First of all,
many apologies for the delay in posting this final match report of the
2012/2013 season, a season which saw us move from our historic home of the
Finsbury Leisure Centre to Coram Fields, a location which places us firmly in
the Bloomsbury Set. The tardiness in getting this to you is unforgiveable, but
a combination of work pressures and mid-Summer ennui (Je suis Thierry Ennui)
has left this report unfinished and unwritten. Until now, that is.
The last
Friday night match until September finished 6-3 to the Colours and the two
teams lined up as follows:
Bibs: David,
Steve, Liam (following a swap with Ian Geary), Ross (following Yev’s arrival),
Phil, Paul, Ian Gough, Big Phil,
Colours: Yev
(eventually), Simon Gas, Kiwi Nick, Bearded Nick, Andy, me, Liam (until
half-time)
As you can
see, there was a fair bit of chopping and changing which left some players with
the philosophical trauma of deciding whether they had won or lost – if you
score two goals for the winning team but are shifted onto the opposition midway
through the game, are you both victor and vanquished? – although I think we can
all agree that football was the real winner.
The notes
which I hastily scribbled down after the game record that Yev, Liam and the
Bearded Nick, who Ian seemed intent on goading for reasons unclear to all but
himself, all appeared on the scoresheet. Following his traditional late arrival
Yev’s contribution proved decisive with two (at least) trademark finishes,
including the final goal of the campaign right at the death, as he rounded the
keeper to touch into the empty net. Liam, a sort of Caledonian Lionel Messi,
was in great form for both teams and it took some increasingly desperate
defending from the Colours to fend off a late resurgence from the Bibs. Andy in
particular was immense at the back (and in goal), while Simon Gas rolled back
the years with a classy display that held the Colours’ shape even as they came
increasingly under the proverbial cosh.
One of the
Colours’ goals came after an unholy scramble which saw the ball ping off the
back of a defender and into the path of (I think) Phil, who showed no sign of
nerves and calmly steered past an exasperated Andy and into the far bottom
corner.
Other notable
incidents, at least from my memory, were some fresh air shots from at least two
players (including me), an effort which Dave pushed onto the crossbar (me
again) and a spectacular tumble which saw one of the players fall onto both
knees in the manner of a GI in the film Platoon,
(yep, that’ll be me again). The other outstanding memory of the match was Yev’s
outburst toward the end as the ball careered off onto one of the neighbouring
pitches for the umpteenth time. The group of sullen youths who were
determinedly ignoring our exhortations to return the ball had proved irksome
throughout proceedings, leaving an enraged Yev to declare – very loudly – that
the young lads in question were terribly irritating and that ‘they just stand
there like a [see you next Tuesday]’. Too true.
The end of
season gala dinner dance took place in the curry house next to The Skinners
Arms, somewhat to Simon Gas’ disappointment as he was hoping for a cold buffet
in the pub. I can honestly say that it was the best Indian I’ve been out for in
ages – the food was excellent, the staff were most hospitable (especially the
statuesque Polish waitress who looked somewhat incongruous amongst the
diminutive Bengali men) and the atmosphere was convivial without repeating the
bellicosity of two years ago. Well done, everyone.
And what of
Spizz, I hear you ask? Well, I am pleased to relay a confirmed sighting of the
enigmatic post-punk icon from Yoko Ono’s Meltdown Festival, where Iggy and the
Stooges played last week at the Festival Hall. Spizz was at the bar – obviously
– without a ticket, (ditto) – and regaled my wife and I with a tale of the last
time Iggy Pop had played at the Festival Hall, in 2008.
Spizz had
joined the Lizard King on stage, whereupon the animated car insurance salesman
had mistaken our Spizz for John Lydon. And so it came to pass that around five
songs into last week’s set Iggy once more exhorted his audience to join him on
stage and in amongst the hundred or so young people pogoing around Iggy was
none other than Spizz, identifiable by his leather jacket, which bears the
legend ‘Spizzenergi’, his trousers which bear the legend ‘Spizzenergi’ and an
LED belt display that transmits the word ‘Spizzenergi’. Ticket or no, Spizz had
got into the gig, reached the stage and started plugging his next gig on the 13thJuly. And then he fell over. Still, that’s rock n roll.
See you in
September…
