FESTIVE FRIENDLY
MONDAY 29TH DECEMBER 2008
SECOND TEAM 1 VETS 1

One liner's littered the dressing room. To a naked Mike Eyres from Ashley Long.. 'Don't know what your wearing but get it ironed'. Hey, Dasher Where was you last night you've got dental floss up your anus. Hiya Tubber nice to see you….Yeah your missus sad the same thing. On it went as the elderly met in the dressing room.

Sadly it was obvious that Adie Arnold had let them down in supplying an under 11's kit to an adult team. Bulges were evident where they shouldn't have been. Steve Tubbs looked as though he was a copy of the South American man who became pregnant.

The referee was none other than Cliff Platt, referee extraordinaire. In other words it was extraordinary that he was still regarded as a ref. His assistant blew the whistle to bring the Captains to the middle.

No coins for Cliff….he cut the cards aces up. The second team won because Adie couldn't see the cards.

Cameras flashed as the game gathered pace. Remarkably it was good football played at a reasonable pace. The surprise was Simon Guy hitting accurate passes.

Half way through the half an excellent move down the left, a deep cross and a stooping Antell nodded the Vets into a deserved lead.

The second team, stung by acid remarks from their manager upped the tempo., and Martin Newbury linked with Ben Giles to free up a shot at goal. The ball sailed high and wide.

Ashley Long took only a short time to settle and flashes of the 'Old Ash' were evident as he pulled off good saves from a couple of breaks.

Half Time 1-0.

It was a bitterly cold night but the crowd was enjoying a good game and particularly as the Vets were still able to move after 45 minutes on the pitch. Paul Dashwood and Mike Eyres had been allocated a dose of embalming fluid at half time so they were still part of the ensemble as the game continued.

There was more of a zip from the second team but equally Andy Barham stepped up his pace to a walk and Andrew Wooding started breathing again.

63 minutes on the clock and a lucky goal levelled scores. There was only one thing to do … bring on Neville.

A statuesque Neville Munson daintily tripped the light fantastic onto the hallowed turf. His first tackle floored Dashwood and Fawcett. Cliff Platt reminded him that the ball should be in the vicinity of the tackle for it to be fair. Neville's reminder to Cliff of the quality of hospital food stopped the exchanges.

We then had some excellent football as both sides went for a win. Shaun Gale performed well in between the sticks for the Second Team and Ashley was his equal at the other end. Close calls for both teams but the whistle finally went with the score at 1-1.

The Sporting Club was the after match venue. Hazel's cuisine was exquisite as always. Her Pasta or Chilli coupled to a ton of Garlic bread was just what was wanted as the players thawed out.

Challenges were thrown and accepted so it will not be too far away before the squads meet again for a return match.

This game………………….

Full Time Second Team 1 Vets 1