Shoot For The Moon*

Head down, steady yourself, try and get your knee over the ball - or lean back, close your eyes and hope for the best

Strikers are an odd breed

Selfish, self-confident and self-congratulatory types that can make and/or break a team Defenders will sometimes only flounder in their wake or thank their stars they don’t have to play against them Now like any Club SHWFC is blessed with its share of strikers The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (you decide dear reader) Our games are lit up by goals and the last week’s sessions had some absolute crackers

Monday morning presented the now familiar threat of rain but thankfully allowed play to continue without the deluge that would follow after the session’s end

38 players sought selection, fluttering their eyes in the hope of catching Football Manager Andy Houghton’s gaze The teams eventual line ups were as follows;

Black (those camera shy rascals who impatiently missed their photo op’ yet again)

Gonzalo, Amazon Prime, Big Tony, Eileen, Joe the Ghost & Anita (back in action after lengthy injury absence)

Old Gold - Les Meldrew, Triallist, Roger, Rob, Dave Roberts, Monday Michelle and Lefty Bridge

Green. - Les H, McSpeed, Lord Rainford, Steve Harding, Mark NR & Haggis

Red - Donal, Cockney Rebel, Mike Bates, Julie, Kirsty & Ian Harding

Purple - Wickie, Ashy, Little John, Beachboy, Aldo and Sheila

Blue - Enoch, Neil C, El Presidente, Snakehips, Chopper, Andy Man & Tomo

Charlie and Phil the Power provided whistle interludes when necessary to keep their games in line Blue and Old Gold faced each other for the whole session on the far end pitch, in a self-refereed game that was played in a very civilised, non-confrontational manner No contentious issues to disturb an enjoyable game Old Gold took an early two goal lead with Ian Lefty Bridge and Michelle imposing their presence on a disjointed Blue outfit But Andy Man and Tomo hit back to bring sides level Enoch found more space as Old Gold found greater momentum The game was decided by Blue giving up too many chances; loose passing and naive ‘marking’ gifting chances that Old Gold clinically dispatched with ruthless efficiency Old Gold had all round competency that Blue couldn’t match and in Lefty Bridge a striker in a rich vein of goal scoring form

Charlie’s first match on Pitch B was a close game with Black just coming up short against Red Lethal finishing by Gonzalo, with a brace, might have swayed the contest but Ian Harding 2 and Cockney Rebel tipped the balance for Red A narrow 3-2 victory for their better overall teamwork

Gonzalo was the difference in the second game His four goals plus a ghostly goal from Joe was enough to secure a 5-1 win for Black against Purple for whom birthday celebrant Aldo had grabbed an early lead

Phil the Power had a good, if unplanned, morning as stand in Referee, putting aside his ‘man flu’ to keep order on Pitch A

Green dismissed Purple in the opening encounter by five goals to nil General consensus was the game on paper should have been much closer, as wags will doubtless point out the game is never played on paper Mark NR hit a effortless hat trick with his usual economy McSpeed and Haggis scored too Haggis had spurned an earlier chance with a shot to the heavens so his perseverance paid off with a worldy into ‘top bins’ See strikers even have their own language!

The second game up featured Green and Red with Red achieving a perfect morning with a much closer score line Ian Harding put Red ahead before McSpeed scored at the double to fire Green in front Red sealed the win however with two long range late goals by Cockney Rebel (resembling a young Barry Gibb) and Mike Bates 3-2 Red good value for the win and their 100% record

Wednesday’s weather was thankfully dry but not a night for the faint hearted with an icy wind that threatened to damage exposed members! Yes the ears, nose and hands you Vulgarians

Our midweek sessions at Sutton SoccerDome are at this time of the year split between the indoor Sports Hall and the outdoor freezer known as the AstroTurf steppes

Ten bikini clad individuals dap on the factor 30 and play 5 v 5 an intense game usually without incident but lately a competitive edge has crept into the games that has led to an Arsenal-like nastiness that is unnecessary and unwelcome This week’s match was played under the strict guidance of Referee El Presidente who ensured that any infractions were quickly dealt with

The Innards teams were;

Black - Les H, Deggs, Joe the Ghost, Andy Man and Helen

Yellow - Les Meldrew, Lord Rainford, Gonzalo, Mutchy & Phil the Power

With a firm grip on any potential flashpoints the game was hugely entertaining with moments of pure enjoyment Both teams employed a pressing game to deny the opposition time on the ball to find team mates First time passing and movement became the prescribed method to defeat the press Yellow adapted first and profited as a result A superb Rainford effort defied all defensive covering angles to nestle in the far corner of the net A more conventional finish by Gonzalo doubled the Yellow lead before Andy steadied the Black into the contest Gonzalo applied another sharp shot to restore the Yellow advantage before, in the night’s only controversial moment a long shot from just outside the Red Zone was instinctively played by Phil the Power in the Yellow nets El Presidente ruled that in electing to play the ball the shot’s deflection into the net should stand The Yellow lead cut to 3-2 Deggs scored a trademark special to level the game just on half time 3-3 and a hugely enjoyable first stanza ended all square After the interval Phil the Power atoned with a great team goal Yellow 4-3 ahead and soon out of reach with two more Gonzalo goals to underline Yellow’s advantage 6-3 the final score A lot of late chances but no further goals Some wild and wayward stuff at times Lord Rainford peppering the ceiling with off balance efforts At the final whistle we had handshakes and smiles all round An excellent contest played in great spirit

The Outward Bounders meanwhile enjoyed a very sensible 8 a side game, without a Referee for once The teams were;

Blue - Ian Harding, Tom Stretch, Cockney Rebel, Gaz, Steve Carine, Neil Stretch, Chris 10P and Martin Mc (back after a prolonged absence)

Yellow - Little John, Chris 4G, Chris Sully, Ian Hilton, Jason, Mark Dav, Mike Thomo and Haggis (who wore Blue and lined up in the opposition until the numerical error was uncovered) Blue shaded the eventual game by 5 goals to 3 Little John, Mike Thomo and Ian Hilton were on target for Yellow Blue took the honours thanks to two goals each by Steve Carine and Ian Harding whilst Gaz hit his customary fizzer along the deck to confirm victory

There were some great comments after the game Compliments for the attitude and honesty of all players It does make such a difference when players can own up rather than claim every meaningless decision No edge or fractured peace just great sportsmanship and camaraderie

A week when strikers captured the plaudits Defenders it’s your turn next No pressure

Shoot For The Moon* - Poco

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmXUX4uIsjw