Apparently, there was some little tournament going on that a few people got excited about. Oh yeah, England beat Australia in the Rugby Union WC final or something. Very good, though I bet this time next week, when the Zurich Premiership gets going again, most people will ignore the game totally.
Speaking of ignoring the game, anyone put off by the weather today would have missed the delights of Half Price Reduction 3 Blue Cross Sale 0. I say “delights”, but the only thing I can really comment on was the weather. It sucked. No, it more than sucked. It was cold, wet, horrible, and as I type this now I’m still dripping. In fact, by the time you read this my clothes will still be wet. The people doing the forking nearly gave up at about 1230 because of the surface water still on the pitch. Still, it went ahead and didn’t even become a mudbath, though the quality of the pitch and the hardness of grass in general helped matters. So, well done to all concerned, I didn’t really fancy that in the evening
As for the game? Basically, we were in control, a few attempts at goal but really once KC scored in the first half that was it. The weather (sorry, can’t help bringing it up) prevented much though Bolger’s second goal was thanks to the WBX defenders attempting to clear their lines by kicking the ball a bit high and a bit behind their back. I think the expression is “bloody awful”. Oh, and does Matt Everard only score goals from corners? He certainly did today.
The rest of it? Well….
Plus points: Win. Clean sheet. In crappy weather. Potential banana skin overcome. Kept going forward in a Man U like style even when we were 3-0 up. JS had one of his best games for us.
Minus points: None, considering
The referee’s a……..: Oh dear. Missed some pretty meaty challenges, though he probably spent all his powers of concentration helping with the pitch mopup beforehand
Them: Right dirty bastards in the beginning, kicked us Southall-like in the first 10 minutes. Gave that idea up when they realised that all of our players were still walking, and settled into their role of valiant losers (translation : they were a bit shit). Tried hard though, in a nice patronising pat-on-head-now-run-along-little-boy way. No idea about what their kit was though, a sort of three coloured band job. Looks like they were nicked from a gaelic football team from some backwater in Westmeath.
Food and Drink: Two things : firstly, I was asked to mention about the queuing at the hardcore Athletics End (and trust me, the AE was definitely hardcore today) by those serving behind the counter. Just have, and I didn’t say anything rude about it. They even do hot food there now. Secondly, the people running the other tea bar (WB end) are Polish. Wonder if they’ll start selling kabanos there?
Song sung blue: Just what the hell was that “I’ve shagged Matilda” song to “Waltzing Matilda”?
Point to ponder: Somebody told me today that until RP Vile on the 27th December there is about 2 KM games at most. Now, is that warped scheduling or what? And what’s the betting we get a massive backlog of fixtures because of it?
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Today’s game was sponsored by the Worker’s Beer Company, which is basically one of those ethical co-op type ventures that AFCW likes to cosy up to (insert comment about share issues, 49% and AFCW PLC here). Got a massive cheer when announced, which is less to do with workers’ solidarity and more to do with the fact that it’s beer. (2) Having “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” sung before the game. Did you know it’s actually a spiritual song sung by black Americans during the cotton picking days? No, I have no idea of its relevance to rugby (or football) either.
Franchise watch: Lost 1-0 to the Lebanese British Consulate Bomber’s team. I got to see their goal on Sky and while there was officially 5000 or so there, the “home” ends looked half full if that. 2200 Soul Crew turned up, hopefully they showed a novel way of how to reconstruct a town. The thing is, they are no better off than being at SP during the dark days, and their attendances are only semi-respectable because of the amount of away fans they get in. Hmm, where have we heard that before? That said, I’ve read some MK gimps’ comments about how they’re not that far away from the playoffs etc, how they’re going to get loads of fans. The usual comments that were pre-written for them by Wankelmann and told to regurgitate at every given opportunity. Wankers the lot of them, and they’re so gullible they’re the sort of people who would send their kids away for a weekend at Neverland Ranch
Anything else? Yeah, apparently lots of new merchandise about, which is always good. Though I did hear a couple of complaints about the cost of the rugby shirts. Thing is, shirts for sporting clubs etc are always going to be more expensive, they can’t mass produce them so much as say M&S. Simply put, if you disagree with the price, don’t buy them.
So, was it worth it? A win is a win, so I guess so. Anyone training to see how much water they can subject themselves to would have found today a useful exercise as well.
In a nutshell: Another hurdle overcome..