SHWFC members have grown accustomed to facing trying circumstances at times, so Monday morning’s Ruskin Sports Village trials were quickly dismissed as another bump in the road On arrival our usual car park was closed much to the bewilderment of those in charge of the DrivingTest Centre and stream of wanna-be learners It made no sense other than to demonstrate how resilient folk can be when faced with puzzling barriers The stream of Ruskin Sports Club visitors only added to the difficulties, SHWFC members shrugged off the unnecessary trek from the far off overflow provision despite the nippy conditions At least our access to the pitches was seamless, which after recent delays was welcome
On a chilly morning Forty plus members made the leap of faith, 38 playing with Referees Eamon, Presidente and Tomo to keep things in good order Unusually we had no debutants lining up with the regular crew That regular crew lined up in the following team selections:
Pink - Phil the Power, Phil the Moss, Margaret, Harry the Hatchet, Haggis, Tom Stretch and Joe the Ghost (7)
Purple - Roy, Andy Man, Jeff Betty (guesting), Cockney Rebel, Barry Wizz, Sheila and Wilkie (7)
Orange - Les Meldrew, Jenkinson, Kirsty, Grav, Mark NR and Lefty Bridge
Yellow - Amazon, Eileen, Enoch, Little John, Steve J and Snakehips
Black - Les H, Willo, Chopper, Donal, McSpeed and Monday Michelle
Sky - Phil the Cat, Chris K, Glen, Citeh Geoff, PaulF and Tracey
The weather as we got underway was clear, still and dry - so far so good The Seven a Side teams played at the far end with El Presidente in charge of the whistle, time-keeping and occasional ball retrieval duties The game whilst not exactly a classic was competitive and played in a very good natured manner Both sides attempted to find their feet with plenty of fine passing Purple slightly more accurate but Pink matching their opponents That it took almost twenty minutes to find the first goal speaks volumes about how close things were playing out Purple scored thanks to fine shot from close in by Sheila, who led the line with style Pink failed to complete the basic rule of defending their goal Sheila was on hand to finish well with no Pink rearguard to halt her advance Keeper Harry the Hatchet was fully occupied for most of the proceedings, was helpless to prevent Purple powering ahead 1-0 Phil the Power moved forward to try to spark his team mates into action but that meant the Pink defence missed his positional strength and capability
Purple with Roy and Sheila occupying advance positions meant Pink struggled to stay in the game
In attack Pink posed little problems for a very organised Purple rearguard Margaret worked to feed Haggis and Joe who were wasteful too often Cockney Rebel and Wickie coping well when required to intervene
Just prior to the break Tom ‘Stretch’ Parr hit the floor awkwardly and remained prone for a hard-earned rest Thankfully he was able to carry on with seconds left before the half time klaxon We later leaned that he had previously undergone surgery on the hand and in view of that would get the injury checked over
The second Purple goal at the re-start illustrated the greater desire and drive that Purple showed throughout, Cockney Rebel finishing another good team effort Purple wasted more chances to score and were inevitably punished with Andy Man steering a another sweeping move into the net 3-0 With 15 left on the clock there was unwelcome drain that escalated to hail shortly after Roy claimed Purple’s 4th to initiate a Presdential reshuffling Barry Wizz and Joe switching sides to try to prevent any further embarrassment The change made little impact Barry’s energy unable to prevent Roy crashing the fifth Purple goal as the hail lashed down in the few remaining minutes
There was some reward for Pink and especially Margaret who battled throughout in the final moments 5-1 and finally the rain relented with the game over
Purple just too organised and mobile for their opponents
Black faced Yellow in the first game up on the pitch nearest the grandstand Tomo in charge whilst nursing a slight strain Goals by Monday Michelle and McSpeed handed Black a straightforward victory to commence their two games
In game two it was a much closer affair McSpeed claiming the only goal of the game Incredibly Orange missed two spot kicks Tough to take when on top for much of the game
Meanwhile Sky and Orange produced a thrilling close match on the adjacent acres With Eamon O’Hooligan the man in the middle Ian ‘Lefty’ Bridge scored to keep up his recent goal haul on his return from injury Kirsty, Grav and Mark (no relation) Davies with the other Orange pips Goals by Chris K and Tracey (another finding the net with regularity) were on target but Orange squashed Sky 4-3
In the morning’s final game Sky and Yellow failed to find the net despite producing loads of chances 0-0 the final result
Snakehips was the man of the moment with a mighty confectionery effort to brighten the Slipper Salon session His notion of portion control was questionable, a slice presented to the normally unflappable Tom Stretch threatened even his hearty appetite But happily Tom regained his composure and polished off the prodigious Chocolate cake slice with great style
Typical of the man, we have since heard that there were two fractured fingers that required fixing, he would attend Fracture Clinic on Thursday and a remedial visit to Tesco’s cake aisle Truly inspiring!
