Tjip... Tick... knock knock. Knock knock knock. Tick. I am dreaming. No, I am awake. Someone is throwing small stones on my window and knocking on the front door. It's 7 am! I look outside and it's my mate Lars, but why is he outside at 7 am? What happened last night? Ah yes, my testimonial - that special South send off that lasted the entire day and well into the night...
It started with a hockey match, of course. It was really like most of the games for the M3s this season and, I think, most of the other South teams. At the beginning of the week I had about 18 players in my squad, but then the multi-faceted lives of the Cambridge South hockey player started kicking in: "I have to go to an unexpected event in London", "I think the shrimps in the wedding buffet last night were bad", and right up to push-back, "my wife's got an ear infection and I have to take her to the hospital", "I'll be a bit late", and so on.
5 minutes before push-back I am looking at 5-6 players (Jason Mann, Joe Whittaker, Douglas Gibson, James Mathews - with one t -, Tom Roselli), but as I said, normal stuff, so I am totally cool about it, happily ignoring the opposition's banter ("Where is your team Ras?"). I put a green shirt on one of the opposition players without the other captain noticing. Brynjolffsson, the M3s captain-to-be, walks around the corner, then the doc aka Ian Marshman. Ah, and there is Neil Sneade. A minute later David Bridge walks in, he lives nearby. And we can start playing with 10 players.
We are under a lot of pressure in the beginning of the game, but a few minutes later the Moncks, literally all of them, start trickling into Long Road and onto the pitch: Nathan Monck is first, and he quickly helps make the teams more even. A bit later Dave Monck arrives, and when he is subbed on he makes a cracking impact. First he sends Sophie McComish's stick flying in our own D with a crunching tackle, then moments later we get a short. And before I get to tell him that the rule is that I am the only one that can take first strike, he has reverse sticked the ball into Colin Troll's thigh, and he has to sit out for a while. The umpires seem quite please with the many opportunities to practice the new green card 2 minute suspension routine. Ky Ho has arrives and subs on for David Bridge.
With a full team, we start making some effective counter attacks. After one attacking move down the left the resulting shot is saved by Loopy, but I am able to pick up the rebound and roll the ball calmly into the bottom left corner. The celebrations are less calm, a goal in my last game for South! The important thing is of course, as always, that my team is now in the lead.
At half time I present the organic carrots that my mum has sent over for the last game, and we discuss the cracking tackles we have made so far while munching away.
In the second half, the fitness and skill levels of the M1 and L1 players start to kick in. Add to that, the increased distraction banter from Kimberly Coil, insistence on more passes from L1 captain Georgie Hurford ("Jack" > "Jaaack!" > "Jaaaaaaccck!!!" > "pass!!!!!"), Shin Kim exchanging his right back position with left wing Wilco Dijkstra through some clever dialogue, and recently returned world traveller Graham McCulloch pushing forward. Luckily we have the M1 goal keeper Jason Mann to redirect most of their efforts. Sophie sends a short corner just around the post. Jack Chalk gets a touch on a pass into the D, through his own legs, and flicks it just past the post as well. And then Sophie gets a goal from a short corner - even Dave Monck was a bit jealous there I think. We had it coming.
We hold them to a draw till the final whistle and it is now down to a 10 second penalties from the 25 yard line. I go first and that is when I come up with the Danish Dummy Roll - no doubt a technique that will live for many years with Cambridge South: you first pretend to go right, then pull the ball back left deep into the D, and then from a narrow angle you pretend to reverse stick the ball towards goal, only to miss on purpose, make a roll forward, and then casually push the ball into the goal just before time runs out. Jack Chalk scores confidently, but with a rather boring move if you don't mind me saying. Nathan Monck then unfortunately gets outsmarted by Loopy. Jason Mann sends Sophie flying on the yellow's second penalty, and he then saves the penalty flick - good man! Joe Whittaker cooly stays on his feet and puts away his penalty, 2-1! The yellows miss their last penalty and it's a win, what a game! Check the video below for some clips. Thanks to everyone who played, umpired, and special thanks to Jack Chalk for being the driving force in organising the whole thing.
We go to teas at the Tally Ho, everybody chatting, some playing pool, and it is really all good fun as per usual. Shin, my mate Lars, and I go straight to the Grain Store after teas. Everybody else trickles in, just as for the game, and around 10 pm, after loads of chatting, drinks, everybody eating in turns, and Shin being provoked to buying a bottle of champagne (a girl said she would have one more drink if it was champagne), I give the following succinct speech summing up everybody and everything at Cambridge South:
"For a group of mainly British people, you guys are actually quite alright!".
After the Grain Store the people still around walk into town and we hear some music from the Cambridge University Social Club. We walk in and there is some big salsa event on. 2 seconds later my mate Lars is dancing with some random girl. Apparently he kept dancing till 7 am, crazy Danish person!
Hope to see you guys soon!
Ras xx
PS all settled in, in Lisbon.