Stepping Out*
September arrived to signal the real end to the Saharan weather we’ve enjoyed for past several sessions Tuesday morning’s Ruskin ramble featured a smaller than usual assembly for a variety of reasons but was nevertheless just as exhilarating as usual with thirty members gracing (term used loosely) the AstroTurf acres The hour was blessed with decent conditions as is befitting SHWFC members There was rain after and a light sprinkling before but “not a drop fell on little old me”
Andy Man was, at great inconvenience forced into a late reshuffle of resources, still able to produce balanced teams two of eight with two more of seven The teams were;
Black - Ian Connor, Beach Boy, Honeyman, Little John, Cockney Rebel, Citeh Geoff and (by a sheer twist of fate) Citeh Mike
Old Gold - Mike Thomo, John Hill, Mark NR, Snakehips (in defensive wall stance), GRAV, Gonzalo and Phil the Power
Red - Mika, John Carroll, Ste’ Harding, Ricky, Eamon, Simon, Kerry and Mike Bates
Green - McSpeed, Glen, Glen’s mate Tony (no me either), Enoch, Meldrew, B Wizz, Ashy and Andy Man himself
Referees for the morning were veteran tyrant/despot El Presidente and Charlie There was a small but perfectly formed contingent of spectators but just 3 assorted grandchildren
Charlie took charge of the Black v Old Gold love-in which turned out to be a really competitive contest Old Gold on top until the interval after which the tide certainly turned A Gonzalo hat trick and Phil the Power solo handed the first half initiative to Old Gold The Honeyman strike gave Black a toe hold in the contest but it was Old Gold setting the pace with a 4-1 lead at the break
A Citeh Mike hat trick plus goals by the Cockney Rebel and Beach Boy Brian turned the contest decisively Old Gold had just a Mike Thomo strike to show for their second half travails Sonthe game ended with Black shading Old Gold by 6 goals to 5 Charlie noted “this was an excellent game served up by both teams”
The Club Executive has promised to investigate rumours of suspicious betting activity by a Far east betting syndicate The outcome will be announced at the same time as the infamous 115 charges (or never as most of football believes)
Smiles and handshakes all round Great start to the new month
Red met Green with another close game in prospect Green took a strong hold on early possession and produced 3 shots in the general area of the Red goal Eamon shot just wide from their first spell of decent passing as Red finally progressed into their opponents territory McSpeed finally opened the scoring after 6 minutes Green 1 up but Eamon levelled shortly after seizing his second chance after his first effort hit a post Almost immediately McSpeed restored the lead after a neat one-two but Eamon struck back to make it 2-2 Red took the lead for the first time when Kerry was able to stretch to turn in a half chance Red 3-2 ahead at Halftime
There was a really untidy passage of play in the Green final third before the ball was finally cleared
After almost 15 minutes of the second period McSpeed claimed the matchball with Green’s equaliser 3-3 The game nicely poised
Red passed with great accuracy and patience to stretch the Green defence Eamon steering home 4-3 Red on top now Simon dispossessed the last Green defender to fire home 5-3 the Red advantage with time elapsing Red finishing strongly with a greater degree of energy now apparent Simon claimed his second to stretch the lead to 6-3
A game that was so even ended with Green struggling to contain the Red work rate
Another excellent game played in a great spirit
Wednesday’s Sutton SoccerDome session was played against a backdrop of persistent rain throughout the day Thirty members made the bold decision to take their chances with the possibility of rain, and were rewarded with an hour of totally dry
Teams for the game refereed by Martin Cockney Rebel Briggs which resulted in close win for Lilac by 5 goals to 3 by Orange
Lilac - Andy Man, GRAV, Mike Thomo, PJ, Chris 4G, Lee Willo (on his debut) & John Hayes
Orange - Phil the Power, Little John, Subbuteo Dave, Girvo, Gaz, Jeff Betty & Tom Stretch
Referee C. Rebel (London) commented afterwards
“Goals by Grav, Mike Thomo 2, PJ 2 for Lilac including a penalty tucked away by Mike Thomo
Orange goals were scored by Tom Stretch, Phil the Power and Girvo
Good game with no problems everyone accepting all decisions. Lilac passing was crisp & clean lat times cutting open Red rearguard Red passing, whilst at times very slick, lacked a killer touch in the final 3rd of the pitch Lilac were a lot more composed than Red picking their passes with more thought. Goalkeeper John Hayes had a great game keeping Red out when they did break through with some great saves. Overall a good game the score line doesn't reflect the game but Lilac were worthy winners on the night Another worthy mention in dispatches for Jeff Betty Birchall who had a fine game with some decisive passing a particular highlight
Andy Man offered his view on proceedings “Martin reffed the game superbly well He saw everything but let the game flow. The contest 5-3 to Lilac but Orange could have been at least 3 up in the first 15 mins, if not for excellent saves by John Hayes. Lee Willo made an impressive debut, linking up time and again with Mike Tomo.
There was a brilliant inch perfect through ball by Jeff Betty that split Lilac defence in half to send Lee Girvan through. A fine game despite the gusty wind”
The night’s other game pitched Pink and Yellow together under the iron tight grip of El Presidente
Pink - Eamon, Meldrew, Deggs, Chris 10P, Ian Hilton, Deano and Ian Harding
Yellow - Ste’ Smith, Doug, Jo Schofield, Haggis, Paul Winstanley, Joe the Ghost and Jason
This was the proverbial game of two halves Yellow set about controlling the early midfield battle with the combination play of Steve Smith, Jo Scho, Paul and Jason pinging passes about with fine accuracy and precision Haggis, Doug and Joe the Ghost played further forward Pink scrambled the ball away after an early chance by Ian Harding Pink with a calmer approach seemed content to contain their opponents Joe the Ghost broke the deadlock to poke Yellow ahead after 10 minutes Eamon occupying a deeper role than normal intercepted and blocked at key moments to keep Pink in the contest Doug produced a smart save to thwart Eamon from long distance
Ian Harding burst on to a through ball to fire in the equaliser Possibly too quickly? 1-1 the verdict
The second stanza started all square but Pink started to turn up the pressure by defusing the Yellow midfield dominance
Chris 10P hit a trademark early strike to put Pink 2-1 ahead Later he took a pragmatic approach to clear a la Hawkins ‘Have It’ style Pink now on top and looking the stronger team as Yellow tired
Chris 10P picked off some loose defending to make the Pink advantage 3-1 Deano passed the ball into the far corner with a sublime finish for 4-1 Almost immediately it was 5-1 with another Chris 10P effort Eamon was on the spot to stretch the lead to 6-1 Next Jason strayed into his goal area to present Deggs with the penalty chance he didn’t waste 7-1
Yellow’s first attack of the 2nd half yielded a corner before Joe fired wide Twelve minutes before full time Yellow exerting some pressure after being missing in action for most of the second half Yellow passing was off target and too often picked off by the more efficient Pink
Jason did restore a little hope with a good goal for 7-2, as skies darkened Moments later he fired an excellent strike for 7-3 Was the comeback on?
The Pink response emphatically killed off that notion, Chris 10P prodding home after a defence splitting pass 8-3 Ian Hilton rounded off a good display with a shot that finished the action 9-3 the final score Pink simply too sharp in the second half
A good week for Walking Football No players leaving despite a very active transfer window
Same again everyone!
Stepping Out* - Joe Jackson (much under-rated British singer/songwriter lost to Classical music briefly before returning to his roots)
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