Nothing To Lose*

The prospect of a morning’s soaking on the Ruskin Sports Village AstroTurf did not deter a hard core smattering of our membership on Monday Some of our members have suffered this last week from a particularly nasty illness Others were determined to beat the rush and get their Christmas gift shopping done - of course! What’s undeniable is that 28 players made the leap to hyper-space playing two games in very wet and challenging conditions When you’re already cold and wet what more damage can you possibly self inflict?

Those teams were;

Blue - Haggis, Triallist, Brian, Steve Harding, Andy Man and Geoff Prout

Red - Sheila, Les Meldrew, Les H, Wickie, Chris K, Glen and Mike Thomo

Old Gold - Mark NR, Roger, Mika, Tom Stretch, Chopper, Lefty Bridge and Enoch

Green - Lord Rainford, Beach Boy, Citeh Geoff, Margaret, Grav, Honeyman, Phil the Power and Little John

Red and Blue met on Pitch A ,nearest the grandstand, with Aldo once more putting his developing refereeing skills on the line The game flowed rather like the rain, with both teams enjoying periods on top and needing to soak up pressure too Ultimately 2 goals by Mike Thomo for Red weren’t quite enough to counter a Brian Prendergast hat trick and typical Haggis stunner for Blue The final result Blue 4-2 victors No disgrace for Red who were in the game throughout A good contest

On Pitch B Green faced Old Gold in a feisty encounter Ref Jeff Betty with his work cut out keeping a lid on proceedings A little too much bickering over decisions and niggly challenges might have unsettled a less experienced official But Jeff kept a tight grip and play resumed in our preferred pattern Green eventually claimed the victory thanks to goals by; Steve Honeyman 2, Phil the Power and Grav Consolation goals by Mika and Eamon meant Old Gold stayed in the contest but were unable to find goals to secure the win

Some gambles taken in search a win can work out really well, others less satisfactorily At least there was a chance and a cracking match too

Wednesday night’s Sutton SoccerDome session was held during a lull in the weather The day earlier had strong chilly winds and periods of heavy rain As is often the case for SHWFC the elements took a time out for the hour The midweek yawnfest of Premier League football was a factor with some electing to ‘go to the match’ whilst others settled into the groove left by their backsides on sofas Undaunted, the assembly of Innards and Outward Bounders took pride of place with the aim of getting their midweek football fix whilst stocks last

The Innards, who remain camera shy included, though not necessarily in this order

Yellow - John Cousins, Grav, Citeh Geoff, Phil the Power and Cockney Rebel

Orange - Gonzalo, Honeyman, Les H, Joe the Ghost and Triallist,

The word is that it was a fine footballing feast with the Yellow’s more robust defence being the decisive factor Two goals by John Cousins plus singletons by Phil the Power and Grav enough to take the honours Gonzalo hit a brace but more wasteful finishing and porous defending tipped the balance in favour of Yellow 4-2 the final verdict

The Outward Bounders game was a finely balanced contest Pink slightly more polished in terms of their all round teamwork

The teams selected were;

Yellow - Sully, Midweek Michelle, Little John, Neil Stretch, Jason, Deano and Lord Rainford

Pink - Mike Thomo, Simon, Andy Man, PJ, Benno, Haggis and Ref Jeff Betty

Referee for the session was El Presidente who between coughs and wheezes kept a firm grip on proceedings Thankfully he had little cause to lay down the law with both sides behaving impeccably in the ‘not walking’ department Pink adapted to the conditions earliest and settled into an impressive formation to keep Yellow under the thumb Some great passing saw Mike a Thomo and then Simon find yawning gaps in the Yellow back line 2 goals to the good and playing with real confidence An over-stretched limb presented a penalty which Sully tucked away 2-1 and almost immediately 2-2 with Sully picking off a lose clearance to stroke home an equaliser

Having wiped out the deficit Yellow relaxed a little too much, and Thomo was on hand to steer Pink back in front PJ doubled the Pink advantage before Deano and Jason struck to level up the score at 4-4 once again The final goal of the night came with just two minutes left Thomo poking home the winning goal 5-4 the final score Some terrific passing, excellent unsung defending and good saves to throw into the mix Handshakes and smiles all round Superb game to end the week and be involved with

Cockney Rebel retuned from his annual autumnal overseas jaunt to make his mark Next Friday 12th December all members are urged to get together for pre- Christmas festivities at the Club’s spiritual home The Turks Head Not content with arranging this year’s celebration Martin has secured the same venue for next year’s event (Friday 11th December for those who already are counting down)

The Sky Sports media team were on duty at Anfield on Wednesday so the SHWFC post session media duties were rather muted, with just hysterical laughter as a backdrop Our Chairman had to deny the continued link between the crisis club and our own football manager “Andy’s happy and he’s doing a fine job here I can understand why he might be wanted elsewhere but he’s going nowhere!” Unless the money’s right - he didn’t add but never say never

Nothing To Lose* - Hollow Coves (Australian Indie pop outfit worth a listen)