Have you ever gone somewhere and wondered 'what on earth am I doing here?'
Well this Sunday morning at the outdoor small courts by the Kingsmeadow car park was one of them, as we entered a team in the Kingstonian five-a-side competition.
All a bit of fun I know, and it wasn't that bad once it got going, but it was a farce from start to finish.
I had, personally, gone along to watch, but was 'roped into' the squad the day before after late drop-outs. That I have no problem with. But the tournament cost fifty quid per team to enter, and if you were knocked out in the groups as we tends to happen to us, three X one seven minute game is not a lot of football for your money!
Having to register at nine o'clock for a 9.30am start and then be on your way before lunchtime does not a great tournament make!
To make matters worse, there were no other supporters' teams apart from the hosts, & their landlords from AFC Wimbledon, who both had a number of sides, so it wasn't even a genuine supporters' competition we were entering. Talk about being lulled across London under false pretences!
And then-for the final insult-each team was allocated a country name to play under! We were called Italy, but make no mistake, we were Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' FC & ALWAYS will be!
I, for one, hope we don't bother entering here again, if it's run on the same lines! Nothing against Kingstonian themselves, who are a great bunch, it's just not the tournament I think we all expected.
Of out three games the first one was the one that made our day, so to speak. Up against an AFC Wimbledon side, we won by the only goal, thanks to James O'Shaughnessy hitting the back of the net.
Next up were 'Austria', who ran out in a Fulham kit. but neither Germanic nor Cottagers were they. In fact a team from Metropolitan Police, which included two Ryman Division One South First Teamers, the rest being Suburban League players. Unsurprisingly they were far too strong, and outclassed us by three goals to nil.
the last game, before we settled into the bar, was Poland, which was a mix of kingstonian fans, their backroom staff & mates who defeated us by the odd goal in three; Andy Tucker scoring out goal.
Here are a few shots from the first match versus 'Germany':
None from the second clash versus 'Austria', as i played in that one. These are from our final group match against 'Poland':
Ian leads early on in the 'gurn of the season' competition!
Talk about leave your marker behind!
Shouldn't there be someone in Pink 'n' Blue to pass to?
The squad for the day was:
Back row(left to right): Mark Hutton(manager); James O'Shaughnessy; Shaun Dooley; Andy Tucker; Chris Wheeler.
Front row (l to r): Ian Gannon; Mishi Morath; Phil Baker (Did not play, but insisted on taking his jacket off to be in the team photo. Presumably because he missed being in so many of them in his AFC Millbank days in the seventies, with Hutty!)
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