Creche* and Burn*

The Club’s Executive unveiled its latest cunning plan for eventual world domination at Ruskin Sports Village on Monday morning The creatively called ‘Crèche’ opened for the school holiday period with 5 assorted grandchildren prowling the touchlines complete with footballs and hydrating drinks There was no doubt that their complete lack of interest in their grandparents games was inversely proportional to their own ability and propensity for fun The Painter duo were sporting their Citeh tops (compulsory as far as our editorial staff has been able to discover) The Darwin boys donned Engerland shirts whilst young Fitzpatrick was attired in a more casual look

The old Jesuit mantra of ‘get them young and brain wash them’ seemed to be paying off though Treasurer Meldrew still wanted to see the colour of their money

42 players plus a handful of spectators, and the Crèche cut a fine figure marching in unity onto the pitches Three seasoned Referees were on hand to put a stop to the fun;

Charlie, Ref Jeff Betty and El Presidente

We welcomed a debutant John Carroll, an old friend of Phil the Cat to the gathering and then without further ado set about team selection

Old Gold - Robin, Gonzalo, Donal, Cockney Rebel, Beachboy, Mossy and Kirsty

Purple - Cornelius, GRAV, Ashy, Mike Bates, Big Tony, Barry Wizz and Dave Robbo

Black - Mike Thomo, Rick, McSpeed, Ian Connor, Wickie, Rita and Phil the Power

Red - Haggis, Sheila, Lefty, Eamon, Mark NR, Glen & Meldrew

Green - Snakehips, John Carroll (JC), Roy, Little John, Andy Man, Eileen & Colin

Blue - Citeh Mike, Mika, S Honeyman, Phil the Cat, Jan, Citeh Geoff & Enoch

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Charlie occupying Pitch 1 nearest to the covered stand cast his eye over Black v Red in the morning’s opener A case of taking the Michael? Red might have wished they could have taken the Michael’s out the game McSpeed and Thomo poached all Blacks 5 goals whilst Red were unable to stem the flow Ian Lefty Bridge did pull a brace back in reply but it was too little too late as Black romped to a 5-2 victory Charlie declared it was much closer than the shoreline would suggest but Black’s lethal finishing was the real story

In their second match Black hosted Old Gold who claimed victory in their first outing Black relied again on their strike force to plunder 3 goals but were powerless to prevent Old Gold’s own goal machine Gonzalo matching Black’s goal haul as a one man wrecking ball His hat trick meant the game ended all square 3-3 in a very good even contest

Old Gold had powered past Purple in their opener on Pitch 2 El Presidente keeping play flowing in his usual manner GRAV had struck first for Purple but that merely roused Old Gold’s into some impressive passing and movement Gonzalo levelled before Kirsty calmly doubled their advantage Gonzalo hit a fine drive across the keeper for 3-1 a great strike to “top bins” as his watching niece declared The game ended 3-1 Old Gold firmly on top

Purple fared much better in their second outing with much better teamwork at the heart of their win Eamon had scored early for Red before goals by Barry Wizz, GRAV and Mike Bates settled the game Eamon closed the gap to 3-2 with his second Red goal Wayward passing and a lack of defensive depth meant Purple were the more likely to stretch their advantage and goals by Bates and Cornelius sealed the victory 5-2 the final score Red were indebted to more wasteful Purple shooting and some fine saves to keep the score to a respectable margin

The morning’s remaining fixture was a highly entertaining encounter between Green and Blue played on Pitch 3 with Head Ref Jeff Betty This was played in good spirit though one over exuberant challenge by Mika was judged Argentine inspired Little John who was on the wrong end of the offence took everything in great spirit relieved that Mika was only a similar size and that Chopper was missing inaction Green took the early lead somewhat against the ‘run’ of play That would turn out to be the high water mark as Blue levelled through Phil the Cat before stifling the game with a defensive formation that turned the game in Blue’s favour Further goals by Citeh Mike and the Honeyman plus a second by the Cat ensured Green were held off There was a particularly spectacular passage with Green stroking passes about in a Spanish style but Citeh Geoff was steadfast as ever and Blue rode out the game comfortable 4-1 victors Debutant JC enjoyed the outing despite not picking up a winning bonus Treasurer Meldrew organised a search and destroy party for who ever thought of winning bonuses

The morning ended with lashes of Vimto in the Wicket (something else that didn’t really happen) but we had good fun dreaming of those old days yet again

Wednesday’s Sutton SoccerDome session was another fast and furious hour in the heat and the sand, the burning sand, featuring two previously unseen new team shirt colours with Lilac and White joining the gathering Sadly Head Ref Jeff forgot to include his Box Brownie to record the sight of the new Rainhill Rotary kit unveiling

The teams selected for inspection were;

Sky Blue - Gonzalo, Gaz, GRAV, Jim, Ian Harding & Cornelius

Pink - Lewis & Steve Honeyman, Chris 10P, Joe the Ghost, Ian Hilton & Les Meldrew

This was a 6v6 game reffed and described by Ref Jeff Betty

SkyBlue 8 v 8 Pink scorchio

Sky goals were scored by Gonzalo 4, Ian Harding 3 and Cornelius

Pink goal scorers were Chris 10p 3, Joe the Ghost 2, Honeyman Senior 2 & Lewis Honeylad

“Blue raced into a 4 - 1 lead before half time and might have thought the game over  But Pink hit back hard and often to take a 7-6 lead Sky wasted several chances with snatched off-target shooting

Sky regained their composure, reasserted their control and momentum to go 8-7 ahead in the dying moments Chris 10P produced a rocket to score the equaliser in what was an entertaining end to end game”

The other game started as a 7v8 game, with a view to rearrange the teams at half time if needed. But Darron had to go off with a leg issue, so it became 7v7

The starting line-ups were;

Lilac - Andy Man, Jason, Dougie, Eamon, Cockney Rebel, Helen and newbie Paul Winstanley

White - Simon, Darron, Chris 4G, Mike Thomo, Little John, Phil the Power, Haggis & Roy

What a game! Despite the unavailability of a Referee there were no contentious issues Instead the game was played in an excellent spirit. Some excellent passing and moving from both teams.

Special mentions must go to Helen, who slotted in like she'd never been away, Newbie Paul who quickly adapted to the pass and move technique, Mike Thomo for his hold up play, Simon for his walking technique, fast but totally legal, and finally Haggis, who probably had his best game ever.

The game finished 5 -5 after a pulsating game

Those important goal scorers were;

Lilac - Helen 2, Eamon, Jason plus Dougie

White - Haggis 2, Simon 2 plus Mike Thomo

Two Blog Teasers for the price of er ….free

Creche* - Ben Bartlett (British composer of film & TV, this piece is best known as the theme for ITV detectives series Vera)

Burn* - The Cure, Deep Purple, Usher, Ellie Goulding - all different tunes but neat title