“Gonna be a long night, all night on the nightshift” Wednesday’s Sutton Session is usually that legendary session, it is after all where we‘ve come from (via Beacon if you know your history) There has been a long unbroken record of glorious games, controversial encounters, dramatic divas and above all splendid sportsmanship Last night the sportsmanship measured up to its glorious past - it’s just a shame so few were there to witness the spectacle
The Club’s growing injury list bit deep in to player numbers, but we did at least have the returns of Thatto Dave Barrow, Chris Gonzalo Fitz plus Andy Capt back after his shock appearance at Monday’s Ruskin outing Three players with 3 healthy legs between them! Evidently there was a European football distraction that claimed some players, reminders about the use of recording TV programmes seemed to fall on deaf ears So consequently 15 players including debutant Tom Derbyshire augmented by Referee Jeff Betty and our Treasurer Alex Greasy Thumbs Jackson did manage to tear themselves away to enjoy another excellent session
The indoor/outdoor dilemna was resolved with the delayed (but still on time) arrival of Grav That meant we elected to have 3 teams of 5 and play in the white heat of the Soccerdome
New Mitre Indoor balls were supplied to test everyone’s touch and technique Almost without exception the ball bounced around at a frightening pace belittling the ego of one and all Perhaps a pound out of the ball could be beneficial before the next indoor soirée? The teams were;
Sky - El Presidente, Speedo, Andy Capt, Grav and Thatto Dave
Orange - Phil, Joe the Ghost, Chopper, Nigel and Gary
Red - Gaz, Gonzalo, Cockney Rebel, Tom D and Lee
In the first outing Sky and Orange produced some moments of magic and pure comedy in equal measure The new ball proved difficult to totally master with higher than normal bounce and pace across the surface that took an age to understand The result was a predictable draw with Phil on the mark for the Citrus and Grav‘ claiming Sky’s reply A tricky introduction to the Soccerdome all the more testing by the equipment
Game 2 pitted Reds v Oranges with the Cockney Rebel finishing a decent move with a fine drive to put Reds ahead Reds did settle into the new surroundings with Gonzalo and Gaz to the fore A word too for debutant Tom Derbyshire, he acquitted himself very well with some neat, simple passing His speed of feet was exceptional and time after time he was able to nick the ball away from opponents A very promising debut that could have included a goal too but for a slightly hurried shot
Sky faced Reds in the next showdown and took the honours by hard work and organisation Grav, Speedo and Andy moved the ball around with a greater purpose and were rewarded with some decent goals At the other end El Presdiente gave little away but was grateful for Thatto’s finest keeper on occasions One save from Gonzalo was jaw dropping Sky took on Orange in the nights highest scoring match and established an early lead with El Presidente firing a drive into the corner of the net with the outside of his foot Uncharacteristic mooted celebrations from the chosen one!
Sky turned on the style with 2 further goals, fine reward for the quality of Sky movement, structure and incisive passing Grav and Speedo sealing an emphatic victory Speedo provided the night’s most spectacular moment with a tumble that saw him spread-eagled and spinning on his elbow
As the evening came to its conclusion it was noticeable just how well players had overcome the testing nature of the new ball and general pace of the surface indoors
The depleted numbers in the Boot Room discussed all things Christmas outing after learning that the likely cost of dining on our potential night out was as high as some of the indoor ball bounces It’s beginning to look a lot like a more modest outing with possibly just 3 or 4 venues and no dining option might make better sense Our first Group outings featured a simple bevvy or two in a couple of pubs - maybe it makes sense to revert to that more social and less ambitious outing?
Nightshift* - The Commodores
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