Benalmadena 2nd May

Match reports by Rory

Fast Game report by Rory – Blacks 2 Reds 1

Another great turnout by the aged soccer-balling toe-punters. Your correspondent was playing in the los pedos rapidos game where Keef had thrown together two evenly matched teams. The black bibs started well with some fluid passing shifting the ball nicely around the pitch without really threatening the opposition goal. With the Max the dangerous Dane showing great movement upfront, and Dave the Owl in the hole, the blacks remained optimistic that they would eventually hit the target.

With (almost a great pass) Stephen leading the reds, and Keef “putting himself about a bit”, the more muscular approach by the reds was always going to be a threat. With the crestfallen Pete (what playoffs?) blocking off any through balls and Bjarne (Sacknussen) playing solidly down the left, there were few early openings for Scattergun Steve through the middle for the blacks. Against the run of play the reds found themselves 1-0 up with their battering ram approach pushing the blacks back to the edge of their box. A misplaced pass allowed John an opportunity to celebrate his return to WFS by banging the ball home from close range.

Gradually, the blacks’ superior passing began to take its toll on the reds with Hamid standing out as the midfield orchestrator of some of the best moves. Sure enough, some good work down the left by Nite-Owl Dave moved the reds defence out of position and put it on a plate for Steve in front of goal. The gourmet frontman almost made a corned-beef hash out of it, hitting the keeper before the ball squirmed over the line for a deserved equaliser.

For 10 minutes the play segued into a game of gaelic football (Drogheda 36 – 28 Wexford), with a series of shots so far high and wide a random passer-by would never have worked out that the point of the game was to hit the ball into the goal. Eventually, the guys regained their composure and started to play the ball about, with big John for the reds making some great runs down the left and coming close on a couple of occasions. Trevor and Breck formed a good centre back pairing, keeping the blacks’ defence tighter than a duck’s arse and for one period of play keeping the reds from having any shots at goal.

With Stephen and Keef driving the reds forward the blacks got a lucky break when the otherwise reliable Bjarne inadvertently passed the ball to the predatory Max. The Danish hitman seized on the moment and squeezed the ball inside the near post to give the blacks a deserved lead. Although Bjarne and Max are good mates, no-one suspected there was anything fishy going on between the Danes, although there was a faint smell of North Sea cod about the whole incident. With “total football” Han starting to dominate the midfield for the reds who were pressing forward in greater numbers, the game was set up for an exciting last 10 minutes with the reds peppering the goal with a series of shots in a bid to draw level. However, it wasn’t to be, and the blacks held on to deservedly win a tight encounter 2-1.

At the final whistle everyone went to the bar to ruminate on the meaning of existentialism while celebrating Pete’s 60^th with the very generous 60 euros he’d kindly placed behind the bar. Happy Birthday Pete.

Immanuel Kant