Standard weather conditions prevailed at Ruskin Sports Village on Monday morning as something approaching normality returned to the SHWFC calendar Overnight squally rain eased up during the squad arrival and eventual session, and promptly returned as members retreated to the sumptuous surroundings of the Slipper Salon for post play confectionery (courtesy of WFA's own Les Lomax) At the risk of tempting fate, the god fearing membership enjoyed a period of benign conditions to do their thing
The morning gave us a bountiful number of players as has become the recent norm, the chance for 4 teams of 7 plus a self indulgent love in featuring 2 teams of 6 (playing each other for the hour) or 40 players as we are sometimes referred to On hand to keep a watchful eye over proceedings Referees Herr Jeff Betty (minus a surplus 'e'), Les Lomax and Phil the Power (and now the Glory) prowled the touchlines looking for errant play In addition Gonzalo brought along his better half plus 2 assorted children to briefly watch their Husband, Father and illustrious Grandfather (for it is He) playing the game few can understand the rules thereof
The teams after exhaustive selection processing were;
Orange (6 segments) - Tomo, Robin, Barry Wizz, Charlie, Steve Jones and Grav
Green (6 too) - Snakehips, Chopper, Tom Derby, Tony Glover, Les H and Amazon Prime
Black (7) - Harry the Hatchet, Anita, Spiro, Mark Dav, Phil the Moss, Les Meldrew, Paul F and Gonzalo
Pink (7) - Chris 10P, Citeh Geoff, Grazer, Margaret, Mika, Lefty Bridge and Andy Man
Purple (7) - El Presidente, Enoch, Lord Rainford, Haggis, Lee Jenko, Cockney Rebel and Michelle Monday
Sky (7) - Simon K, Kirsty, Roger, Little John, McSpeed and Triallist plus A N Other
Injuries have taken a toll on the membership in recent weeks with assorted; calf gah, hamstring hashes and Achilles ooh bugger all featuring in the WhatsApp glossary of Injury Bingo
The morning was but briefly underway when the latest round of break downs occurred Tony Glover was forced to limp from the 6 a side action after 10 minutes A damaged Achilles declared that it was still not ready for the rigours of a game
The first (and last for Tony) action was a thrilling 5-5 draw with Orange romping 3 goals ahead Grav at this point changed sides to alleviate the clear disadvantage that was hindering Green The goals were sprinkled thereafter Referee Phil the Power was pleased with the effort and sportsmanship on display 5-5 as he summoned up the power to blow the final whistle (defective whistle was at fault) Orange goals Steve Jones 4 plus a neat finish by Tomo - matched by Tom Derby (3), Grav, Jill with an unfortunate OG and Chopper
Elsewhere Jeff Betty was in charge as Black powered past Sky 3-0 a brace by Gonzalo and smart shot by Mark Dav sealing the win Next up Black wriggled past a disappointing Purple by the odd goal in three Gonzalo and Dav shading an Enoch strike in a 2-1 win
The second series included a with 3 goals by Ian Lefty Bridge, Chris 10P and John (???)
I really need to read and question the scorers listed before I prepare these Blogs!
The final games included Pink demolishing Black in the battle of the unbeaten sides Chris 10P finding his range but the last goal a fine finish by Margaret brought widespread praise from all who played or witnessed her performance After a lengthy spell out it was great to see her back in action and putting in an excellent performance Purple fought back from a questionable goal by McSpeed to level thanks to Michelle, another who enhanced her reputation on a trying morning El Presidente was at war with the Ref and himself, ending the session with a spell out of harm's way (and earshot) in the keeper's gloves A thorough mouth washing out with naughty step soap was applied and deserved Sorry there I've said it again!
The confectionery provision in the sumptuous surroundings of the Slipper Salon yet again found favour with our members After a week away, this week's offerings were tasty and generous
Wednesday and Sutton SoccerDome provided a much welcomed midweek diversion for our ever-blossoming numbers as Spring ebbs closer Lord Rainford was detained by urgent questions in the House (where did I put me glasses?) Twenty Seven arrived in good spirits with the prospect of a decent night's weather and play
The teams were;
Blue - Mark Dav, Kidda, Deggs, Nigel, Richard and Chris 10P
Red - Midweek Michelle, Enoch, Keith, Subeteo Dave, Chris 4G, Tom Stretch and Jason
Yellow - Thatto Dave, Kenny, Little John, Steve C, Ian Murphy, Kirsty and Haggis
White - Andy Man, Citeh Geoff, Les H, Simon K, Cockney Rebel, Les Meldrew and Grav
White faced Yellow in the opener under El Presidente's beady eye when Grav pounced on a defensive error to put White ahead within 2 minutes we had a brief interlude to settle matters with a series of running infringements to punctuate the play Most of these errors involved players charging through to intercept from a deeper defensive position Simply put you'll always appear a. Obvious b. In the Referee's bad books
The score remained 1-0 despite both sides struggling for the upper hand with neither able to trouble the score keeper again In the other fixture a strong-looking Blue dispatched Red 3-1 thanks to goals by Chris10P, Deggs and Mark Dev Keith hit the Red consolation
In Round Two Yellow entertained Blue in another tight match up Chances were created by both sides but a combination of good keeping and poor shooting ensured things remained tight Eventually with time moving into the last minute Ian Murphy found a great finish off a post and the keeper's back for a Blue victory 1-0 White accounted for Red in the game controlled by Herr Betty with Andy Man grabbing one well deserved goal for another inspiring performance
The night's last action was more routine as Mr Meldrew was caught dwelling in possession and his clearance was seized upon by Chris 10P Blue 1-0 ahead
White patiently passed their way back into contention but struggled in front of goal In sharp contrast Chris 10P found the top far corner with a shot from wide left for 2-0 Deggs finished a pass from a free kick that split the White defence for 3-0 There was the usual suspicion of a run onto the ball (who Deggs?) but it was waved away in a rare show of goodwill across the local football tribal divide Deep in the dying embers Cockney Rebel scored from a wide angle for a consolation 3-1 as time elapsed Some excellent performances to light the night
Yellow made it a miserable night for Red storming to a 3-0 victory thanks to goals by Steve (2) and Rich.
The usual media storm in the Boot Room was a subdued affair with Lord Rainford and Gonzalo both missing Nevertheless the world was put right with little effort required Another good night at Sutton took centre stage in the world of all things SHWFC
Lost It All* - Black Veil Brides (post modern heavy metal institution (that's quite a claim - Spotify)
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