Vets’ tournament

16th March

I had volunteered to take over the role of captain for this tournament in the temporary absence of Ann Piggott. Hopes were high for going equipped with a strong squad, judging by the average age of our two league teams. However the over 35s proved elusive, and it was harder than I thought trying to get a team. However, with just 11, we were optimistic we had a strong side, especially with two new recruits, Viki Ayres and Sarah Jowett.

The weather the night before was simply dreadful, with strong winds & heavy rain, but it cleared a little on the day. The wind was still howling across the pitch and we knew we were in for a tough day. With two pools, the matches were spread out with a gap of about 45 minutes between each. Chris Field, as my vice-captain agreed to assist with checking the times of each match. (I was desperate to avoid a repeat of the infamous incident a couple of years before when we were tucking into bacon rolls instead of starting our next game!) I also nominated Viki as our first-aider, who had brought along a couple of horse poultices just in case…...

We asserted ourselves in the first match against Cheshunt with a brilliant 1-0 win. The goal coming from Sarah, after my early instructions that she simply had to score within the 13-minute duration of the game. The second game against a nine-man West Herts (shame) saw us win by 3 goals, with Viki on a roll up the right wing scoring two goals, and Sarah getting her second. The whole team played brilliantly, with some great midfield work, particularly from Claire Moore, and excellent running off the ball by the forwards.

By this time we were feeling invincible and I felt we had a good chance of reaching the semis. However, our third match against a rampant Bishops Stortford was a turning point. Their quality of passing and sheer strength undid us, and we lost 0-2.

The other teams’ results meant that we were still in the running and had to do well against Stevenage, the last team in the pool. We were buoyed up by the fact that someone heard they didn’t want to win the competition anyway! (Not that we would have been keen to travel to Cambridge for the next round!) After our lunch break, a revitalised South Herts won 2-0, with Viki Ayres scoring both (to cries of greedy….) Claire Moore narrowly missed getting the goal of the tournament with a great attempt to scoop the ball over the keeper.

To our surprise and delight we were now in the semis against old rivals St Albans. However, a lucky goal by the opposition was all it took to see us reach the end of our tournament. Unfortunately, Glenys, who had been on form all day in goal, just couldn’t manage to clear the ball. The poor weather meant that most participants had drifted off before the final, but a few off us watched it end on flicks, with Bishops Stortford deserving winners.

I would like to thank the whole team for showing up on such a horrible day and for playing so well. The team, apart from me, was (and not necessarily in age order!): Glenys Chiswell, Ruth Spencer, Claire Moore, Gronia Morley, Jenny Milne, Chris Field, Vikki Ayres, Sarah Jowett, Sue Dyer & Julie Hollet.