Storm Ben brings havoc with sensational hat-trick
Unimpressed by the raging elements, 14 players gathered at Kensington Gardens this morning to enjoy an intense game of football on a full-size pitch.
With storm Ciara gone and storm Dennis still few hours away, there seemed to be a ‘window of opportunity’ to play in relatively safe weather. But in Football Dads’ book, safety is an overrated concept anyway. What is important is only the beauty of the game, and of course scoring more goals than the other team.
Today, no one interpreted this spirit better than Ben who played his best game of the season, scoring a sensational hat-trick.
Ben was part of a talented Bibbed team that included also Hossam, Julien, Mo, Paride, and Francesco (who however was out after few minutes and was replaced by Sara). Taking advantage of strong tailwinds the Bibs had a great start and repetitively shot from long distance at the Unbibbed goal. That goal, however, was guarded by Tony L, also known as “the Fearless Octopus”. He made a series of outstanding saves, allowing the Unbibs to survive the initial aerial bombardment.
The Unbibs (Thomas, Filippo, Diego, Tony L, Johannes, Hannes and later Adam) had more possessions and plenty of chances but were initially rather wasteful in front of goal. Still they managed to get a 2-goals lead, only for the Bibs to level up with two of Ben’s goals.
The match grew even more in intensity, and both teams showed they were ready to do everything to win, as proven by Hossam, happy to sacrifice his precious jaw simply to stop a ball.
On the 2-2, the Unbibbed finally overcame their shyness in front of Paride, and scored two more. Unfazed, the Bibs battled back to equalise again at 4:4, only for Adam to take advantage of the strong headwinds to lob a bending ball over Paride into the distant corner of the goal. The golden goal was again scored by the Unbibbed, allowing them to seal a phenomenal victory.
Just seconds after collecting his well-deserved Man Of the Match award, Ben was informed that the Royal Meteorological Society had decided to recognise him officially as a Category 5 Storm. But that’s only the start. From now on, the Society declared, all future storms will be name after past, present and future Football Dads. Be prepared.
Bibs – Unbibs 4-6
Teams
Bibbed: Hossam (1), Ben (2), Julien (1), Mo, Sarah, Paride, Francesco
Unbibbed: Thomas (1), Filippo, Diego (2), Adam (1), Tony L, Johannes (2), Hannes
Goals
Bibbed: Ben (3), Julien
Unbibbed: Thoams, Diego (2), Adam
Picture: Hannes, Paride, Hossam