to draw the match 3-3 out of nowhere...but it destroyed the Carps confidence and season in one clean swoop.
The 3-3 draw was the first game of a terrible run of form that saw us win just 1 match in our next 10 games ! Carpeteers couldn't win a match and top of the table soon became bottom 3 and no one could see where the next good result was going to come from.
The injuries to the team were difficult to manage through season 9 and definitely played a big part in the downfall that season.
Andy Geach was the main missing link but other players were also missing for vital matches due to events beyond their control.
One of the more memorable matches that season was the 1-1 draw with Team Supreme where Scott Laughton [ returning from a broken leg ] played in goal on his comeback match for TS and saved everything until the final minute. He famously saved a 25 yard shot from Ricko that went on to hit the crossbar at a million miles an hour. Scott's goalkeeping in that game is still talked about to this day.
Carps had one last chance to turn things around for their season when they met 2nd placed Chesney United after their 1/10 run and had their full squad out for the first time in the season.
Never has a Carpeteers squad pulled together so much and the 1- 0 win that followed went to prove that on their day, the team could beat anyone in the Premiership. The fact that Dan Judas Osbourne was in goal for Chesney that day made it all the more special for the lads and wild celebrations were had after the game.
2 more wins from the last 3 games made us safe from relegation and actually put us in 4th spot. Incredibly one of those games saw a team put 5 goals past us, only the second time that has ever happened in our existence. Famous [ the champions ] won 3-5 in a thriller of a match.
Annoyingly, we lost out on 3rd place in the table due to a points deduction for our goalie Shaun Moley Hicks, playing a game earlier in the season while banned by the FA for gross misconduct. The deduction proved costly for us.
We cruised through our cup group after the league had finished with Gareth Geach scoring an incredible 5 goals in one game against Jedi Mind Tricks in our second biggest win ever [ 8-1 ] in May 2010. JMT player manager Tom Lal completely messed the team up and it went downhill rapidly after his arrival. He duly slipped out the backstage entrance door hoping not to be noticed and thankfully JMT are a much bigger and better team in 2011 under new management.
Carps crashed out in the cup QF to Premiership winners Famous, in what some believed to be a fixed draw to try to get rid of the Carps early on in the comp. Nothing could ever be proved however and with both Geach brothers being kicked off the pitch with injuries, Famous won 0-2.
The Carps team was rather steady at the start of 2010 as Ricko and Gav Kitts played at the back, the Geach brothers ran the show in midfield and Craig Phillips played up front .
Damon Mulready had helped out in the defence on occasions but was reluctant to commit full time when Carps offered him a deal for the start of season 10.
Shaun Hicks was also proving hit and miss with the team due to his poor disciplinary record that saw him banned and missing for many games. Kai Stone was brought in as a replacement temporarily between the sticks and proved a big hit but again, he failed to commit full time to the squad.
It seemed Season 10 was going to be another season of ups and downs although we agreed it couldn't get any worse than our previous season.
SUMMER 2010
Season 10 began very patchy yet again with just 1 win from the opening 5 matches. The team really had to work hard if they were to survive now. It really was a big time in the Carpeteers history.
By this time, Damon Mulready was now almost unavailable indefinitely and Carps looked for fresh blood once more to bolster the defence.
Chris Warbz Warburton was drafted in for a trial and impressed as he helped collect 2 wins in his first 2 games including a clean sheet in his very first game vs Londis [ W5-0 ] .
Ricko had also drafted in Scott Laughton on loan upon hearing the news that Team Supreme had folded at the start of the season. His goals were already proving vital.
Also, Carpeteers had taken a huge gamble in playing defensive rock for several seasons, Gavin Kitts, in goal for the time being.
These changes brought about 4 huge wins in a row that got the season right back on track, including a super 2-1 victory over Champions Famous that some people thought couldn't be done.
Suddenly Carps were hit with the bad news that Warbz would be leaving the team after just 2 games due to work commitments and the team seemed to sulk on the matter as they lost 2 games in quick succession to really dent their title hopes.
Another new defender in the name of Puls8's Gary Griesen filled the void left by Warbz for the next couple of matches. However, Carps were surprised when Warbz made an incredible U turn after his job fell through and he was put straight back into the team at short notice to bolster the defence alongside captain Ricko.
An immense 4-2 victory over league leaders and champions Famous was one of the greatest wins of all time for any side seen at Cornwall 6 a side that included absolutely everything. Goals, sending offs, reckless challenges and above all else, unbearable tension. Even Hoops' 5 million word report made it onto the 6 a side website for all to read. An unbelievable victory never to be forgotten.
The team that beat Famous was sadly unable to make it the following week and a game to Tesco was lost which finished the title hunt for us. The retired Carl Webster returning to help out the side and grabbing a goal with it.
