(no subject)
Evening all. I'm passing the time during the boring songs on the 100 best songs-type programme thingymijig on channel 4 so thought i might as well tell a little story about what i did today.
I was in Derby for the Press Gazzette 5-a-side- a tournament for press teams from around the country- having been asked to play for the Croydon Advertiser by my brother. The only trouble was our team was pretty crap. I was one of the fittest of our squad- that says volumes. And one of the better players!
The tournament started with a 4-team group stage. We found ourself up against Sunday Newspapers Group, the Burton Mail and Radio Five Live! We were a bit worried that Five Live would play all the pundits like Linekar or Hansen, but alas they didnt show. They did have Ralf Little, of the Royal Family and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps fame, though, and he was very good.
Our first match was against the Sunday Newspapers Group- basically any local Sunday paper journalist team. We started well with my shoring up the defence well, but they scored about 5 minutes into the 12-minute game. We pressed forward thereafter, and I had a couple of chances well stopped. However we tired and they ran out 3-0 winners.
Five Live hammered Burton Mail 6-0 in the next game, and we somewhat feared our subsequant match with Five Live. For the first half of the match though, we were superb and we took a deserved lead. Then the game turned as I went on a storming run down the right. Ralf Little tackled me, ran down the line, I caught him up, he beat me, i tried again, he beat me again, he scored. 30 seconds later he was at it again- this time my despairing lunge gave his shot a wicked deflection past our keeper. The tiredness set in again and Five Live won 4-1. It could have been 5 as I scored a comical own goal, saved by the fact that the ref was blowing for full time as I made the effort to get to the cross.
To get into the loser's plate, we had to finish third in the group. With Burton Mail and the Sunday Paper Guys drawing 1-1, we had to beat Burton Mail to get into the plate in our last game. 10 seconds in I was hacked down by a very large and very fat Burton Mail forward, which compromised my game personally. Our keeper made the save of the day, despite nearly breaking his finger a few minutes earlier, but in the end it was not good enough and we lost 3-0. Having travelled 180 miles we were on our way home having scored 1 goal. Oh well.
I was in Derby for the Press Gazzette 5-a-side- a tournament for press teams from around the country- having been asked to play for the Croydon Advertiser by my brother. The only trouble was our team was pretty crap. I was one of the fittest of our squad- that says volumes. And one of the better players!
The tournament started with a 4-team group stage. We found ourself up against Sunday Newspapers Group, the Burton Mail and Radio Five Live! We were a bit worried that Five Live would play all the pundits like Linekar or Hansen, but alas they didnt show. They did have Ralf Little, of the Royal Family and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps fame, though, and he was very good.
Our first match was against the Sunday Newspapers Group- basically any local Sunday paper journalist team. We started well with my shoring up the defence well, but they scored about 5 minutes into the 12-minute game. We pressed forward thereafter, and I had a couple of chances well stopped. However we tired and they ran out 3-0 winners.
Five Live hammered Burton Mail 6-0 in the next game, and we somewhat feared our subsequant match with Five Live. For the first half of the match though, we were superb and we took a deserved lead. Then the game turned as I went on a storming run down the right. Ralf Little tackled me, ran down the line, I caught him up, he beat me, i tried again, he beat me again, he scored. 30 seconds later he was at it again- this time my despairing lunge gave his shot a wicked deflection past our keeper. The tiredness set in again and Five Live won 4-1. It could have been 5 as I scored a comical own goal, saved by the fact that the ref was blowing for full time as I made the effort to get to the cross.
To get into the loser's plate, we had to finish third in the group. With Burton Mail and the Sunday Paper Guys drawing 1-1, we had to beat Burton Mail to get into the plate in our last game. 10 seconds in I was hacked down by a very large and very fat Burton Mail forward, which compromised my game personally. Our keeper made the save of the day, despite nearly breaking his finger a few minutes earlier, but in the end it was not good enough and we lost 3-0. Having travelled 180 miles we were on our way home having scored 1 goal. Oh well.