To be a goalkeeper requires many attributes. Anticipation, agility, assertiveness and probably many other things too; not all of them necessarily beginning with ‘a’. Volunteering to go in goal first for the Reds, our hero John H displayed one of these attributes. He assertively marshalled his defenders, he assertively distributed the ball, he assertively called Tom Parr to pass it back to him……… ……..and assertively let it slip through his fingers and trickle into the net. 1-0 to the Blues.
If that first goal for the Blues was pure Billy Smart’s circus, their second was pure Billy Wright*. A sumptuous triangle of passing between the John’s Eden and Davis led to John E making it 2-0; provoking applause from teammates, opponents, officials and even a passing cat.
Could Reds come back from this partly self-inflicted wound? They could! Tom halved the deficit, then, desperate to make up for his earlier boob, John H finally got his fifth (approx.) shot on target. And right on the stroke of half time Che Guevara (aka Tony), with an exquisite finish, made it 3-2.
Petrified by the prospect that it would soon be you-know-who’s turn in goal again; Reds laid siege to the Blue goal to try and increase their lead. They did so when another cracking shot from Tony doubled their advantage. The inevitable Blue fightback happened and a defender’s encroachment into the area gave Jeff for the Blues the opportunity to make it 4-3 from the 6-metre penalty spot.
But that was as close as it got. Escaping from his second goalkeeping stint with a clean sheet – despite suspiciously regarding the ball as a UXB anytime it got near him - John H made it 5-3. Phil finally put the game out of reach with a shot into the corner which burst the net. Well……actually…the net MAY already have had a hole in it but why spoil a good story?
A final score of 6-3 didn’t really tell the whole story as the game was quite even. But honours on another pleasant morning to the Reds.
Everyone is getting to grips with the 4G surface and the newly adopted rules. There was some great football from both sides. Well played all.
*Billy Wright Former England Golden Boy - you'd have to be a certain vintage to remember him!
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