Benalmadena 27th April

Match Report by Rory

The boys go for a “dander” …….

A thrilling match ended 4-2 to the reds followed by copious amounts of beer.

One Hour Earlier

“Picking two evenly matched teams is harder than quantum physics” (Stephen Hawking)

The blacks started out strongly, with set piece specialist and deep-thinking philosopher Bambi (what am I doing here!?) standing up front and playing pocket billiards. Turbo-charged Keef had his usual energetic start, frenetically trying to persuade the opposition that he wasn’t really running around the pitch. After a particularly innocuous first 10 minutes Dave the cab cut in from the left before rolling the ball to your correspondent who swept the ball in the bottom corner past the despairing dive of Kevo.

Rick was playing a deep(er ‘n down) for the blacks with the occasional surging run down the left where he was supported by jiving Al. With the reds lying deep Keef played the ball out to Al who scored one of the goals of the season with a curling side footer from distance into the very top corner of the net. Big Steve had no chance. Reds 1-1 Blacks. The reds proceeded to lay siege to he blacks goal where Kev Yashin had another outstanding game and stopping a number of what looked like certain goals. Slightly against the run of play the blacks took the lead following some nice build up play. Following a great decoy run from Ken, the space opened up for Graham to beat big Steve from the edge of the box. There was nothing he could have done about it (possibly move his left foot half an inch?). Reds 1-2 Blacks. The blacks were back in front and standing strong against the red’s onslaught, with Kev Yashin pulling off a string of incredible saves with every part of his body (apart from one).

John didn’t let the thrashing of his beloved Arsenal the night before put him off his pass and move game, and he was soon striking up a good partnership with Hollywood Steve as the reds continued to dominate. Laurie and Keef were playing a good hand in midfield for the blacks and easily breaking up many of the reds’ attacks. Just as the reds looked as if they would never score, a moment of controversy gave them fresh hope they could win the game. A fiercely struck corner was fired at one touch Terry on the edge of the box. Having brilliantly controlled the ball, he spun and volleyed in one graceful movement and the ball flew into the corner of the goal. Not even Kevo could lay a glove on it. VAR had a look, but even after a record breaking 3 days the idiots in Stockley Park couldn’t decide whether Terry had handled the ball. With no clear and obvious error, the goal was awarded, and it was GAME ON!! Reds 2-2 Blacks

The reds seized the initiative early in the final quarter where, following a nice interchange of passes Jesus was involved in a flowing move before one touch Terry put your correspondent through on goal. The scribe wasted no time before firing the ball into the bottom corner to give the reds the lead they deserved. Reds 3-2 Blacks. Dave the Cab and Hollywood Steve continued to press down the left wing. However, with the powerful engine room of Keef, Laurie and gaelic football Dazza the blacks pushed hard for an equalizer. The normally prolific forward line of Bambi and Ken were heavily marked by Audrey and Milky Steve. With the clock ticking down (what else does it do?) Milky Steve glided forward to the edge of the box and pounced on a loose ball before firing it, with a hint of a curve, past the desperate dive of Kevo. A brilliant way to finish off the game. Well played boys, another great game played with skill and good humour.