Autumn Leaves, Nasty Wind and Halloween Goals
In case you didn’t notice, it’s Autumn.
The clues are there: days are getting darker, the clock has gone back and John Lewis has dropped its yearly Christmas ad.
Nothing screams Autumn more than the pastel shades of Hyde Park’s falling leaves — a lovely range from yellow to brown, creating an idyllic setting for Saturday’s match.
Still, if you expected relaxed romanticism you would have been deeply disappointed. Football Dads are not a spin-off of “When Harry Met Sally”. The gorgeous setting, and pretty much everything else, becomes irrelevant the moment the referee blows the whistle.
In fact, there was something of a ghostly Halloween atmosphere. More tricks than treat, at least for the Bibs team, who fought hard but eventually succumbed to the Colours, like a virgin in the arms of a Transylvanian vampire.
Protected by Tony in goal, and blessed with a smart mix of veterans and young blood, the Colours acted as a team of goal-hungry zombies, attacking with such confidence that at times the Bibs felt they had been catapulted into a George Romero movie.
Using a rotating goalkeeper, the Bibs were forced to improvise and be creative, with partial success. Every time the Colours found the net, the Bibs hit back through AndreaM and Ross, keeping the score level at 3-3.
The tune didn’t change much in the second half, in fact it got worse for the Bibs.
As a pack of werewolves under a full moon, the Colours launched a series of lethal attacks, scoring three times in a row. They seemed to have cast a spell over the “FIFA World Cup” ball, pumped up to what could have been an illegal number of atmospheres
For the Bibs, every corner kick felt like a horror sequel: same plot, same screams, and the terrifying vision of Paride coming into the box.
Down 6-3, the Bibs were short of time and options. Their play had been of mixed quality: good build-up undone by frustrating mistakes in passing and shooting.
Team confidence was eroded. When Diego and Al started a lively debate about the philosophical concept of “passing” the ball, it was clear the Bibs had lost the plot and were about to be slaughtered.
The final whistle, cementing a sound win for the Colours at 7-4, was greeted with relief by the Bibs, happy to see the end of their nightmare in Elm Street.
A different tune was sung across the Atlantic, where the Castelli father-son team completed the NY marathon in style. It was the first time that a Football Dad and Kid had done it together. Even more remarkable is the fact that there was a negligible difference in time between the two: just 25 minutes.
Perhaps if Giancarlo had not been stopped a million times for selfies and interviews he might have even won it!.
Colours -Bibs 7-4
COLOURS
Tony, Paride, Hossam, Bijan, Arman, Julien, Thomas, Aurian
BIBS
AndreaM, Jonathan, Al, Yuness, Ross, Diego, Chetan, Francesco