We are all a product of our environment, of our families friends and relations Wherever we’ve first been taught or learned from team mates and coaches on our football journey will have made an indelible mark on our development and enjoyment
Imagine then having never played football, for whatever reason, and setting out to play Walking Football at a stage of life when most contemporaries are curling up with a book with the big light on
SHWFC has always had a real mixture of members with varying degrees of footballing know how and experience Tribute then to those players who go that extra mile to nurture and encourage their less gifted Club mates How often then do we hear words of encouragement and support during our sessions? The answer is almost every game
Some like to gee up players to fit into a framework to develop their contribution to the team Others like to talk to guide the way We are so fortunate that our club ethos of inclusivity brings out the very best in people rather than a cynicism and dismissiveness that characterises other Clubs A sincere smile and handshake at the end of each game surely the best reward
Monday morning at Ruskin Sports Village brought the first sign of Spring with dry clear skies and a tantalising glimpse of sun Even allowing for injuries and holiday the numbers reporting to play or watch or officiate were at lofty levels too
Those gracing the AstroTurf were;
Black (7) - Margaret, Wickie, Tony W, Enoch, Chopper, Steve Honeyman and Andy Man
Yellow (7) - Little John, Mika, Sheila, Les Meldrew, McSpeed, Cockney Rebel and Joe the Ghost
The two sevens played in a test multi-touch game rather than the usual Three Touch format to help familiarise some of the players before next week’s visit to Burnley FC
The game was a little one-sided with Black over-powering Yellow, at least on the score board, by six goals to two Goals for Black were shared between Cockney Rebel, Joe the Ghost, Little John, Sheila plus two from McSpeed Yellow relied on Steve Honeyman for their two in reply A good workout and test with another session to make some more fine tuning before the trek to the frozen north next Tuesday Special mention to Margaret, who had another excellent morning, praise from Referee Eamon O’Hooligan and Football Manager Andy Man “A great contribution to the team”
The remaining teams were;
Orange - Monday Michelle, Haggis, Grav, Harry the Hatchet, Ashy and Donal
Purple - Mark NR, Kirsty, Liz, Citeh Geoff, Snakehips and Triallist
The opening game on the far pitch was a close affair decided by two excellent team goals with Mark (No Relation) Davies applying the finishing flourishes 2-0 Play was end to end, but Purple, with the stouter defence and slightly better passing style, found the quality to shut out the Orange attacking threat A good game but the result was rarely in doubt
On the pitch nearest the stand Pink and Sky played out a 1v1 draw with Pink wasting a last minute penalty and chance for victory Barry had fired ahead but Chris K hit back to level the game The last minute penalty was conceded with Phil the Cat drifting into the area before going to ground The spot kick, after a delay for unnecessary advise to Ref Jeff Betty, was eventually saved with some ease perhaps justice was served? 1-1 the final verdict after an entertaining game
Pink - Julie, PaulF, Barry Wizz, Glen, Phil Moss and Aldo
Sky - Lord Rainford, Phil the Cat, Tomo, Chris K, Robin and Les H
The final match featured Orange and Pink a game that might have gone either way but for inspired keeping and wayward shooting Glen suffered an unfortunate injury connecting with the turf rather than the ball, a shock that travelled up into the knee in a very painful manner Feel your pain Glen
The first goal took an eternity to arrive Orange profiting from dogged defending to feed Grav who finished well for 1-0 The goal also produced the morning’s only Blue card, for ungentlemanly conduct El Presidente had warned against unnecessary appeals and gamesmanship earlier The Pink team was punished for two minutes as a player was sent to reflect on the indiscipline
As time edged towards full time Orange struggled to hold on to their one goal lead with Pink restored to their full compliment of players Two minutes from time Pink grabbed a deserved equaliser thanks to a great effort by Aldo set up by Phil the Moss Orange might have secured the win but were off target too often with the limited chances created Inevitably the winner went to Pink with a quickly taken free kick by Barry freeing up Phil the Moss to crash home from the tightest angle at the near post 2-1 Pink grabbing the late win with 36 seconds left on the clock
Sky and Purple met to contest the final game with Jeff Betty in firm control after his earlier travails The game was a good contest with yet more end to end stuff Sky with Mark NR and the Triallist on target were eventually pegged back by Purple 2-2 the outcome, with Lord Rainford and Chris K hitting back for Purple
The Slipper Salon reverted to normal with the late arrival of the Young Mothers Formation Pram team unable to disturb the stout defence of assembled SHWFC members We adopted a flat back four on each settee with wing backs protecting the flanks, said Football Manager, Andy Man
A modest but perfectly adequate chocolate cake was demolished in fine style A good morning all round then
In an untimely reminder to peculiarities of British weather Wednesday afternoon saw a deposit or two of rain to the area But as has so often been our good fortune the rain stopped in good time to have no impact on our midweek meanders Thirty plus members assembled to enjoy their midweek Walking Football fix