A VICTORY BEYOND ALL EXPECTATIONS
Carpeteers greatest moment however, was to happen away from the Cornwall 6 aside league when they entered into the 2010 Lee Jago Memorial Tournament for the first time. The facebook chat rooms were rife with chitter chatter from the "big boys" . There were even odds dealt out on the top 6 or 7 teams but no Carpeteers to be seen anywhere. 50/1 rank outsiders? the forgotten team ? you bet ya.....and we were happy with that...
Carps made do without Craig Phillips who transferred to Foxhole [ just for this torny ] and Scott Laughton filled in, while Richard Golley [ in hindsight ] made a shockingly bad team switch 5 minutes before the tournament kicked off to help another side short on players. [ Golley had decided to play this Tournament for Carps as a one off ] and also Carl Webster returned to the fray from retirement for Carpeteers..
Carps cruised through their group with no goals conceded and managed to see off Richard Golley and the Tornadoes in the QF 1-0 after a close game.
Next up....St Austell first team. Were they bigger, stronger and better than us? No, we played with hearts on sleeves and a determination that nearly saw us win 1-0 albeit for a late equaliser from them that they scrambled over the line with just 2 minutes to go. The only goal we let in all day.
We won the penalty shoot out after some Gavin Kitts heroics in the Carps goal including one save where he headed butted the cross bar upon diving for the ball !!!
We had made the final and played a team mainly made up of Famous players from the St Austell 6 a side league. Say what you want, but they were odds on favourites here.
Once more we battled for every single blade of grass the ball touched and forced a rare late corner in the final minute of time after soaking up pressure for the whole match. Scott Laughton blasted the corner in to the area and suddenly the ball was in the net after a couple of mini deflections. Ex Carps stopper Kai Stone was unable to keep the ball out and Carpeteers had pinched tournament victory with just 7 seconds to go [ referee confirmed this after the whistle had gone ]
Some funny stories from the day..........1.Carpeteers not even mentioned in the pre match betting ? haha.............2.Hoops decided he wasn't coming to watch...he missed Carpeteers greatest ever achievement [ that's jibbing for you ] .....and 3.The St Austell Voice printed in the following weeks newspaper that St Austell F C second team had won the tournament and even had their photo plastered all over the back of the sports section......hahaha bad losers or what? We did our talking on the pitch...Carpeteers won...
Back to the league and 3 wins out of 4 on the run in left us in 5th spot, just 3 points off 2nd place. In fact the last game of the season defeat by Londis 1-4 could have been so different. It really was a 6 pointer. Lose and we come 5th, win and we come 2nd.
During the run in, Ricko ended a 32 game goalless run with a tap in against Chenpump while Gareth Geach topped the scoring charts with 20 goals. Dan Bray was also seen to deputise in the final match of the season.
Once more Carpeteers went without any cup silverware after winning 4/4 of their cup matches. A 0-1 defeat to Jailers in the semi final ending all hopes of a cup win for the 10th season running.
WINTER 2010 - SPRING 2011 - Season 11
Season 11 was a hopeful one for the Carps after some good end of season form from season 10 and the cup especially. With Warbz lining up with Ricko at the back, and fewer injuries, there was a serious chance of a title push.
An opening 0-0 draw with Tesco was promising, a 2-0 win over Londis was good form and a narrow defeat to A-Team was slightly disappointing.
Then the Carps started the fire. 6 wins in a row with 17 goals scored and only 5 conceded put us firmly in the title chase.
A massive match against A-Team followed [ who were top ] and A-Team pinched a last minute deflected shot win that moved them clear in the title race.
Incredibly, Carps would not lose another game during the season and won 9 of their last 11 games. The goals were flowing in thick and fast and there were no injuries to disrupt the momentum as had been the case in the previous 3 seasons.
The defence was rock solid, the best defence in Cornwall 6 a side for the second season running - FACT.
A-team [ formerly Chesney Utd ] were also romping through the season and only had to beat Carpeteers in the 5th to last game of the season to wrap up the title.
Carps love the big stage [ they got the better of Famous last season in their final 2 meetings ] and produced an amazing victory by winning 3-2 when behind 1-2 with only 2 minutes left on the clock.
This Craig Phillips hat trick has never been beaten for quality and timing it must be said. The team though, did a great job that day. Never give up. What a motto.
That victory over A-Team was sadly not to be enough. Carps closed a 9 point gap down to just 4 after the final match as A-Team scrambled for the line, that 2-1 win over Carps earlier in the season proving an all important result in the end.
A record points haul for Carpeteers of 51 points and the runners up spot showed it to be our best season to date to really cement our position in the Premiership's elite.
Can we stay there?
News in May 2011 was that Warbz will be leaving the team once more...this time for good as he moves across the Welsh border to begin a new life.
Dan Bray, Steven Dash and Anthony Stone are all currently helping Carps out as a new cup campaign begins. The Cup and the Premiership still eludes the Carpeteers in May 2011. However as our 5th anniversary approaches, assistant manager Hoops and captain/manager Ricko will ensure the team continues with it's high standards and well organised efficiency.
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