There was a lot of excitement building up to this weekend after the false start prior to Easter, however with an average age of 33 there were a few concerns about how we would get through a double header on the first week of the season. Fines were soon up and running though with a number of people turning up late.
First up was the derby. We knew this would be a challenge and sure enough the plan for a quick start took a back seat as the 7Bs came out strong. The match had a huge crowd given a cycling/hockey competition going on in the tennis courts, with many wandering over to watch.
There were a few near misses early on with Neil going closest for the 7As with a header at the back post. The 7Bs also had an early chance but Alex made a good low save to his right. To the delight of the crowd, the deadlock was broken by Dotsy, scoring with a great finish after being put through by Faysal. Thankfully for the crowd he kept his shirt on during the celebrations.
Faysal, who has been the top scorer in the team for the last few years, soon changed roles by getting onto the end of an assist from Dotsy. Clearly not impressed with other people scoring, Faysal added a further two goals to complete his hat trick with a couple of good finishes either side of half-time, assisted by Rowdy and Cormac.
The 7Bs grabbed a couple of goals themselves to keep the contest alive. The first through a penalty which was conceded after Cormac’s ageing memory failed him; forgetting defenders can’t use their arms. The second was a nice play that saw the 7Bs pass through the defence and slot home in the corner.
As you would expect in the first game of the season there were a few rusty moments. Then there were those that were so bad we had to fine people. Mike and Faysal had contenders, but miss of the day has to go to our normally reliable CM, Dan. It was one of those moments where it was harder to miss than put it away! Needless to say all the hard work we have done to get Faysal to pass has been wasted.
The icing was put on the cake towards the end of the game with a cracking low volley into the bottom corner by our RB, Sash, who had a rare week of attending training, scoring and coming to the pub after the game. Expectations have been set Sash!
Unfortunately both teams picked up injuries after ‘nicest guy in the team’ Mike took out a 7B player, causing a sizable bump on the ankle. In fairness there wasn’t much in it but we like to wind him up. Apologies to the 8As who lent us Alex for the game, who then managed to injure his leg with 5 minutes to go, with no one within 10 yards of him …… hope your back soon mate!
The last notable play, and already a contender for worst free kick of the year came from Cormac with an attempt on the outside of the boot. After successfully pulling off this free-kick in training “all the time”, Cormac decided this one was going to end up in the trees, near the corner flag.
POM – Faz
Scorers – Faz (3), Dotsy, Sash
Fines collected – $16