There are days when the Gods look down benevolently and all is well: the sun shines, babies smile and the air is filled with the scent of newly mowed grass. This wasn’t one of those days. From the start the Bay “B” Strollers’ luck was out.

For this crunch game they were missing vital players: “The Rottweiler”, Peter B and Big Al to name but two. Imagine Arsenal without Cech and Walcott, Chelsea without Terry and Fabregas, Man United without one of their overpaid foreigners and another of their overpaid foreigners and you get the picture.

They started badly. They lost the toss and had to defend the end with only one floodlight. This definitely affected their defence. Their dark red shirts were hard to find in the gloom. Canterbury sensibly wore florescent yellow! Using these as a guide plus the glare from the moonlight off their grey hair, they stormed ever forward.

Ken Rosier was in goal and he was outstanding. He made numerous saves but his luck was out too. Deflections went in, half hit shots somehow found their way into the net.  Half time and the score was 0-4.

The crowd feared the worse. How many more goals would the second half bring?

Then something rather wonderful happened. Defying the gods, the Bay “B” Strollers started to fight their way back into the game. They tackled and passed, pressed and hassled. They found a sweeper in Bill Hammond at the back. Upfront new “boy” Bruce worked in tandem with Rob “What’s the question?” Nutter and they mercilessly harried the Canterbury defenders.

The players from the cathedral city were beginning to panic. They were worried and it showed.  Their legs were slowing badly.  Their brains befuddled. Clearly they had not expected such a spirited performance from the Bay “B” Strollers.

Then came “The Moment”

The ball was played out from the keeper. It fizzed across the turf from player to player and landed at the feet of the player simply known to all as “The Welsh Wizard”. He controlled it in an instant and powered in an unbelievable shot. He hit it with all the fury of a proud Welshman who had recently seen his side humbled in the Rugby World Cup. The crowd gasped as the ball flew to the net. But…but ….agonisingly wide.

The moment had come and gone. The fickle finger of fate once again put on its gloves and told the Bay “B” players to bend over and cough. The game was lost.

There were two more goals to the visitors. The final score 0-6. Certainly Canterbury had played well and deserved their victory but even the most hardened of their players knew deep in his heart that tonight under the Sandwich sky, God had worn yellow.

Lawrence Hall-Daniels