⚽ St Helens Walking Football Match Reports
Updated: Sep 28
Another fantastic morning of walking football at St Helens, with plenty of goals, competitive matches and the usual blend of quality football, banter and camaraderie.
It was great to welcome back Martin Fox, whose return was warmly received by everyone at the club. We also welcomed Alan Plant for his long-awaited debut appearance. Alan slotted in seamlessly and showed exactly what St Helens Walking Football is all about, playing with a smile and contributing to a game played in excellent spirits. Welcome to the club, Al!
Across both pitches there were 26 goals, a hat-trick for Mike McSpeed, a match-winning strike from Mark No Relation, another rocket from Ian "Lefty" Bridge and some outstanding goalkeeping performances that kept several scorelines much closer than they might otherwise have been.
Here's how the action unfolded...
Green: Haggis, Lee Girvin, Michelle, Mike McSpeed, Phil the Power, Martin Fox
Purple: Steve Honneyman, Mark No Relation, Andy Enoch Powell, Phil Moss, Tony Snake Hips, New GK
Black:
Blue:
Old Gold:
Red:
📍 Near Pitch
🟡 Old Gold 2-4 Blue 🔵
Blue produced one of the performances of the morning as they deservedly overcame Old Gold 4-2 thanks to their teamwork, movement and work rate.
From the first whistle, Blue looked the more cohesive side, keeping possession well and making life difficult for their opponents. Ste Jones led the way with a brace, while Cockney Rebel got on the scoresheet with a typically energetic display. The goal of the game belonged to Ian "Lefty" Bridge, whose trademark rocket finish gave the keeper no chance.
Old Gold never stopped fighting and managed to stay in touch thanks to two goals from Gonzalo. However, sloppy passing and surrendering possession in dangerous areas continued to hurt Old Gold, allowing Blue to capitalise and ultimately run out deserved winners.
Scorers
🔵 Blue: Ste Jones (2), Cockney Rebel, Ian "Lefty" Bridge
🟡 Old Gold: Gonzalo (2)
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🔵 Blue 3-2 Purple 🟣
Blue continued their impressive morning with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Purple in an entertaining contest packed with chances.
Purple's goalkeeper had been the hero in their opening game and was once again called into action time after time. Despite producing a string of excellent saves, he was powerless to stop Trish, Ian "Lefty" Bridge and Cockney Rebel from finding the net for Blue.
Purple remained a threat throughout and replied through Steve Honeyman and Phil, setting up a tense finish. However, Blue stood firm defensively and deservedly held on for another victory.
Had it not been for Purple's outstanding goalkeeper, the scoreline could easily have been much wider as he produced numerous saves to keep his side in the game.
Scorers
🔵 Blue: Trish, Ian "Lefty" Bridge, Cockney Rebel
🟣 Purple: Steve Honeyman, Phil
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📍 Far Pitch
🟢 Green 0-1 Purple 🟣
This was a tightly contested affair between two evenly matched teams, with very little separating the sides throughout.
Green enjoyed plenty of possession and carved out several chances, but time and again they were denied by an inspired Purple goalkeeper. His handling, positioning and shot-stopping were outstanding throughout.
The winning moment came when Mark No Relation seized on an opportunity and clinically finished what proved to be the only goal of the game.
Green pushed hard for an equaliser right until the final whistle, but Purple's number one was simply unbeatable on the day, producing a man-of-the-match display to secure all three points and a deserved clean sheet.
Scorers
🟣 Purple: Mark No Relation
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🟡 Old Gold 3-5 Green 🟢
After suffering defeat in their opening game, Green bounced back in style with an impressive 5-3 victory over Old Gold.
Green were sharper from the outset, moving the ball with purpose and taking their chances ruthlessly. Lee Girvin was in excellent form, scoring twice, while Mike McSpeed stole the headlines with a clinical hat-trick.
For Old Gold it was a familiar story. While they continued to show attacking intent and battled throughout, sloppy passing and giving the ball away in key areas once again proved costly. To their credit, they kept fighting until the end, with Gonzalo's hat-trick helping to keep the scoreline respectable, but Green's superior finishing ultimately proved the difference.
In the end, Green's clinical finishing proved the difference as they deservedly ran out 5-3 winners.
Scorers
🟢 Green: Mike McSpeed (3), Lee Girvin (2)
🟡 Old Gold: Gonzalo (3)
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👏 Referees
A huge thank you once again to Jeff, Betty and Charlie for giving up their free time to referee the games. Walking football simply doesn't happen without volunteers willing to take the whistle, and their efforts are greatly appreciated by everyone at the club.
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⚫ Black 2-7 Red 🔴
Great to see Alan Plant making his long-awaited debut. Welcome to the club, Al!
This was a 6v6 game, with Al generously playing one half for each side.
