Tourney: London League V

Badgers v Goons at Mitch tonight?

Goons 15 - 14 Badgers, commentary tomorrow.

Sounds interesting, looking forward to the report. I've updated my league table.

Love it, Kevs unofficial league table

I bet tonight turned really dirty

South London victory...

Ha! Just wait for the report at 9 tomorrow! Should have been at the game #justsayin ;)

Yeah, I bet it was good.

By dirty I mean a bit frantic.

not poopy? ;)

It was pure filth. Really gnarly.

Badger punched himself in the face at one point.

i've seen bogey do that.

Yup...

Ha! Just wait for the report at 9 tomorrow! Should have been at the game #justsayin ;)

Am or pm?

Ben only runs on beagle time

It was pure filth. Really gnarly.

Agreed. There was no winner yesterday. In fact, polo as a whole was the loser.

Where the fuck was my ref beer?

Yeah what he said.

Not sure if serious or...

Beagle where's the write up? C'mon...

Thank you refs, we owe you big time.

No problem.

Good one, poops.

But yes, thank you Chukker, Beagle, Nik and Mrak! Beers owed!

Sorry for the suspense, crashed en-route home, bruised hip and a bit sore but all fine.

Badgers (Adam, Ben, Ed (lefty), Ian) v. Goons ( Aeds, Ed (Newcastle), Maya, Ryan, Spikes) match report:

It was a closely contested match –yes, this phrase is quite stale but apt for this game as at no period in this game was the goal difference more than two and it was end to end stuff. The game started a bit cagey, with both teams fielding a strong starting lineup: Ryan, Ed and Joe for Goons while Adam, Ian and lefty Edstarted for Badgers.

The first goal came from Adam at just over 3 minutes which was against the run of play as Goons were attacking more but an Ian pass found Adam on the left of the court and he finished well with Ryan hot in pursuit. Goons kept their shape and a quick double from Ryan after some neat exchange between with Ed and Joe gave Goons the lead and this was the start of the period where it would be a tit-for-tat between the two team captains until it was 7 apiece, with Badgers leveling the game (Ian scored to tie it at 4-4) and Ryan restoring Goon's lead again (with Joe scoring with just over 5 minutes left of the half for 6-7 Goons). Badgers ended the half very strongly, with Adam scoring thrice to bring the scores to 9-7, with Ed replying for Goons with 2 1/2 minutes remaining before the interval.

Second half started with both captains sitting slightly deeper with Badgers again opening the scoring via Adam. Goons were playing 3 out and got their reward through goals from Ryan and Joe to level the game at 10 apiece. The game did turn a bit scrappy with sloppy passes creeping in with those in goal bailing out their team mates on many occasion, one of which let Ian in to restore Badgers' lead. There were also plenty of 50/50 challenges with Goons getting most of them, Ryan playing Ed in for a double and Ian caught the Goons defence napping with a quick attackfor 12-12. Ryan then got a couple himself to hand the advantage to Goons with 8 1/2 minutes remaining and seemed comfortable but Adam brought the game back on level terms with just under 6 minutes remaining, with the Goons defence again caught napping - the goals separated by a mere 9 seconds! Goons were playing all out with Badgers happy to play on the break. Ed scored the winner with just under 2 minutes remaining and thereafter it was pretty much the Arsenal keeping the ball tactic being deployed. Badgers were still pushing hard for the equaliser with one shot in particular coming off Joe's rear wheel and Goons held on for the win.

There were some crashes as expected, shoulders and mid court blocking which brought the game to a halt once but nothing too overzealous. I would give the MVP to Ed who linked very well with Ryan and Joe and contributed with some crucial goals including the winner with Joe and Ian both worthy of a mention, Joe for his brilliant goal keeping in the final 10 minutes and Ian for his brilliant hustling throughout the 60 minutes.

Badgers:
3.02 Adam
9.15 Adam
13.22 Adam
19.43 Ian
22.02 Adam
23.42 Adam
25.02 Adam
26.20 Adam
27.30 Adam
33.04 Adam
39.19 Ian
43.45 Ian
54.02 Adam
54.13 Adam

Goons
6.40 Ryan
7.26 Ryan
13.15 Ryan
16.45 Ryan
19.50 Ryan
22.35 Ryan
24.30 Joe
27.48 Ed
34.02 Ryan
37.42 Joe
42.03 Ed
43.39 Ed
46.42 Ryan
51.26 Ryan
58.09 Ed

Goalscorers Summary:
Adam 11
Ryan 9
Ed 4
Ian 3
Joe 2

Nice

...it was pretty much the Arsenal keeping the ball tactic being deployed.
The crucial difference being Goons managed to win.

Great game report, Ben...