Return with a vengeance
As the Summer recess finally came to a close, 17 highly determined players assembled on the palace pitch in near perfect conditions.
Many (but not all) had used the break from international duties to upgrade their fitness levels. Yassin was clearly determined to make up for lost time, and one of his shots was so ferocious that it capsized the goal (which subsequently struggled to regain its proper shape).
Yassin’s determination was compounded by Daoud’s artful trickery, and some flourish provided by new arrival Amir (Egypt), but was balanced on the other side by Johannes’ reliable cross-field orchestration and Bijan’s ubiquity (front and attack, left and right) that prompted Johannes at some point to say:”Bijan is just simply everywhere”.
Video referees subsequently confirmed that only one Bijan was on the pitch. Also, Hannes proved to be an unlikely, but constant, goal-scoring threat.
The match was an entertaining end-to-end thriller that ended with a 9:9 draw, and proved a worthy warm-up for the anniversary Master Game.
Outnumbering the bibbed team, the Colours quickly established a three goal lead through a Daoud hattrick. Awoken by this, the Bibbed upped their efficiency, and started to score, too.
The Colours continued to lead, although their lead had been narrowed to one goal when Amir decided to call it a day.
From this moment onwards the Bibbed were more in control which finally translated into a one goal lead, before the final (and golden) goal produced by the Colours the draw that was a fitting result for the kind of contested yet balanced game that we like to cultivate.
Bibs: Johannes (2), Jonathan (2), Bijan (2), Alessandro, Hannes (2), Julien, Sara (1), Ishant
Colours: Hossam, Joshua (1), Tony, Arman, Thomas, Daoud (4), Yassin (4), AndreaM, Amir
Top picture: a football pitch in a Botswana village