Easter delights, Italian jobs and the importance of showing up
While an undisclosed number of football dads were away to audition for the vacant job of the Italian national football manager, and others had somewhat bizarrely decided to enjoy life in other ways (how is this even possible?), an unstoppable group of players gathered on a sunny Easter Saturday morning, if only to keep the ball moving.
In the absence of so many regulars the question had arisen whether there would be a quorum, but this was answered by a mix of veterans and new recruits. Youvraj brought Sebastiano, Gregorio picked up Balthazar in the park, and Amin decided to return, for a dazzling display of his legendary dribbling skills.
The match again showed that there will almost always be enough players for a game whatever polls may say. As the quote says:“Eighty percent of success in life is just showing up”.
Team formations were variable and frequently adapted to ensure balance, with each side firmly built around two anchor players (Youvraj and Seb, Gregorio and Hannes).
The Kensington Palace pitch was smooth and delightful. Every player had a least triple the touches they usually have, as the ball was passed with great fluency through the vacant spaces.
The game was “end-to-end” throughout. At times it felt like excited young bunnies chasing Easter eggs. It is therefore impossible for the chronist to document with any degree of accuracy who scored when. While goal conversion rates had room for improvement, the sheer abundancy of opportunities created by both teams ensured that (almost) everyone scored multiple goals.
Top goal scorer for the bibbed was Youvraj, for the unbibbed it was Gregorio. Overall, a truly delightful morning in Kensington Gardens.
(Hannes Wittig)