Christmas (W)rapping*

Another year draws to an end for SHWFC members with the final sessions before our Festive break played in a celebratory atmosphere

Monday morning’s Ruskin Sports Village featured 30 players, 3 referees and a plethora of spectators with our most experienced Referee Ref Jeff Betty Birchall taking on the role of Cub Reporter for this Blog

For the record the teams selected were;

Purple (or Plum as he prefers) - Brian, Monday Michelle, Glen, Andy Man and Ashy

Red (Redberry?) - Mark NR, Chopper, Mika, Cockney Rebel, Gonzalo and Cornelius

Blue (Blueberry) - Haggis, Mossy, Citeh Geoff, Les H and Jill Tomo

Black (Blackcurrant) - Lord Rainford (Mr Mole for the photographer) Les Meldrew, Tom Stretch, John Hill, Eamon and Mike Thomo

Old Gold (Lemon - unreal) - Little John, Triallist, Sheila Santa, Chris K and Phil the Power

Green (Lime) -Honeyman, Snakehips, McSpeed, GRAV and Wickie

For the purposes of journalistic accuracy we are using the report filed as an indicator only Most avid regular readers would be lost halfway through the first paragraph

Pitch A Game 1

Lime 4 v 2 Plum

Mike (4) Lime

Michelle (1) Brian (1) Plum

McSpeed scored all 4 goals as Green overcame Purple who replied with goals by Brian and Michelle all good so far?

Game 2

Lime 2 v 2 Blueberry

Steve (1) Mike (1) Lime

Les (1) Phil (1) Blueberry

Green 2 Honeyman and McSpeed on target with Phil Moss and Les Hewitt earning Blue a deserved draw

A word of thanks to Charlie for keeping the Peace in both games

Pitch B game 1

Blueberry 1 v 1 Lemon

Haggis Blueberry

Chris Lemon

Haggis added another goal for Blue to add to his excellent 2025 record but Old Gold’s Chris Kelsall found the net in reply 1-1 and a cracking game by independent testimony

Game 2

Lemon 3 v 4 Plum

Chris 1, Triallist 1, Sheila 1 Lemon

Brian 1, Glen 1, Michelle 1 Plum

Despite the absence of a fourth scorer Purple claimed a narrow win over Old Gold in a (six or) seven goal thriller Aldo was Referee for both these contests on Pitch B, bringing his quirky interpretation of Walking Football Laws of the Game to play

Pitch C featured a single game with Blackcurrant and Red/Ras/Straw Berry (harder to edit than write the original version) facing each other Ref Jeff in charge of a 14 goal deluge with a goal every 3.5 minutes to keep him on his toes

Red were good in possession, not so good when forced to defend The game was much closer than might be expected until Black tired in the final 8 minutes

Gonzalo hit a double hat trick, Mark 2 and Cockney Rebel a solo strike for Red

Black hit back with a double by Eamon, brace by Mike Thomo and Les Meldrew with a singleton

The final result a comprehensive 9-5 victory for Red The Man of Match was Black’s Lord Rainford with a series of timely blocks and superb saves during his stint between the posts There’s no suggestion that Ref Jeff’s opinion might have been unduly influenced (the very thought) Can’t wait to read the Facebook post intro!

The midweek meander occasionally known as Sutton SoccerDome’s session continued the trend of low attendance numbers Members were absent for a variety of reasons; otherwise engaged, too cold, too wet or simply ennui perhaps? Whatever the reason they missed one of the finest night’s sessions with both indoor and outdoor games producing scintillating performances enjoyed by all involved

The Innards teams were;

White - Citeh Geoff, Phil the Power, GRAV, Les H and Les Meldrew

Pink - Colin, Honeyman, Joe the Ghost, John Cousins and Triallist

The action was fast and furious with both teams intent on finishing as Christmas Number 1 and the reigning soft show shufflers for the year John Cousins excelled in the early exchanges napping a brace, whilst employing his long legs to great effect in his defensive duties Pink ahead with that first half performance White hit back thanks goals by GRAV and Citeh Geoff to tie the game up at 2-2 But with epic timing Cousins sealed victory with the last kick off the game Ref Jeff allowing the goal just as his phone signalled for full time 3-2 Pink blushes spared White close but no Christmas cigars

The Outward Bounders end of term encounter matched the intensity and competive qualities of the Sports Hall match but in trying conditions with blustery wind and intermittent showers was a classic

The teams on duty included;

Yellow - Tom Stretch, Mike Thomo, Cockney Rebel, Lord Rainford Subbuteo Dave, Andy Man and Chris Sully

Orange - Little John, Chris 10P, PJ, Ian Harding, Neil Stretch, Jason and Helen

The game started as usual with a frantic pace that needed Referee El Presidente’s persuasive coaxing to slow down The players heeded the advice with just 4 ‘not walking’ infringements over the entire session The ball was lovingly respected and passed around with great effect by both sides Yellow found the opening goal courtesy of Chris Sully who was on the end of a sweeping team move to put Yellow a goal to the good Orange asserted their version of that same pass and move style and were rewarded when Helen wrong footed the last line of defence to bring the sides back to parity 1-1 and the quality of play was a delight to see Ian Harding took Orange a goal ahead with a strong finish after some more quality passing 1-2 Orange retaining their slight edge as the sides turned round at the break

A word for some eccentric and excellent defence Little John showing a great speed walking technique to snuff out some dangerous Yellow attacks Lord Rainford preserved his record for the week with some timely interceptions He read the warning signs to keep on the good side of El Presidente with his usual ‘have it’ approach Unorthodox but effective to restrict the Yellow attackers to scraps

As the game continued chances became less and less apparent Defences well marshalled on both sides At the final whistle it was remarkable that the second half was goalless There was no shortage of half chances but few clear cut opportunities and consequently few shots on target The result a close run victory for Orange 2-1 in a game that had everything we’ve come to expect

Two fine sides some excellent passing teamwork and top quality defence

Wow two tight games just eight goals from the whole session Congratulations to everyone who played

The post matches media session was a great celebration of mutual respect and friendship

At this time of the year it’s a fine indictment for our game

Have a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year We will return on Monday 5th January at Ruskin and/or Wednesday 7th January at Sutton SoccerDome

Christmas (W)rapping* - The Waitresses