Benahavis 27th July

MATCH REPORT – BENAHAVIS 6th July by your chief Football reporter Popeye

Whites 10 v Blues 4

In what was an eagerly anticipated encounter between The Committee (Blue) and the rest (White) turned out to be a Whitewash!
No pun intended…as Whites dominated from start to finish to inflict the heaviest defeat in living memory at the world renowned Benahavis stadium last night.

It was an 8 aside game with two rolling subs each and the squads lined up as follows….

Blues – Andy Robertson (GK), Martin (Debut) , Mr Chairman (TC), Treasurer (PJ), Secretary (Popeye), Club Captain (Rob F) Comms Supremo ( James) ,Martyn, John & Bill

Whites – Nick (GK) Paul M, Knut, Colin, Steve, Alex (Guest debut), Chris, Greg & Andrew Sweeney.

Quarter 1 – 0-0
A very cagey affair to begin with and no hint of what was to follow. Neither side could manage a goal between them as both keepers and in particular, Andrew Robertson pulled off some stunning reflex saves to keep a clean sheet.

Quarter 2 – Whites 2-0
Whites established their early advantage when Sweeney put one past Andy following a defensive mix up and Alex , Steve Duffell’s lad ,made it 2-0 with a well taken effort. Whites might have extended their lead, when following Popeye’s infringement in the area, Sweeney stepped up to take the penalty. Clearly confused by Robertson’s mind games and positioning on the goal line, Sweeney gives him the eyes but smashes his shot against the bar! 🤣

Quarter 3 – 3-1
Blues take full advantage as John calmly dispatches one in to the corner only for Sweeney to make amends for the penalty miss and strike with that left peg into the top corner, to give the keeper no chance.
At this stage, it was still anyone’s game. Whites were playing some neat stuff, especially at the back, where Chris, Knut & Paul M knocked it around & created opportunities for their midfield to receive and turn with the ball. In contrast, Blues struggled, unable it seemed to find the pass into feet and gave the ball away too often with poor decision making when on the ball.

Quarter 4 – 6-3
This was the pivotal period of the match, both teams creating chances and whichever team scored next was likely to go on and win the game. And so it proved….Greg nimble as ever, played a clever 1-2 with Sweeney to leave the Blues defence floundering and finished clinically….Alex got another on his debut and following some deft footwork by Steve Duffell to put in that man Sweeney again, Blues now found themselves down 6-1..😫

If this was a boxing match 🤷‍♂️😂…the ref might have called a halt because Blues were on the ropes and getting a beating ….👊👊👊but these guys never give up! The newest member of The Committee James Quinn decided to take matters into his own hands (and feet 🤭😂) and sweetly put away a brace to bring some respectability to the score line.

Quarter 5 – 10-4
Any hopes Blues had of turning the game around quickly vanished as Whites piled on the pressure, attacked at will and stayed solid in defence. Blues on the other hand were slow and couldn’t seem to raise their game. Barclay who had suffered a hamstring pull early on but as as a true Braveheart, soldiered on to the end scored at the far post but it was no more than a consolation as earlier, the Geordie (Colin) , Sweeney, Greg and Alex completed the rout to make the final score to the Whites 10-4.

A chastening defeat for The Committee which they might well reflect on before the AGM & Club Social at Chillies on Saturday night when surely the banter from the members will be remorseless 😂

Stats
Man of the Match – Andrew Robertson 👏👏👏🏆
Scorers – Whites, Sweeney 4, Alex (Guest debut) 3, Greg 2, Colin
Blues , John 2, James 2

Post Match Report
It has to be said, and we all know it, we spend more time in the bar than we do on the pitch! But we love it ….the banter, the camaraderie and the unexpected……
Tonight was a night for the unexpected…….Chris you know what’s coming next mate……😫

So, there we were enjoying a drink or two and a ball comes over the netting from a game that came on after us. Quick as a flash, Chris is out of his seat to retrieve the ball and kick it back….. I wish I had my video camera running at this point because on YouTube it would go viral!

OK it’s not easy, the netting is 20 metres high but I have seen Chris clear balls from defence and it’s a piece of cake…. but not when all your mates are watching 🤭

First attempt a dismal failure, second attempt closer but to hoots of derision he finds the netting again…could he get his first ever hat trick!? Yes!!!! It’s in the net once again…….. up steps Amanda from the bar, looking resplendent in her flip flops and with an air of nonchalance and a nod in the direction of Chris as if to say…
“That’s how you do it!”