Feargal Sharkey, once a teenage kicker from Norn Ireland and now a pin-up boy for clean water conservationists around the country, summed things up perfectly 'Get teenage kicks all through the night' Wednesday's tear up at the Sutton SoccerDome involved no one remotely near those tender teenage years but we did have one notorious individual who got his kicks in regardless But more of that later...
We had a grand turnout to play, officiate and spectate our midweek action 34 players were roped together then skillfully separated in honed teams 4 teams of six and 2 teams of five
Andy Man(anger) put his charges through a grilling to prime them ready to rock n roll
The Referees finished their 12 course meal in their attempt at preparation, with Lord Rainford producing a very acceptable bottle of claret from his estate cellar El Presidente passed around the Romeo and Julieta Havanas Jeff Betty polished his newly acquired Referee Certificate just in case
The evening's teams were;
White (5) - Crispy, Chris 4G, Kirsty, Steve Carine and Lee Thomo
Red (5) - Lefty Bridge, Andy Man(anger), Haggis, Michelle and Keith Slater
Yellow - Phil the Power, Citeh Geoff, Martin Mc, Barry, Dave Martland and Willo
Purple - Tom Stretch, Eamon, Deano, Wicky, Roger and Paul Henesy
Sky - Richard Evans, Les, Kenny Nolan, Little John, Joe the Ghost and Eileen
Blue - Gonzalo, Deggs, Gaz, Robin, Neil and Matt Garry
Lord Rainford officiated with his trusty Sussex Constabulary 'toot' whistle and remained at the North end of the manor to ensure the 5 a side love in stayed on an even keel for the night With 2 teams of 5 it was thought too complex to start moving players around to the larger group of 6 a side teams So the 5s got to work with the prospect of no reprieve for the entire session The game was a high scoring affair, with White taking the upper hand Lee Thomo claimed a first half hat trick, one very fortunately saved by Haggis's legs only to squirm into Lee's path for a tap in Kirsty added a brace including a fine long range effort Red with all to do to get back in the game
Michelle claimed an excellent goal slaloming past defenders before netting 7-2 at the break Red's self destructive defending explaining much For the second period Chris 4G and Haggis switched sides in a controversial swap deal However this bold move failed to work out Michelle claimed another goal Haggis struck a penalty well over the bar to sum up his evening He did persevere to beat Lee, though he'd previously peppered the keeper's frame with shots
The end thankfully arrived to put an end to the Red agony 10-4 the final result In no measure a reflection on the sportsmanship and mutual appreciation displayed all round But the scoreboard doesn't lie Same again next week? Let's think about the selection a little more perhaps
The blustery wind had little impact on the quality of play for the night Instead it was the naivety of players that caused much bigger problems The notion that defenders can ping accurate passes across their own areas or through several opponents to find a team mate is truly baffling With the ball at their feet there's a duty for team mates to drop deeper into space to receive a simple pass Come and show means drop deeper to pick up an easy pass out But time and again players ignored that notion
Rant over (for today)
Yellow and Purple met up in the bruise Derby, which was played in a very sporting manner The bruises came later
Purple employed a high line to pen the Yellow deep in their own territory Deano had an excellent game with two well taken goals His first was the result of the pass across the area (yet again) The second a lovely one-two with Eamon freeing Deano up to wrong foot Citeh Geoff (not something that happens very often) before finding the bottom corner Feeding on just scraps Yellow forwards made little impression on the Purple rearguard Martin Mc did at least test the Purple keeper but it was a rare excursion At the other end Roger was set up by Deano to try his luck but the effort was just wide The final goal was claimed by Tom Stretch who delayed his shot to fire home 3-0 Purple too much guile for their opponents
On the adjacent pitch Blue made swift work of Sky with Gonzalo claiming a brace 2-0
Sky took on Yellow next in a much tighter match Yellow having dtruggled in their opening encounter took an early lead Dave Martland seized on a poor clearance (across the box) to fire Yellow ahead Willo played a huge part in the next goal, tidying up in mid park before feeding a pass that Phil the Power stroked home 2-0 to Yellow Joe the Ghost did hit back to claim a consolation Before Yellow resorted to long clearances to hold out, one pass amazingly fed Phil who was agonisingly wide Sky couldn't find the way through and Yellow held out to win 2-1
There was a very tight encounter on the adjacent pitch with a solitary strike by Eamon enough to claim a 1-0 win over the Blue
Blue were the next visitors to the Yellow peril and started as if they meant business A goal picked by Gonzalo from a poor keeper error gave the match a measure of the advantage Blue seemed to have But despite numerous chances the score remained 1-0 until Phil found the power to shoot past Gaz Having trailed for much the game Yellow were level 1-1 as time ran out Take your chances when you have them is the moral of the story
Purple has no such issues dispatching Sky with Eamon and Paul Henesy on target to extend the Purple patch unbeaten now in all three games
The finale pitched Purple against Blue arguably the strongest sixes on the night Matt Garry struck early to power the Blue ahead, crashing through a myriad of defenders into the bottom corner Even at full stretch Tom Stretch couldn't keep out the effort 1-0 Blue
El Presidente had to issue a series of 'Slow Down' reminders as both sides chanced their luck Blue had a period of sustained pressure but couldn't repeat the trick Gonzalo was nearest with a drive that cannoned off the foot of a post There was a freak incident when the ball from the pitch next door struck the match ball as it was careering off the post It summed up the state of play Everything a little frantic but about to ratchet up some more as Purple found an equaliser when Wickie stole in to fire home from some distance
Tension continued to take a grip on proceedings and there followed a bizarre incident that led to Deggs earning a Blue Card and time in the Bin for a reckless tackle on Tom The incident wide out in the Purple half was needless The player was only able to play the pass back to a team mate instead the Huyton hitman crashed through the stretching one whilst claiming he'd won the ball Blue had to dig deep to stay in the contest having been let down by their reckless team mate Purple now in control As the time elapsed and the offender returned play regained a measure of good sense and the final whistle meant a 1-1 draw Purple unbeaten for the evening but pushed all the way by the Blue
The night's remains fixture produced honours even with Joe the Ghost earning a share of the spoils cancelling out Martin Mc's opener for Yellow Even a random and brief interruption by an unscheduled Just Stop Oil demonstration failed to prevent the fun
We've learned since Wednesday's games that Citeh Geoff Painter was taken to hospital on Thursday and later transferred to Walton Hospital with a bleed on the brain He is recovering now pain free but remains in hospital We will of course pass on news of recovery as we get it via our WhatsApp groups
We extend our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Geoff Our thoughts are with him and his Family at this time
Wednesday Week* - The Undertones