SHWFC has always prided itself on the quality of our players and their ability to rise to the challenges of occasional friendly games Since the high water mark of WFA National Cup final eight appearance (Over 65s in 2022) the Club has limited competitive games to match our members wishes When other Clubs have been joining leagues and chasing glory in tournaments and cup competitions, SHWFC has respected members preference to play mostly social sessions
The Club has turned down invitations from other Clubs, near and far The exception to this policy has been games against Clubs with similar ethos Last October we were invited to take a group to play at Burnley FC’s Walking Football in the Community initiative We reciprocated their invitation early this year when with Farnworth Foxes (another like minded Club) we hosted an event at Ruskin Sports Village to raise funds for British Heart Foundation
This summer Burnley offered to host another event, despite difficulties over the date we accepted the offer and took a squad of sixteen members to play in a Round Robin competition against four teams from Burnley The venue was the Leisure Box a superb facility owned by Burnley FC at Brierfield The weather outside was bleak but the matches were all played indoors on the AstroTurf indoor surface, a very good surface for Walking Football
We fielded 2 squads of eight to play Six a Side (subs all involved in every game) The Old Saints selections were;
Red - Mike (Mika) Andrews, Les (Meldrew) Brack, John (Wickie) Whittaker, Chris Kelsall, Dave (Amazon) Prime, Steve Jones, Harrison (Haggis) Lovell and John (Little John) Penders
Orange - Phil (the Power) Middleton, Geoff (Citeh Geoff) Painter, Lee (Jenko) Jenkinson, Andy (Man) Houghton, Peter (El Presidente) Fitzpatrick, Mark (No Relation) Davies, Chris (4G) Gourdji and Mike (McSpeed) Maguire
Our Red team was placed in a Group with Burnley Black and Sky with their first games played on a pitch with much smaller goals than we are used to face Undaunted Red tamed Burnley Black with a solitary goal scored by Steve Jones The game was a dominant display by the Saints with shots raining on the Black keeper who played very well A further goal was ruled out for a harsh running foul Red winning their opening match to take a hold on the group from the off
Orange took on Burnley Yellow and were good value for a 2-0 victory with goals by McSpeed and Chris 4G The score line could have been much higher but the Burnley Yellow keeper had an outstanding morning and produced a number of terrific saves
In Round Two Burnley Sky held out to prevent Red adding to their opening win 0-0 the final score On the adjoining pitch Burnley Yellow claimed a hard earned win 1-0 against their Claret colleagues
In the Third Round Sky claimed a narrow 1-0 win over Black before Orange came from a goal down to overcome Claret Maguire emphatically converted a penalty after a defender was pressured to step into the keeper’s area to clear Orange ramped up the pressure and produced some great passing to present Chris 4G with the chance to claim the winning goal 2-1 Orange applying huge pressure to secure their second win
In Round Four Dave Amazon Prime claimed a well deserved brace to see off Black But Yellow with some amazing saves surprised Orange to hold out for a 0-0 draw on the pitch with the smaller goal frames
Claret and Yellow produced another goal less stalemate before Orange claimed another victory winning 1-0 against the Claret Chris 4G with the decisive goal Red were too strong for Sky with a 2-1 win their last Group action
At the end of the Groups the teams were placed in three finals
Burnley Black and Yellow played in the Shield competition for the lowest ranked teams after the Group stage The game was a stalemate with a penalty shoot out that still failed to find a winner In desperation the game was decided by ‘Rock, Paper Scissors’ that took several attempts to resolve Yellow prevailing
The Plate competition was a more straightforward affair with Claret beating Sky
The big final played on the full pitch with St Helens Red and Orange reduced to a rapid 4 minute encounter The penalty shoot out had over run by 6 or 7 minutes
Orange pressed their opponents from the kick off and secured victory with Mike McSpeed finding some space who set up Chris 4G to fire home through a crowd of defenders in the opening minutes Red found no way past the Orange and time ran out with Orange holding on to their narrow lead for a good value win
Our teams produced some excellent teamwork and great skill when it mattered most
Our hosts were gracious with their praise and hospitality A very enjoyable session enjoyed by everyone who travelled We hope to invite Burnley to visit Ruskin in the New Year and hope we can field more teams to represent the Club Burnley are a Club with a similar outlook Fair, Friendly and very Sporting
Suite Sixteen* - Victor Feldman a little Jazz instrumental for yer ass
Well done everyone. ⚽️