With just a couple of indoor sessions left before Wednesdays become an outdoor pursuit the Innards (pink eyes and pale complexions) were the usual crew complete with carpet slippers and smoking jackets
Red - Enoch, Les H, Joe the Ghost, Citeh Geoff and Lord Rainford
Yellow- Steve Honeyman, Les Meldrew, Mike Green, Peter T and Grav
A cunning plan to field Joe the Ghost and Deggs in the same team was thwarted by the non-availability of the Huyton hitman (still wandering around saying SacreBleu?) The pair have always enjoyed a strained relationship due to the obvious language barrier and inability to play in the same hemisphere at the same time
The game went not as planned for Red proved too strong for the Yellards I’m reliably informed that Lord Rainford dispatched two goals (no word of a Sussex Sweep being involved however) and Enoch applied the coup de grace Red 3 v Yellow 2 Peter T with both goals for the slightly non-plussed Yellow
Yellow Team Captain and arch selector Meldrew was quick to blame the missing man and has vowed to punish him at the next training session Tickets for that spectacle will be on sale from the usual outlets or www.tickettoutsrus.con
With a plethora of players available to play outside on the sub-Saharan AstroTurf we managed two games with three teams of five and one of six
Those selected were;
Yellow - Haggis, Steve S, Eamon, Graham and Ian
Orange - Little John, Eileen, Mark Dav, Deano and Gaz
Red - Cockney Rebel, Jason, Gonzalo, Neil Stretch, Subbuteo Dave and debutant Helen
Blue - Simon, Chris 4G, Steve C, Andy Man and Midweek Michelle
Eamon played and (allegedly) refereed his Yellow team’s games El Presidente strutted about in his jack boots ably assisted by El Benito (Duke of Edinburgh volunteer Benny Fitzpatrick who helped with pitch layouts and then ball boy duties before being press-ganged into playing for Yellow in their last game)
The first game with Red and Orange was a storming game with both sides contributing in a battle royal The game ended all square 4 goals apiece but some great assign and team work demonstrated by all Orange raced into a 2 nil lead Deano with some excellent finishing Gonzalo found a little space to drive low into the corner for 2-1 Red coming back strongly with Helen seeing plenty of the ball and combining well with her team mates, Eileen had another excellent night with a great range of passing and smart positional play Orange continued to move the ball around with great accuracy Red matched their intensity An excellent game to be involved in Subbuteo Dave fired an equaliser 2-2 There was a spectacular own goal as Cockney Rebel intercepted then misplaced a back pass for an agonising OG 3-2 Orange back in front
Gonzalo fired a great shot from close to half way for 3-3 and just 5 minutes to find a winner Jason finished another great move Red 4-3 ahead for the first time in the evening Gaz turned and found the net in great style 4-4 Despite chances at both ends the game couldn’t produce a deciding goal Time elapsed with both sides still chasing a winner
Blue finished on top in the other game 8 goals shared by Michelle, Steve C, Andy, Chris 4G
whilst Yellow fired back with goals by Steve Smith 2, Haggis and Eamon with 4 of their own
Orange played Blue in the final game on pitch 2 another epic affair Deano teed up for his volley that struck Steve Carine’s arm before settling in the bottom corner of the net The game included a commentary supplied by Gaz during his spell as keeper His encouragement and advice to his team mates the soundtrack of the night Michelle got through an enormous amount of work on both sides of the ball, one steal from Dav was superb defending by any standard
Steve Carine extracted a measure of revenge to bring the Blue level at 1v1 a fine strike Play continued in the same manner Two efforts from Mark Dav both from some distance tested the goal post and crossbar structural integrity However it took a deft volley at the far post from Eileen to trouble the scoreboard again Her shot from an acute angle after a great cross by Deano a cool piece of finishing Orange back ahead with a superb piece of technique
The Blue defenders were being pulled from side to side but dug in to prevent any further goals Orange switching play from side to side in great style Little John found a way to push Orange further in front with a smart shot from distance Five minutes left Orange 3-1 up Blue struggling to get a toe hold in the contest and time moving on
Chris 4G produced a goal a little against the play Gaz missed a glorious chance to calm Orange nerves Two minutes remained when a wayward clearance was picked off for the equaliser 3-3 and with less than 50 seconds left Orange passed up another open goal El Presidente blew his final whistle and the game ended with both teams locked at 3 goals each
The night’s other game with Yellow and Red ended in a narrow win for Yellow by 7 goals to 6 The game another tight affair with chances at both ends of the pitch El Benito marked his AstroTurf debut with another solid performance and trademark penetrating passing
The Boot Room was a lively scene with members enjoying the Villa Euro progress followed by the Madrid penalty shoot out show Deggs made an apologetic appearance for his Innard No-show Joe the Ghost had a message for his missing strike partner but sadly no one could understand a word of it
A fine night’s entertainment
You’re The Inspiration* - Chicago
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