Go with the flow*

SHWFC is blessed with not one, or two but three FA fully qualified Walking Football Referees So having delayed the introduction of possibly the most controversial of all the FA’s Laws of the Game for a year Assured that the law that introduced the Team 4 Not Walking penalty would instil not fear or chaos but order and discipline to our games was adopted this last week

A brief explanation of the Law and a change to Goalkeepers committing overhead infractions were offered to explain to all 26 layers who thronged to Ruskin Sports Village on Tuesday morning for the Bank Holiday affected start of the week

Referees Jeff Betty Birchall and El Presidente elected to ease members into the amendments with tact and grown up management rather than deep end dictatorial actions The result was two close games with plenty to admire, goals to thrill spectators and just one penalty conceded late in the session

Let’s remind ourselves of the teams who pioneered the changes

Pink (7) - Little John, Willo, Grav, Kirsty, Andy Man, Steve Jones and Les Meldrew

Black (7) - Amazon Prime, Tracey, Haggis, Mike Tomo, Lord Rainford, Eamon and Mika

Purple (6) - PaulF, Mark NR, Les H, Ashy, McSpeed and Phil the Cat

Yellow (6) - Citeh Geoff, Monday Michelle (on Tuesday?) Phil the Power, Colin the late, Geoff P and Brian

With Herr Betty in charge of the Pink and Black, there was some concern that some individuals (modestly nameless) might struggle to observe the ‘not walking edict’ Happily the threat was not wholly justified as both sides moved about with due care and attention, though Black had totted up 3 Not walking fouls Goals by Eamon and Mika registered a 2-0 first half lead For the second period El Presidente moved across to patrol the second stanza Mike Tomo had another good morning having settled into the game after 3 or 4 sessions He was hand to steer home the Black third goal, with Pink’s defence having gone missing in search of a goal of their own Steve Jones finally got Pink on the scoresheet Tracey restored the Black cushion with some smart play before Black gifted Pink a penalty via their 4th not walking foul Willo calmly slotted the resulting spot kick for 4-2 and that wrapped up the Seven a Side game

El Presidente’s opening game featured Purple and Yellow with a very even game the outcome Brian fired the opener for Yellow before Mark levelled Phil the Power restored the Yellow lead only for Mark to draw the game all square at the break Just one ‘not walking’ foul per side at the break with admirable restraint all round The half time interval allowed referees to switch to spread the love for both games The second half followed the familiar pattern with McSpeed and Michelle adding goals in the second half The game finished all square 3-3 without the need to invoke any not walking penalties

What was very apparent was that team leaders emerged to advise their team mates to slow down and think before engaging in random running So the daunting prospect of games being decided by countless penalties simply didn’t materialise Members adapted and played their normal game as if it had always been that way Just another day just another Walking Football session

The brief interlude between sessions meant that we were back in less than 19 hours for the usual midweek meander The Wednesday session is a baffling conundrum at present Numbers remain lower than we are used to, just 20 turning out to strut their midweek stuff Yes there are some mitigating circumstances; injuries, holidays and the chance to gloat at Arsenal (what again?) At present rates we might have to review the number of pitches reserved The Club has always maintained funds to support our session playing levels but with 102 Members and just 20 deciding to support our traditional Wednesday night games serious questions must be considered

The Wednesday teams were;

Blue - Grav, Chris 10P, Citeh Geoff, Phil the Power and Haggis

Orange - Andy Holland, Tom Stretch, Subbuteo Dave, Chris 4G and Jason

Yellow - Ian, Gonzalo, Martin Mc, Andy Man and Les Meldrew

Red - Joe the Ghost, Simon, Gaz, Midweek Michelle and Deano

Jeff Betty got proceedings underway with a tight game between Red and Yellow The ‘not walking’ sanction was potentially problematic with sides including some of our ‘quicker’ players Despite the threat posed by the new law, the reality was much more simple Players heeded the words of guidance from the Referee and curbed their excesses The game was a five goal thriller decided at the very end of the game Goals by Joe the Ghost ( a brace) and Simon secured a 3-2 win Andy and Gonzalo were the Yellow scorers A good contest Red shading the score with that late winner

Orange and Blue was an equally close affair Both teams prepared to take risky strategies to break the deadlock As usual the team leaders were vocal, encouraging players to keep possession to deny their opponents Blue took a fortunate lead when a corner ricocheted off a post to find Chris 10P alone to side foot home The finish was class, the delivery fortunate 1-0 Blue in front Phil Powered a second for Blue punishing a gift clearance Orange the authors of their downfall Chris 10P pushed the gap to 3-0 Blue capitalising on yet another Orange error Andy Holland went close before his hot took a deflection for 3-1 Orange a threat once they’d cut out the self-destructive mistakes Tom Stretch placed a left foot volley beyond the keeper for 3-2 Could Orange mount a great late come back? Orange took a hold on possession and a grip on proceedings Subbuteo Dave wasted a great chance for Orange as time wound down Blue showing some nerves as they struggled to clear their lines Time elapsed with Blue holding our for a 3-2 victory that was as much about punishing errors as any creative effort

In the final round of matches Blue and Red could not be separated after a six goal tear up Simon scored from a penalty the result of a stray foot violating the Blue penalty area Deano and Gaz were also on target but Blue were indebted to Chris 10P who hit a hat trick in reply 3-3 the final score

Yellow and Orange proved to be just as compelling both sides spraying the ball around to great effect Jason picked his spot having been set up by a great defence splitting pass to calmly put Orange ahead With timely polite reminders not walking was kept in check Gonzalo read a lame clearance to fire the sides level A real economy of effort was all required for 1-1 Defending was too often an after thought as both sides made mistakes Jason found his second goal with a neat deflection to steer the ball away from the keeper 2-1 for Orange Gonzalo pulled the sides level 2-2 with more sublime finishing Andy Holland crashed a shot from distance against the post Orange working hard to regain the lead A real cliffhanger was on the cards with 10 minutes remaining As the pace picked up there was the first team totting up not walking foul of the game

Gonzalo claimed his hat trick to push Yellow ahead for the first time 7 minutes remaining The play was at times frantic and lacking real control, time ebbing away Yellow with a slim lead until a goal in the final minute restored parity

3-3 the final score in a brilliant game to officiate but probably a hard game to play in

The media swarm in the Boot Room was unsurprisingly waiting for a controversial tale of games decided by unnecessary penalties The truth was that the night’s games had passed with great quality and sportsmanship Players happy to deal with whatever was served up Let’s focus on all that’s good and positive Walking Football the real winner

Go With The Flow* - Queens of the Stone Age