Twin Peaks

Yet another week rolls by as we head into glorious Summer and another match report for you to peruse while you sit in your office and complain about how muggy it is.

A bumper turn out again this week – here are your teams:

Blues: Simon Gas, Ed, Mark, Aussie Tom, Peter, Charlie, Mick, Liam and Alessandro

Yellows: me, Andy, Ian Gooner, Danny, Alan, Steve, Joe, Tony, Bristol Paul and Mario

Ten plays nine there, with the team featuring ten players having more than their fair share of duffers. The stronger Blue team took the lead through Liam, but the Yellows drew level from a fabulous equaliser from Mario who deftly volleyed in a centre from Alan that crept inside the near post beyond the grasp of our leading goalkeeping light, Ed.

The stronger Blue team then became even stronger, as Tony once again decided that the admittedly annoying tree pollen that swirls around Bloomsbury at this time of year was preventing him from breathing, (he managed to communicate this to his team-mates while still opening and closing his mouth and showing all signs of ingesting carbon dioxide). Thus we then had the seemingly weekly spectacle of Tony mournfully and deliberately removing his bib and trudging back to the changing rooms softly shaking his head.

With two teams of nine but with a weaker line-up the Yellows were now very much up against it and the Blues began to dominate possession, with Peter, Charlie, Mick and Alessandro recycling the ball and setting up chances for Liam in particular. Like the Luftwaffe in 1940, they also sought to achieve total aerial dominance with the Twin Peaks of Peter and Charlie combining to win most of the headers in midfield, which meant that the Yellows had to try and play out from the full-backs.

Charlie and Peter were both on the scoresheet as the Blue team roared ahead, and had it not been for a veritable tour de force of a performance from Joe, which Andy rightly described as a pleasure to watch, the score could have become silly. Time and again Joe’s last-gasp tackles and coolness under pressure snuffed out Blue attacks and he capped what was arguably a man of the match performance with the Yellows’ other goal. Gathering the ball inside his own area, Joe steadily and remorselessly advanced through the Blues’ half with the élan and grace of a stately Rolls Royce and unleashed a defiant shot that flew into the top corner. Bravo, Joe.

Other than Tony’s inevitable departure there were few other talking points this week, although we had some customary handball shouts, one of which was given against Steve and one that was not, while Charlie and Andy were responsible for the two occasions on which the ball left the playing arena.

Final score: Yellows 2, Blues 3

To the pub once more then, with Mick bringing along his banjo ahead of a folk gig in north London. Ian, Steve and Alan were all going on a bike ride to Leigh-on-Sea on Saturday and thus only stayed for two, while Simon Gas, Alan and Bristol Paul stayed on to discuss Chelsea’s inevitable League title win. The less said about that, the bietter.

Until Friday, enjoy your week.