Thames Valley Over 70's

In the absence of our manager who was kidney deep in Mythos our first ever Over 70's competitve match was in the Thames Valley Over 70's league against A41; an aptly named team comprised of a mixture of Watford and Tring players. What they hadn't allowed for was that Hemel comes between them; both geographically and in terms of success on the pitch.  Barry Lustigman put us ahead with a speculative shot and Mike Wood converted a penalty awarded for stepping into the keepers area. So a great start, 2-0 the final score. Next up was a tough game against Bicester, but a 1-0 victory, when John Lewis finished a well worked corner routine that looked as though we'd practiced it for ages, but was in fact completely 'off the cuff'.

However, we were soon broguht down to earth with a 4-1 humbling by a strong Bracknell team. On another day a couple of their goals may have been chalked off for 'not walking' but we were beaten by the better team on the day.  Steve Beament in goal had little chance with any of their goals and our single goal was a result of another penalty dispatched by Woody.

Our fourth game was a tough, evenly matched affair with Maidenhead United. It ended 0-0 but with Beament more than earning his match fee and Bernie Biggerstaff hitting the post, things could have been different either way. The final match in this session was against Gerrards Cross and by the time we'd finished with them they were Gerrads Furious! Brian Kemp scored first after another one of our unrehearsed free kick routines and later unselfishly squared across the box (semi-circle) for Lustigman to finish his second of the day. One of the Gerrads Cross players then left the field injured, after two bellies collided and he came off worst, but the 2-0 win was secured.

So, four clean sheets thanks to Beament and 'They shall not get by' Nigel Walker, three wins, a draw and one defeat was a very promising start to our Over 70's journey.

Squad: Steve Beament, Nigel Walker, John Lewis, Barry Lustigman, BrIan Kemp, Mike Wood, Bernie Biggerstaff.