Another Wednesday night at Sutton Leisure with the Far End arc light (setting sun) blinding all who dared to face that direction in the opening minutes of the night's thrilling entertainment It seemed no time before the floodlights bathed the playing area but by that point we'd had a series of close fought games with some fine passing and skillful play by the assembled masses
Last Friday's AGM was still in the thoughts of many and especially those lucky few who had witnessed 2 epic sets by Clockface Village's very own songbird Martin 'Chopper' Williams His rendering of the Club favourite anthem 'Grandads playing football' was still ringing in ears as the 20 players limbered up to the encouraged shouts of Coach Davies
Moneyball determined 2 teams of 7 and a team of 6 (that would always include a guest in their games)
Reds were; Phil, Gaz, Gary, Alain, Grav, Colin and Deggsy
Orange were; Steve Honeyman, Goldie, Nigel, Andy Capt, Lord Rainford, Les and Lee
Blue were; Geoff, Jeff, Tom, Colin, Andy H, Cockney Rebel & Joe the Ghost,
Reds and Orange were first up in a titanic struggle that had plenty of progressive endeavour but nothing to show on the scoreboard at the end of a very tight affair One passage of play included a smart through ball that was almost perfection - the only flaw being the lack of a motorbike to enable the attacking player to reach the pass It was that sort of match up Herr Pitt was encouraging as sensibly allowing a modicum of advantage whenever justified but to no end Moneyball had delivered yet another stalemate albeit a very entertaining one
Orange and Blues were next up with Colin doing a guest stint in goals for the Blues But he was powerless to defend his line when Les finished off a neat passing exchange with a delicately placed daisy cutter in the narrowest of spaces at the near post Nigel almost doubled the advantage but was unable to keep his effort under the Speke Airport flightpath Herr Pitt stamped down on some infringements by the Blues defence and then had to endure a string of petty gripes for most of the remaining time The pundits on the gantry agreed that the infringements were right called and dealt with fairly and firmly - however not everyone held that viewpoint - c'est la vie!
With Gaz now coaching, in true Under 14s, mode from the sideline rightly pointing out the need for players to spread out and use the spaces it was Orange that started to find their feet Expansive passing moved the action from side to side and end to end In sharp contrast Reds relied on trying to find almost impossible passes and resorting to impossible shooting
Blues lost another tight affair against the Reds with Gary seizing on a poor clearance to fire home from close in Alain did create one marvelous pass dissecting his opponents rearguard but so Dutch was this piece of total or cosmic football that no one could finish Phil did fire a speculative effort with true venom but wayward execution Moments later he tackled himself in Grazer style and spent a few moments contemplating how he'd achieved this Lord Rainford claimed the night's highest over head height prize From the ensuing freekick Herr Pitt spotted 2 Orange defenders loitering in the area and awarded a penalty Step forward the usually reliable and deadly Colin to guide his effort goal-wards and straight in to the amble clutches of Nigel
The last of the action was a frenzied 10 a side affair that included the returning Chairman guesting as reserve keeper (for the stand in keeper) In the event he was rarely troubled with a clean sheet to crow about to anyone who'd listen
A few things to pass on
Ruskin Anniversary Session - its a year since our second born was delivered and through thin and thinner we've survived lockdown and weather to reach 1 year to mark that milestone we'd like all and any players who can possibly make it come down on Monday 20th September and join in that day We hope that everyone can then join us for a celebratory beverage in the Sticky Wicket (Ruskin's very own clubhouse) Its high time that we got everyone together to mingle and enjoy the occasion
Wednesday 22nd September we commence indoor and outdoor sessions at Sutton Leisure at 7pm Numbers playing indoors must be restricted for safety and game management purposes More news soon
Grandads playing Football* one of the tracks on Martin 'Chopper' Williams excellent CD copies available from Martin directly just £5
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