It was truly a game of two halves. The opening period was an excellent exhibition of passing and movement from both teams, with neither side able to gain the upper hand. The 2-2 half-time scoreline was a fair reflection of a closely fought contest.
The second half was a very different story.
Black continued to create chances but were repeatedly denied by Judy, who bravely dropped into goal after pulling a muscle. She produced a series of fine saves, particularly to frustrate Speedo Mick and Roy, keeping Red in control of the game.
At the other end, Red were ruthless. Taking their chances efficiently, they rattled in five unanswered second-half goals to turn a close game into a convincing 7-2 victory.
Scorers
🔴 Red: Eamon (3), Si (2), Mike Tomo (2)
⚫ Black: Roy, Little John
Special mentions go to Neil SA and Phil the Cat, both of whom arguably produced their best performances for some time.
Perhaps most pleasing of all was the spirit in which the game was played. In keeping with recent matches played without referees, the game was contested honestly, respectfully and in exactly the manner walking football should be played. 👏⚽
Song for Monday
🎵 Song of the Match - Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)
or how about
Hey Jude by the Beatles
And so on to this weeks final match report from our very own Andy Manager Haughton.
⚪ White 7-4 🔵 Blue
The scoreline mirrored the other game of the evening, with White eventually running out 7-4 winners after an entertaining contest full of attacking football.
White scorers: Eamon (One Disc) (3), Ste Smith (2), Degsy (1), Mike Tomo (1)
Blue scorers: Deano the Spectator, Ian Hardy and Jason the Late shared the goals between them.
Before getting onto the football itself, it's worth making one point.
This is walking football.
That means no running and no contact. There was a little too much of both on display at times on Wednesday evening and it's something we all need to be mindful of moving forward.
Now, putting that to one side...
There was also some excellent football played, particularly from the attacking players on both sides.
For Blue, the movement and link-up play between Deano, Jason and Ian caused White problems throughout. Their quick passing and intelligent movement regularly opened up space in dangerous areas.
Ian's goal was the pick of the bunch, arriving after four crisp first-time passes, the final ball from Deano being an absolute peach. Jason's goal came in similar fashion, this time courtesy of a wonderful through ball from Les that cut the White defence open.
White were equally impressive going forward.
The front three of Ste, Degsy and Mike, well supported by Lee and Ian, occupied Blue's defence brilliantly and created the time and space for Eamon to help himself to a superb hat-trick.
Degsy enjoyed what was arguably his best game for some time, while Neil continues to grow in confidence with every appearance and looks increasingly assured week after week.
Mike Tomo's contribution also deserves a special mention, not least for a superb individual goal that had quality written all over it.
Of course, there was an incident during the game that most people will be aware of. There's no need to elaborate on it here at this stage.
Finally, many thanks to Jeff for stepping in and helping balance the numbers. It's always appreciated when players do what's needed to make the games happen.
To finish, and to reiterate the point made earlier:
This is walking football.
Let's continue to enjoy the competition, the camaraderie and the football while remembering exactly why we're all here.
Onwards and upwards. ⚽💙
Songs for this match would be
Walk don't Run by The Ventures or
Please Don't Touch by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates
Now onto our other nights action
🟣 Lilac 4-7 🩷 Pink
Many thanks to Chris Prout for this week's match report.
Lilac scorers: Haggis (3), Chris 10P (1)
Pink scorers: Ste Carine (3), PJ (3), Joe (1)
This was very much a tale of two halves.
Lilac were outstanding during the opening 10 to 15 minutes, moving the ball superbly with accurate passing and patient build-up play.
Pink struggled to find an answer as Lilac repeatedly unlocked the defence with killer passes, allowing Haggis to grab two excellent early goals.
Ste Carine reduced the deficit with a well-taken finish to leave the game finely poised at 2-1 at the break.
Lilac continued where they left off after half-time. Chris 10P got himself on the scoresheet before turning provider, slipping in Haggis to complete his hat-trick with a smart finish into the corner.
At 4-1, Pink looked to be in trouble.
But then the momentum swung.
Pink began pressing higher, moving the ball quicker and forcing Lilac deeper into their own half. The pressure told as mistakes began to creep in and, within a matter of minutes, Pink had drawn level. PJ and Ste Carine were ruthless in front of goal, taking their chances brilliantly as Pink seized control of the game.
From there, Pink dictated proceedings. Lilac pushed forward searching for more goals, but Pink repeatedly found space on the counter-attack and made it count, eventually running out 7-4 winners.
A thoroughly enjoyable game to be involved in, played in great spirit throughout and packed with plenty of quality football.
One final mention for Haggis, who produced what was arguably his best performance for some time. His movement, energy and finishing were excellent, and hopefully it's something he can build on in the weeks ahead.
This wednesday's Song choice which may get the editors vote for most obscure song of the year
So Obscure that Youtube don't even tell us who sang it.
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