Red (5): Ahmet, Gerald, Daniel, Tufan, Colin
Yellow (6): Oz, Kevin, John, Richard, Julius, Jim
11! Our squad list is only 15 but that includes Matt and Jack! Great attendance.
Go! Oh hang on, nope. My clock hasn’t worked. Stop! Yup, this one hasn’t worked either. Amusing incompetence from the keepers. Promptly followed by more farcical comedy from Daniel in goal as a first clearance didn’t even get beyond the feet of the first man – Oz. He passed to John who slotted in. The next clearance got slightly higher – Oz’s head, but the shot ended in Daniel’s hands. Howls of laughter and thumbs up from Yellow – they were loving this. In embarrassed frustration and to ensure safety he hoofed it high and long. The safety didn’t last long though. He flapped at a corner and eventually smothered the loose ball and just about managed to catch a high ball despite the sun. Hardly reassuring for his defence. He then warned that John was unmarked, a few yards beyond the last defender. No one did anything about it and Red promptly went 2-0 down. John then got his foot to a long ball just before Daniel to touch it in. A tad high some argued but to disallow it would have been harsh. He then gratefully handed over the gloves – Yellow really should have been four or five up up.
The change was immediate. Red scored! But sadly just a blip and Yellow took advantage of more calamitous keeping, Ahmet’s clearance ricocheted in off a hassling attacker and another loose ball trickled over the line after more farse. Yellow eventually pulled away to 7-1 by half time.
Change the teams? No siree – Red took the game by the scruff of the neck and were much more involved. But promptly let in a few including a high looping shot that Gerald caught but let slip though his fingers. Tufan and Daniel both skied generous lay-offs in front of goal, Colin took a clearance right in the goolies – you’ve never heard a more perfect contact. Daniel took two in the goolies, neither as good as the Colin poleaxe. John was the man though, a double hatrick and he forced an own goal through a deflection. His link up play up front with Julius regularly opened up the yellow defense who were more accomodating than yo mamma. And Julius contributed with a goal or two of his own. Kevin almost got on the score sheet too after going up front to take advantage of the windfall but could only deflect a lovely through ball just wide of the target. Tufan angrily hoofed a ball in from about a yard out, such was the frustrated aggression. He got another just after his family had arrived to watch. Luckily they hadn’t seen the rest of the show or they’d have carried on walking.
Final score: Red 7 – 12 Yellow
19 goals – The highest scoring game of the year? Don’t be daft – that was a 35 goal haul on January 2nd. An another seven games this year have combined totals of 20 or over. A lowly ninth – positively mediocre.
Man of the match – John. Step aside Zlatan.
Antithesis of John – Anyone in the Red goal.