Oh Lord it's hard to be humble*
Monday morning and the effects of a weekend cursed, by not one but two storms, cast a threatening shadow over prospects for Walking Football The Ruskin arena looked windswept with debris scattered about the otherwise green acres Austen & Boelo wreaked havoc elsewhere, in SHWFC terms playing into the wind meant playing low and wide The 'have it' system was never an option though some still chanced their arm
As rain caused the assembly to huddle under the dressing room awning El Presidente went ahead with the presentation of the formal recognition of Lord Rainford ascent to the official nobility The Certificate recognised M'Lord's years of service to the Club as Secretary & Executive Committee member and was warmly applauded by all present
After weeks of takeover speculation it was a moment of solemn dignity A chance to reflect on a good news story Veteran hack Lunchtime O'Booze was nowhere to be seen Underfire Executives breathed a sigh of relief for the moment at least
The weather deterred the faint hearted perhaps but the following lined up for the action
Old Gold - Les H, Lord Rainford, Lefty Bridge. Ste' Harding, Mike Thomo & Jan
Blue - Citeh Geoff, John Hill, Monday Michelle, Ashy, Donal & Roy
Black - Cockney Rebel, Cornelius, Mark NR, John Hayes. Big Tony & Dame Sheila
Red - Snakehips, Margaret,Barry Wizz, Girvo, Big Phil & Eamon
5 aside contest on Far pitch C
Green 2 v 4 Purple
Steve (1) Phil (1) Green
Paul (2) Brian (1) Grav (1) Purple
“This was by far the easiest game I’ve refereed with both teams playing great walking football it seemed to me that five aside gave the players more time and space to pick out their passes and create some excellent football.
The game also included some fine goalkeeping which kept the scoreline really tight up until the final quarter when Purple turned on the gas and pulled away due to a couple of rare lapses in defence from the greens. Considering the freezing cold wet conditions the players adapted well and produced a great game with hand shakes and compliments all round at the end it was a pleasure to referee” Ref Jeff Betty the man in the middle
A fine scoring debut from Paul Stone, an assured first touch. Ste Fowles built on his debut last week with a non-stop performance, fully understanding the concept of pass and move. Beach Boy seems to be getting better every week.
This was a great game that could have gone either way. The pleasing fact was that all 6 goals had to be worked for, none were gimmes due to poor defending/ non-marking.
Green - Little John, Phil the Power, Tom Stretch, Steve Fowles & Meldrew
Purple - Andy Man, GRAV, Paul Stone, Beach Boy & Wickie
Today’s scores and scorers
Red 5. V. Black 1
Lee 2. Neil 1
Eamon 2
Barry 1
Reds played well some good football and should have scored more
Blacks very disorganised
Second game
Old Gold 1. V. Black 3
John 1. Cockney Rebel 1
Mark NR 2
Complete turnaround by Black
Some good goals in a close game
Horrible rainy weather Blue v Old Gold
No running was very evident instead both teams were patient and measured in possession Rainford tried the Huyton Sweep (toe end blamed) hopelessly off target Old Gold scored when Mike Thomo goos shot when perhaps a simple pass to Jan was easier option Goal scorers do back themselves, hard to too critical as Gold took 1-0 lead Monday Michelle swooped on a shocking clearance from an ennobled keeper for 1-1 Moments later a piece of comedic defending presented her with a simple shot beyond Lord Rainford for 2-1
Gold suffered just later with two shots beaten away before Donal hit the side netting Old Gold in firm control A superb Sussex sweep dissected the Blue defence to present Mike Thomo with a great chance that he calmly steered home 2-2 Blue under the cosh but back on terms in fine style Rainford in search of a glorious finale blazed a shot that hit the bar The action brought to end with the sides locked 2 goals each A very exiting game with moments of magic and farce ending in an honourable draw
Game two featured Red v Blue, Red under strength thanks to missing player before El Presidente signalled a restart with teams finally with their full compliment This was a much more scrappy game with Red lacking composure especially near goal
Four minutes from the end Citeh Geoff fired a good shot all along the ground to give Blue the 1-0 advantage In the final minute a speculative shot from distance was spilled by Red Keeper Wizz John Hill lifted the ball gently over the prone keeper into the corner Blue sealing a 2-0 victory in great style
Wednesday night’s Sutton SoccerDome session provided the first test of the Winter period for members and it must be acknowledged that many were found wrapped up elsewhere leaving a rough, tough bunch of 18 players, one Referee and assorted spectator/ball retrievers to enjoy
The Sports Hall Innards were tucked up in their jammies so essentially the Club took a hit on the cost involved Too easy to do nothing but serious questions need to raised about how we can justify a weekly loss-making provision, now becoming a total drag on finances
Those who did brave the elements enjoyed a very decent 9 a side game played on a large pitch with plenty of space to display their talents
White - Jeff Betty, Ian Hilton, PJ, Midweek Michelle, Doug, Chris 10P, Eamon, Lee Willo & GRAV
Orange - Steve Smith, Cockney Rebel, Deggs, Andy Man, Jason, Paul Win, Mike Thomo, Joe the Ghost & Little John
The game settled with White showing more composure and organisations, White applied pressure, won a corner a Willo tucked home 1-0 He made no mistake adding a second as Orange still struggled to find shape and positional discipline White passed with purpose and accuracy Orange were prone to dwell on the ball waiting for movement from their forwards in particular Eamon claimed White’s third as the Orange were peeled apart 3-0 and El Presidente looking at the potential for e changing players to re-balance the game
Steve Smith pulled a goal back for Orange, Andy Houghton, Little John and Mike Thomo all contributing to the move 3-1
The second half started with Orange a growing threat, but no further goals Play passed from end to end though White remained calmer in possession
Lee Williams completed his hat trick as Orange failed to clear their decks 4-1
Paul Winstanley and Steve Smith were prominent for Orange but not as effective as their opponents who always seemed to have a team mate available
Orange presented Chris 10P with a chance to swivel and fire into the far corner, poor defensive choices to mark and clear only adding to the Orange task 5-1
Steve Smith snatched at a chance when 1 on 1 with GRAV (who went to ground early but still smothered the shot) A massive opportunity for Orange was wasted at the final whistle as Joe the Ghost failed to pick up on a pass squared to him from 7 yards out
El Presidente blasted the Acme Thunderer and the game ended 5-1 in favour of White, Orange out-enthused and shot shy
The week had mixed news for Members; Haggis lost his Grandfather after a long illness, Steve Honeyman Forshaw is back at home after his health scare, Phil the Cat appeared at Ruskin to the surprise of many who had only just heard of his recent operation
We wish only the best to all involved
Let’s enjoy another session or two next week as November is upon us
Oh Lord it’s Hard to be Humble* - Garry Peters (versions by Mac Davis, Peter Walmarans, Col Hardy, Tommy Dell and The Vermin)
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