This match is best described as drizzly.  It rained from the skies and most of the first half play was wet and gloomy.  This reporter can’t comment on the pre-match activities as I turned up a minute before the whistle, but generally the team looked good to go……until you did a head count.  BAC2 were starting with only 10 players, Mainer and Tone were on their way but it wasn’t an ideal start.

Our opponents were the Clifton 4’s and these ‘girls’ had an average age of 14!  Youth and agility may have been on their side, but experience and decrepitude was on ours.

The first 3 minutes saw the usual cautious start from both teams until the star of Clifton4, Rio, took the ball around what seemed like the entire BAC2 team and slotted the ball between the keepers legs for an early goal.  For the rest of the first half there was little else to report.  Clifton4 dominated most of the play but couldn’t make anything of it.  BAC2 had a few breaks and took the ball up to the Clifton4 D but also couldn’t convert these few opportunities into goals.

Mainer and Tone arrived 10 minutes into the first half and made up the numbers.  I think the lackluster performance of the team can and should be blamed on the team’s male supporters.  For several games now they have had excellent demonstrations in “cheering” on the team from Sophie 2-Sticks, on this occasion 2-Sticks was absent and the supporters were unable to fill the void.  It would have been beneficial if the supporters had a clue about the rules, tactics and terminology, but their ignorance contributed to a poor start.

So the half time whistle sounded and it was time to regroup.

Change of ends and a change of attitude for BAC2.  Within the first minute BAC2 took the ball straight to the Clifton4 goal and were awarded a couple of short corners.  On the second short Hammy put it into the back of the goal and the score was 1-1.  Naturally BAC2 were lifted by this and it showed.  The game started to have a brisk end to end feel about it and both teams pushed hard.  Clifton4 won a couple of shorts and managed to convert their 2nd into a goal.  BAC2 1 – Clifton4 2.

Still with their hearts back into the game BAC2 fought on and won a short, then another and then a third, no goals were scored and Sarah G characterised the episode as “3 minutes of balls-ups”.  From the benches we couldn’t decide which position Sarah G was playing as she appeared to be covering the entire pitch, constantly.  We pondered whether she knew Mainer had arrived and there was no need to do the work of 2 players.  Time ran on with little else to report, both teams had raised their game in this second half and some good hockey was displayed although the full-time score didn’t reflect this.

Once the match and the sporting cheers were complete it was time for teas, the best teas in the league no less.  Earlier in the season the Clifton4’s failed to provide teas, we were keen to give them a lesson in hospitality and demonstrate how the off the pitch aspect of the game should be conducted.  The Clifton4’s coach/supporter suggested that some of the players were going to teas but that most had to be elsewhere.  Within minutes this was revised to none of their team were attending teas.  Ceri made it very clear that we thought this was poor form as we have unnecessarily paid for a hospitality.  The excuses and apology seemed well practiced.

Back at the Parkway the offering was jacket spuds, beans and questionable cheese.  We were briefly pleased to see that some of the Clifton4’s actually made it to teas but quickly realised they were players from another match who had joined us by mistake.  The man of the match votes were cast and there were nominations for Ned, Hammy, Ceri and Sarah C, but it was Sarah G who deservedly won the title this week.