Moanin’ and Groanin*

St Helens Walking Football
6 days ago
5 min read

Monday morning’s Ruskin Sports Village opener to the SHWFC week was welcomed with bright sunshine tempting a very healthy attendance We had the usual inclusion of late arrivals who failed to notify Football Manager Andy Houghton via the WhatsApp availability poll plus a debutant who enrolled just in time to join the throng

It can’t be stressed enough how difficult it is for Andy to make team selections in preparation for the hour long session Any delay to re-work the selections impact on playing time So next time you think the session is slow to start or too short just remember the duty that all members have to get things moving swiftly That’s one moan out of the way

The teams eventually chosen were;

Blue - PaulF, Eileen, Mike Bates, Roy, Big Tony, Dave Robo and Chris K

Green - Beach Boy (back from injury) Donal, Andy Man, Robin, John Forrester (new boy Fozz) Enoch & the Honeyman

Black - Cockney Rebel, Les Meldrew, Anita, Tom Stretch, Little John, Colin & Wickie

Old Gold - Ashy, Kirsty, Aldo, Mark NR, Triallist, Simon & Mika

Purple - Amazon Prime, Glen, Margaret, Eamon, Rick and Phil the Power

Red - Monday Michelle, Trish, Prout Senior, Citeh Geoff, McSpeed, Steve Harding & Phil Moss

Pitch 1 with Ref Jeff Betty offering firm guidance from the very start, started with Red and Purple serving up a great appetiser for the feast ahead The Referees had agreed to administer a firm grip on ‘not walking’ conscious of recent performances that had stretched patience almost as much as stretched leg muscles The game after a series of stern reminders eventually settled into a very good contest The only goal of the match was scored by Phil Moss

Enterprising, end to end, lots to admire but ultimately just the solitary goal Red winning 1-0

Their reward was a visit by Old Gold who had disposed of Blue on Pitch 2 in the opener in adjacent land Blue contributed to a fine match with lots to admire but were the authors of their own downfall with a series of misplaced passes gifting Old Gold a comfortable 4-1 win Blue passed with authority but sometimes simply overlooked the safe option Mark No Relation hit a hat trick punishing the Blue mistakes, before Aldo skipped in to add a 4th goal Big Tony fired a penalty for Blue, the 4th ‘not walking’ infringement finally invoked by El Presidente (plenty of warnings during proceedings) for the Blue consolation

4-1 a poor reflection on the element of control that Blue exerted for periods before self destructing in spectacular fashion

The Red v Old Gold finale was a very close affair played with great intensity Simon injured his ankles having struggled to keep his feet McSpeed picked up an injury too, too close to Simon on one occasion A very tight contest was decided by another goal by Phil Moss 1-0 and with it claimed the morning’s honours

The Plate final on Pitch 2 was another close call Purple and Blue producing a cracking contest with plenty of flowing football by both sides Blue took the advantage thanks to two excellent shots by Mike Bates and Roy But two late goals by Eamon took Purple back in the fray His second goal was a cracker Both sides worked hard to find a winner but poor finishing and some excellent keeping meant the game ended all square 2-2 the final verdict

The morning’s other match featured an eight a side fixture with Black facing Green refereed with his signature light touch by Charlie The game was full of good performances with John (Fozz)Forrester impressing on his debut Green edged the game courtesy of goals by Honeyman, Andy Man and ‘Beach Boy’ Brian Wilson Black responded with goals by Messrs Stretch and Meldrew another triumph of selection 3-2 to Green after a superb contest

There was a mild thunderstorm late afternoon that hit the area, maybe contributing the numbers in attendance for the Sutton SoccerDome session on Wednesday evening In a show of defiance (possibly not wanting to watch Set-Piece FC’s Euro Yawn) a fine bunch turned out in the calm after the storm to enjoy their hour’s untethered freedom

The team’s selected were

Black - Ian Hilton, Deggs (day release from South Wales) Haggis, Jason, Phil the Power & Eamon

Orange - Little John, Steve Carine, Chris 4G, Cockney Rebel, Andy Man & Midweek Michelle

Pink - Paul Cott, Deano, Chris Sulley, Doug, Helen, Neil Stretch & Les Hewitt

Neon - Lord Rainford, Kirsty, Tom Stretch, Joe the Ghost, GRAV, Steve Eccles & Ian Harding

Neon 4 Ian Harding 2, Ste 2 v Pink 2 Paul Cott 2

Our thanks to Chris 10P Prout who refereed and later gave us his thoughts on the game

“Pink started off brightly and moved the ball well trying to create chances Neon however, matched their passing game and managed to take a chance through Ian Harding who later doubled the lead. Pink had a chance to get back into the game from a penalty awarded for 4 ‘not walking’ fouls but this was well saved by Neon keeper.

HT 2-0

2nd half started well for Neon moving the ball from side to side looking for the decisive last pass, but Pink would strike back twice in quick effect through Paul Cott to level up

Neon upped the tempo and scored a screamer from distance, with a whipped strike that dropped in the corner giving the keeper no chance.

As Pink looked to try and equalise Neon ended the contest with a 4th with just a few minutes left to play.

FT 4-2 this was a really good game to be involved in” Some possible confusion on names may or may not be evident but you get the idea

The night’s other game featured Black and Orange another excellent, incident-free game. Orange had much more of the ball and used it to good advantage. Their goals were mostly as a result of poor marking, Black guilty of focusing on their offence. Nevertheless Black didn't give up and kept fighting. Halfway through second half score was 3 all. Then 2 goals from Steve C made it 5-3 but Black hit back to score again. Unfortunately Black could not beat time time

Final score 5-4 Orange victorious

Scorers for Black Ian Hilton 2, Deggsy and Haggis.

Scorers for Orange Steve C 3, Andy Man and Cockney Rebel

Black scored two excellent goals including an end to end move with a pass from Eamon out wide to the unmarked Deggsy and a 25 yard rasper from Haggis to the far corner of net.

So a remarkable week with thrills, spills, moans and groans! No just routine for SHWFC