As the domestic football season draws to a close and we head into the
final few weeks of our opening campaign at Coram Fields the weather remains
obstinately Spring-like, (which is a nice way of saying it is cool and rainy). Not
that the damp weather stymied last Friday’s protagonists from enjoying a ten
goal thriller, mind. Simon Gas’s exemplary planning once more saw him unsheathe
a fateful piece of paper containing various male first names as he pre-selected
the two teams to do battle last Friday.
They lined up as follows:
Bibs: Alex, Steve, Andy, Liam, Dave, Paul, Ross
Colours: Simon Gas, Dan, Nick, Mark, me, Spizz, Joe (after a switch),
Phil
Keeping Dan and Alex apart in an attempt to cancel one another out is
always a wise move to make when picking the teams, but unfortunately for the
Colours this strategy came somewhat unstuck when Dan came down with a nasty
groin knack which meant that he had to play the remainder of the game in goal.
At the time the scores were relatively close, but without the Colours’ talisman
and all-round most effective player the Bibs started to look ominously
dangerous so Simon changed things around, with Joe joining the Colours side.
With their ranks swollen by the addition of Joe, dodgy knee and all, the
Colours started to claw their way back from a 4-1 deficit. The Bibs opening
salvo had come from the fearsome attacking triumvirate of Alex, Liam and Ross, (none
of whom showed any mercy to the crocked Dan in goal). The tide started to turn
as Mark fired in from an acute angle to grab one goal back; Joe then managed to
keep his composure to pass the ball calmly past Andy for 4-3 and Phil – freed
from his usual berth between the posts – grabbed the equaliser after I’d
managed to charge down the ball on the edge of the Bibs’ area.
At 4-4 the game was delicately poised, with Andy stoically repelling the
Colours’ shots in goal and Steve marshalling the Bibs’ defence. Likewise, Simon
Gas was Beckenbauer-esque at the back for the Colours. Despite a hatful of chances
for the Bibs, they failed to get their noses in front and the final score was
6-4 to the Colours. Spizz failed to get on the scoresheet in what will be his
final game at Coram Fields this season, or in fact, until around November, but
it wasn’t for the a dearth of opportunities; he uncharacteristically failed to
take advantage of a couple of one-on-ones (he also played a good through ball
for me, but I couldn’t get either myself or the ball around Andy).
I think that one of Alex or Liam got the winning goal for the Bibs and
despite finishing at least eight minutes before eight ‘o’ clock thanks to a
combination of gamesmanship from the Colours and an inability to read the time
from the clock positioned behind the pitches a late chance for Spizz which sailed
harmlessly over the bar was all too indicative of the Bibs’ wastefulness
upfront. Sad to say, even if we had utilised the remaining five minutes the
final result was unlikely to change.
And so to the Skinners Arms, where end of season discussion focussed on
the weekend’s two big fixtures at Wembley - the Champions League and Play-Off
Finals. Simon Gas couldn’t lose on Saturday night having hedged his £20 8-1 bet
on Dortmund
with a punt on Bayern to win the big pot, (you can see why he works for an
august financial institution). Much talk was made of the potential of young
Wilfried Zaha who won the penalty which means that Crystal Palace
will be plying their trade in next season’s Premier League – I for one think
Manchester United have a real talent on their books, despite his rough edges.
Until Friday, blog readers, until Friday….
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