It’s been a curious week in the grand scheme of all things SHWFC Our two sessions were held with the backdrop of the final week of Euro 24 grabbing the national headlines For our members, the Club’s Social Secretary and cunning 2 for 1 Cockney impresario had devised a mega sweepstake, as this Blog is penned we’ve reached the last two (or four as there are 2 contests) So forget all the nationalistic fervour the harsh reality is that it’s now
England (Mark Gravy Gravener and Mike Andrews) plucky Brits facing
Spain (Brian Prendergast and Andy Manager) crack continental outfit
This week’s games reflected the excitement; with dubious VAR decisions, plucky players battling on through adversity, spectacular goals, great come backs and some surprises too
Monday morning’s Ruskin session was played in the best conditions of the week with 38 combatants lining up to attract the attentions of the selectors We had 2 crack teams of Seven, who were rewarded for the endeavours with an hour of facing each other in an epic game that was refereed in fine style by Steve Jones Modestly he remarked that it was an excellent contest with the result in doubt throughout Players behaved impeccably and sportingly, all the more remarkable because this was Steve’s first ever stint as a Walking Football Referee
The sides were;
Purple - Donal, Amazon Prime, debutant Dennis Ashby, Haggis, Mark NR, Eamon and Phil the Power
Yellow - Gonzalo, Chopper (back after a long injury interval, Charlie, Les Meldrew, Jim, Little John and Phil the Cat
Purple started brightly and went ahead when Dave Amazon Prime delivered a fine strike Mark NR displayed his usual economy of effort to double the lead before Eamon and then Haggis scored to propel Purple into a 4 goal half time lead There was a reshuffle with Charlie forced to withdraw Margaret entered the fray as an emergency replacement (ball boy/girl duties abandoned to help the cause) Phil powered his way to prop up the Yellow in a £multi million swop The switch brought immediate dividends as Phil claimed Yellow’s opening goal Eamon was unfortunate to concede an OG (let the records note) Yellow now in the ascendancy with Gonzalo hitting a quick brace to bring the sides level Itvwas left to Phil the complete the turnaround with the decisive strike 5-4 to Yellow, who were down and out at the break
The remaining players formed 4 six a side teams and were pitted against each other in a Round Robin
Black - Tom Derby, Harry the Hatchet, Wickie, Kirsty, Michelle Monday and Roger
Orange - Paul F, Spiro, Tom Stretch, Enoch, Simon and El Presidente
Pink - Chris Kelsall, McSpeed, Snakehips, Lee Jenko, Colin the Late and Triallist
Sky- Steve Honeyman, Citeh Geoff, Geoff Ballboy, Barry Wizz, Les Hewitt and Gary Wilkins
Our two WFA Referees Jeff Betty Birchall (bronzed after going missing in Spain for 5 weeks) and Les Lomax (rusty after going missing in Widnes for a week) were in charge of Pitches A (nearest the grandstand) and B (parallel to A) respectively
On to the action with Pink and Sky taking the opening fixture on Pitch A Goals proved hard to come by all session with the solitary strike by Lee Jenkinson settling the opening game Defences firmly on top There was a deluge (if three counts as a deluge) in the second game This featured Orange and Sky with inevitable speedy action about the pitch Sky claimed the victory with Barry Wizz and Les Hewitt on target, whilst Orange has just a Tom Stretch goal in reply Game three was a scoreless stalemate Black and Blue (Sky variant) unable to find the net
Pitch B featured a series of low scoring matches too Conclusion either some superb goalkeeping on display or woeful finishing - leave that for you to determine
In a tight opening match a Tom Derby goal secured a win for Black against Orange It was a close game but Orange struggled to find a finish to match their all round competence In the next game Black struggled to find the net and finally were undone with Lee Jenko on the mark to keep the Pink unbeaten after their opening games In the final action Chris Kelsall powered both goals as Pink punished Orange 2-0 Pink positively blushing with their morning’s work, whilst Orange were crushed to not produce at least a point that their play possibly deserved
England’s underwhelming progress in the Euro 24 slugfest meant a Wednesday semi final showdown with the Netherlands at 8pm in Dortmund
EUFA were petulantly reluctant to reschedule the match as it created a potential clash with midweek action at Sutton SoccerDome So in a demonstration of rare appeasement our Executive negotiated an early 6pm kick for the midweek meander
Unsurprisingly we had the usual number of cry-offs; hairdressing appointments, library books to return and I’ve been off work with a dicky tummy (the individual had retired some years ago) In the end a hardy bunch of 22 players plus ball boy and rather late Referee took to the stage with Europe watching on
The teams were;
Red - Gravy, Jim, Darron, Little John, Deano and Jason
Green - Andy Man, Citeh Geoff, Steve Carine, Chris 4G, Enoch and Jeff Betty
The opening goal was claimed by Steve Carine sweeping home after some good passing Jason quickly responded with an equaliser that was a reward for some great teamwork By half time another powerful Carine effort made the score 2-1 to Green At this point the troops were left to fend for themselves as El Presidente departed to look after the 5 a side contest on the adjacent pitch Despite all temptations to bend the rules in reality the game was played in a sporting non-controversial manner The final score 4-3 was a testimony to the close contest Goals by Enoch and those two early goals by Steve steered Green to victory Little John, Deano and Jason replied for Red Enjoyment radiated at the end of the game Great to see some terrific football in the game
Blues led 3-2 at the break thanks to a brace by Eamon and a Midweek Michelle special Barry claimed a brace in reply At this juncture El Presidente arrived to cast a weathered eye on proceedings
Blues - Eamon, Midweek Michelle, Haggis, Tom Stretch and Les Hewitt
Yellow - Barry, Chris 10P, Lord Rainford, Joe the Ghost and Graham Kidd
Chris 10P hit a customary low pass into the corner of the net for 3-3 Tom Stretch restored the narrow Blue advantage at 4-3 Barry spurned a good chance to level Chris 10P did draw the game level however with another well placed low drive 4-4
In tricky conditions with a strong breeze added to the very fast surface play was scrappy at times At this point Haggis blocked a fierce drive with his sporran, whilst we waited for the cry of agony our favourite Scot shrugged off it off Clearly he really is made from girders!
Graham Kidd found a goal from the tightest of angles Yellow 5-4 ahead as the teams turned round to give Barry’s Blues the final advantage The ball flying around in the testing wind clearly too good for him to resist There was a long scoreless period as players found their opponents equally motivated
Lord Rainford flitted in and out of the game but struggled to get to the pace after his recent absence Joe ghosted in to position but wasted a couple of good chances Chris 10P found the net to put Yellow ahead Haggis’ favoured scoop technique was ineffective Plenty of endeavour but no great quality on show now The game was there for the taking but it took a Tom Stretch effort following a shot parried into his path to put Blue back on top Eamon was urged to take the ball into the corner to play out time But with just 3 touches and two minutes left that was hardly going to work Les Hewitt blocked a chance Lord Rainford had worked
Michelle and Tom Stretch showed plenty of effort in these dying moments to steer Blue home A very tight game decided by better overall teamwork At the final whistle Blue celebrated the narrowest victory by 6 goals to 5
The Boot Room was stretched to bursting by a coachload of Dutch supporters keen to cheer their team to the Euro 24 final SHWFC aficionados retreated to the nearby Cowley to watch England claim a 91st minute winner How we moaned, tutted and scolded Gareth Southgate for his cack-handed managerial dog’s dinner - but somehow England prevailed So we are promised a surprise appearance in the EUFA Big Cup final and the chance of national glory Let’s do it England
Expectations* - Katie Pruitt blissful easy listening
Come on England ⚽️