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Days Go By*

The year’s first Bank Holiday Monday arrived in a blaze of glory with warm sunshine setting on the local area Ruskin Sports Village was closed as normal postponing SHWFC’s opening session of the week for 24 agonising hours Tuesday, in a show of solidarity with Monday, was a glorious morning; warm and sunny with a a breeze to remind all that is still April for heaven’s sake

37 players took to the AstroTurf acres to burn off the excesses of the weekend’s Easter Eggs Football Manager Andy Man set in motion his “cunning plan” to shape the session’s games with the following selections;


Purple - Honeyman, Eamon, Roger, Citeh Geoff, John Hill and Ricky

Red - Les H, Ashy, Phil the Cat, Les Meldrew, Mark NR and Tom Stretch


Old Gold - Phil the Power, GRAV, Mika, Enoch, Anita and Mike Bates

Black - Colin, Little John, Mike Thomo, Steve Harding, Andy Man and PaulF


Blue - Dave Roberts, Sheila, Amazon Prime, Donal, Foxy and El Presidente

Green - McSpeed, Snakehips, Glen, Kirsty, Wickie and Cockney Rebel


The pitch nearest to the grandstand hosted the opening Red v Black match that was a very close game but decided in the end by the more clinical finishing of Red Goals by Mark NR, Meldrew and Stretch saw Red to victory But Andy Man had little luck in front of goal, despite creating some good chances The game was notable for the quality of passing and movement with both sides contributing to a great contest

Red continued their excellent form into their second game facing Purple, quality of their finishing proving too slick for their opponents defence Mark NR was coolness personified hitting a hat trick with his usual economy of effort Purple did hit back with Eamon on target but another Tom Stretch goal ensured Red ended the session unbeaten 4-1 the final score Sheila’s grandson took over as emergency keeper after Paul Roger Moore had to withdraw with a back problem Full marks to the stand in Great to see the next but 3 generation taking their first steps in Walking Football

Purple had lost their opener to Green Eamon again on target for Purple but goals by Kirsty and Glen steered Green to a deserved victory with a tight 2-1 margin every bit as close as the score suggests

Green saw off the challenge of Blue in their second match with a brace by Glen (including a tragic deflection from El Presidente on keeping duties) A simple corner diverted from one foot to the other in classic but disastrous fashion by Cheshire’s finest McSpeed claimed Green’s other with Dave Amazon Prime claiming a consolation for the Azzuri 3-1 the result declared through tears of laughter by the Cockney Rebel It was a raw morning for Blue who were unable to tarnish Old Gold in the opener The 3-0 margin of victory was harsh on the Azzuri who struggled to were outpaced by a more energetic Old Gold But all in the spirit of sportsmanship of course


The morning ended with a disappointing post-session fragmentation Major confusion regarding the use of the Wicket facilities (with a Funeral event curtailing our usual practice) meant some members left ‘sans brew’ We hope to clarify arrangements as early as possible


Wednesday night hosted a very decent game full of incident New member Doug Laughton made his debut in the time honoured manner (slipping and sliding all over the pitch before finding his feet) His performance after that early shock was very impressive but I’m giving the plot away


The teams selected for the 7 a side extravaganza under the guidance of Cub Referee Chris 10P Prout were;

Yellow - Phil the Power, Jeff Betty, GRAV, Joe the Ghost, Eamon & Simon

White- Brian Smith, Les H, Little John, Doug, Kirsty, PJ and Nigel

Eamon fired Yellow ahead with a well placed shot 1-0 Eamon hit a post shortly after before in a dastardly incident he was prevented from shooting by an unnamed defender His appeal “how can I be expected to score with just one leg?” Kirsty, at this point, offered to demonstrate how to score with just one leg but Eamon’s reply was lost in translation White hit back through PJ, who had a very telling (or is that Teeling?) contribution on the game 1-1 Yellow struck back with Simon curling an effort beyond the keeper into the far corner 2-1 Yellow back in front

White levelled controversially, despite a missed running infringement in the build up, instead of a Yellow penalty (for 4th ‘not walking’ foul) Kirsty was able to tuck away at the back post for 2-2 Running off the ball is easy to spot when you’re not refereeing it must be stressed

White made it 3-2 thanks to PJ again, great finish this one

A penalty was awarded for the 4th not running foul but in keeping with the game was fired well wide by GRAV Yellow squandering the chance to level with some uncharacteristic play

Jeff Betty tangled with Nigel in a moment of drama soon after A pure accident but that left our Head Ref in a heap His ribs were later assessed at the Walk In Centre but no treatment was administered Tough stuff these Refs are made from

PJ concluded his hat trick with an excellent curling finish White 4-2 ahead now Eamon fired a ferocious drive that Kirsty wisely left to squeeze off the near post A shot that would have undoubtedly made some damage to her fingers

Kirsty was at risk again when Phil the Power fired a last minute corner goalwards but at head height The game ended in poor light with the floodlights saved for another session (possibly in September)


The game was an epic encounter and well handled by Chris 10P It’s easy to be critical about the ‘blind side running’ Players do have a duty to keep two the Laws of the Game From pitch side there’s the full pitch available to view, not so easy when you’re caught up in the ebb and flow of such a competitive game


After our recent filming assignment with Liverpool County FA in support of National Walking Football Week the finished product was released There are numerous ways to view on social media via the following links



Days Go By* Keith Urban (Australia’s Country Music star)









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