The midweek distraction of Premier League televised action failed yet again to truly impact SHWFC members’ desire to enjoy a spot of Walking Football The untimely intervention of rain dampened but didn’t deter ten Outward Bounders hell-bent on a fun time Jeff Betty, complete with figure-hugging weather proofs, ensured a firm hand on the helm The game see-sawed with an avalanche of goals to punctuate proceedings
The teams were;
White - Neil Stretch, Cockney Rebel, Gonzalo, Andy Man and Eamon
Red - Deano, Ian Hilton, Jason, Martin Mc and Haggis
The game was blown away by White and Gonzalo in particular with 8 goals Eamon claimed a hat trick (despite struggling with a knee injury) Neil and Andy wrapped up the Whitewash As is the usual practice a levelling-up of personnel was undertaken when the score was 5-1 in favour of the meringue Gonzalo and Haggis switched to such great effect that the next change came at 10-5 with the Red having eclipsed the White That score was quickly swept aside in the final goal deluge The final result was an amazing 13-12 White sleazing home by the odd goal in er 25!
Red scorers were Jason 3, Ian 3 Deano 3 and Gonzalo with 2 ( so just ten for the night then) Cockney Rebel scored an unfortunate own goal White 13 v Red 12 A sensational soaking for all involved Great fun, great attitudes and great memories for all involved
Meanwhile in the warmth and comparative luxury of the SoccerDome Sports Hall the Innards lined up to enjoy a rather different environment El Presidente assembled the teams in the following good order
Yellow - Peter T, Grav, Simon, Triallist and Joe the Ghost
Blue - Citeh Geoff, Eileen, Mike G, Chris 4G and Benno
The game was a close affair from the off, El Presidente stamping down on ‘not walking’ offences to prevent any mishaps The re-introduction of the Size 4 ball helped to slow the game too, controlling the ball a simpler proposition There was a lack of communication at times, understandable with some players having rarely played with their team mates Blue were predictably solid at the back, less effective in their opponents final third Yellow were an all round strong side though they lacked composure in front of goal too often
Blue eventually took a deserved lead when Benno slammed home in fine style Yellow had often threatened but were too wasteful 1-0 a goal twenty minutes in, a sign of how well matched the sides were
The second period started in the same pattern Yellow with plenty of good teamwork but unable to find a goal Three minutes after the restart the Triallist finally brought Yellow level with a neat finish 1-1 Much of the Yellow frustration was their inability to shoot on target
In a rare spell of brilliance,with under 10 minutes left, Joe the Ghost surprised opponents and team mates with two excellent goals in a two minute spell 3-1 Yellow suddenly on top
In another ghostly incident Joe then turned provider, setting up Simon to grab a 4th goal and seal victory for Yellow
The 4-1 margin of victory flattered Yellow, in truth it was a much closer game Kudos to all players
Blue with Eileen, Chris 4G and Mike Green (new astroturf trainers on wish list) Benno ending the session feeling a little dizzy and the majestic defence of Citeh Geoff
Yellow all energy Peter Teeling, Simon, Grav ably supported by the Triallist and the enigmatic Ghost
Great game to be involved with nerves stretched to the limit
Drama unfolding at the end of so many of the games during the week
Let’s do it all again next week!
Take It To The Limit* - The Eagles 1975 no further words necessary Enjoy
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