Squad:

Matt
Jim
Dave
Kevin
Grant
Chris
Darren
Ian
Brett

 

So a mixed squad of 50s,60s and 65s players along with Brett who regularly plays at Southwood joined forces to enter a squad in to the Ramsgate Walking Football Clubs charity tournament in aid of REFUGE, along with BayCity and Ramsgate we were joined by Whitstable and three teams from Maulden.

 

The format was 7 aside with 20 minute matches, with the sun shining brightly we began.

 

BayCity Strollers 2 Maulden B 2

 

Little did we know but this result ultimately decided the outcome of the tournament as failure to get the victory saw us finish as runners up with our first opponents ending up victorious by just a single point. A strong beginning saw us playing predominantly in the attacking half and it was no surprise when Brett got the opening goal, a couple of sloppy minutes however quickly saw us falling behind, up stepped Dave with a deserved equaliser.

 

BayCity Strollers 0 Maulden C 1

 

After a 20 minute break we came up against another well organised and committed Maulden team, we barely conceded any chances against us and yet left this encounter with no goals or points, Brett was especially unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet as he seemed to be having a personal battle with crossbar and goal posts.

 

BayCity Strollers 3 Ramsgate 3

 

Another 20 minute breather as we played the first of three consecutive games, local rivals and hosts Ramsgate up next, a high scoring encounter ended up with honours even, we went one up through Brett and were playing with a lot of intensity keeping Steve in the opposition goal rather busy, unfortunately as in the first game we conceded twice in quick succession to find ourselves a goal behind, the Riddler and Angelo giving Matt no chance, back on the front foot as Brett equalised and Dave put us in front from the penalty spot after a Ramsgate defender stepped in to the area.

 

We couldn’t hold on for the victory though as a third contact offence offered Phil a chance to draw level, this he did from the spot.

 

BayCity Strollers 2 Maulden A 0

 

Now, before the Ramsgate match Darren was lying back soaking up the sun and appeared to have a little snooze, he opened his eyes claiming that he was going to score twice in the next game, well he was so nearly correct just one game out, I don’t know if he has the “gift” or if he tapped up the opposition keeper and maybe even done a deal with the referee, whatever happened he had a fabulous game scoring twice against probably the best keeper on display, certainly the most vocal, we even had the luxury of an unconverted penalty with our first victory of the day.

 

BayCity Strollers 5 Whitstable 0

 

A comprehensive victory against a struggling and weary Whitstable team in our final encounter, Kev got the ball rolling with a nice finish and was followed by a brace each for Brett and Dave, and I can confirm that Brett’s second goal definitely went in.

 

With our tournament complete we quickly began rehydrating as only finely tuned athletes of our generation do, a richly deserved cold drink.

 

It was a great effort on an extremely warm day from all of our squad with each and everyone playing their part in a hugely enjoyable experience, personally it was a pleasure to be part of it, it’s a great shame that this was Matt’s final appearance in a competitive environment for the Strollers, at least he signed off in style with two clean sheets.

 

Anyway back to the bar savouring our lovely cold refreshments, the raffle and the presentation. Lots of prizes were donated, Drusilla had the unenviable job of prising the cash off grumpy old codgers and did a sterling job,”I’m a pensioner you know” was quite often heard as she descended on the next victim.

 

The star of the day was Rob P, a shame he couldn’t participate on the pitch but he did a magnificent job of not only having everything in place beforehand but also making sure that the day itself ran without a hitch, a fantastic effort.

 

Next the presentation and it was a very nice surprise to hear that we finished runners up just pipping Ramsgate on goals scored.

 

Lastly a big thanks to Chris and Simon for refereeing, they did this without much of a break in testing conditions.