Match Report
Pirates sauntered into the Rainford Labour Club comfortable with their new found status of Division 2 Champions ... on the previous night second place Wigan Piethons had been beaten by the mighty Dragons, making the last game of the season a formality ... they had won the title in the same way as Man City ... unfortunately their manager, Walter Guardiola, wasn’t there to see it.
No silly nicknames tonight ... the Div 2 Champions line up deserves to be name checked accurately ... Greg Byron, Carl Murphy and Brian Cannelloni. Scamperer, Dazla and BetGed lined up for Smash.
Against the odds Smash took a lead when Scamperer beat Byron in the opener ... was an upset on the cards? In the next game Brian Cantaloupe beat BetGed ... the early hope diminished a little more when this was followed by a straight sets win for Carl against Dazla.
But Smash were not put off, they were trying to make a game of it ... BetGed (playing up from the sister team Rainford Surge) notched an impressive 3-2 win against a relaxed Byron. And when Scamperer beat Murphy 3-0 the crowd in the TV room momentarily feigned interest.
The Rainford Three we’re putting up a fight ... they had waited until the last game of the season to show some grit ... some fighting spirit ... and it felt good. Despite losing the doubles it was still three matches apiece on the night. Then up stepped Brian Canterbury to spoil the party ... he beat Dazla in three and then matters were made worse when Carl did the same to BetGed.
Brian Canteen delivered the final blow beating Scamperer in a big hitting (and often big missing) game ... and with it Brian Cantering was crowned man of the match.
But tonight’s game was incidental ... it was a side show ... the story wasn’t about the game ... the real story was about Poolstock Pirates being crowned as Div 2 Champions ... undeniably the best team in Div 2 across the season.
In the post match interview Brian Can’t Lie was asked if he was looking forward to playing in Div 1 next season ... he paused ... his face contorted as he considered the magnitude of the question ... then he spoke ... “we should have listened to our stablemates, the Scousers. If only we’d missed a few Wigan League meetings we wouldn’t be in this predicament”.
In the bar after the match the Pirates reviewed next seasons prospects ... after much discussion the favoured course of action was to change their team name and apply to join Div 2 next season ... all players to change their names by deed poll and grow beards during the summer to change their appearance.
The Smash boys were safe in the knowledge that their often erratic play and their devil-may-care approach had secured another season in Div 2. As my old mate Jimmy Greaves used to say ... “It’s a funny old game”.
No silly nicknames tonight ... the Div 2 Champions line up deserves to be name checked accurately ... Greg Byron, Carl Murphy and Brian Cannelloni. Scamperer, Dazla and BetGed lined up for Smash.
Against the odds Smash took a lead when Scamperer beat Byron in the opener ... was an upset on the cards? In the next game Brian Cantaloupe beat BetGed ... the early hope diminished a little more when this was followed by a straight sets win for Carl against Dazla.
But Smash were not put off, they were trying to make a game of it ... BetGed (playing up from the sister team Rainford Surge) notched an impressive 3-2 win against a relaxed Byron. And when Scamperer beat Murphy 3-0 the crowd in the TV room momentarily feigned interest.
The Rainford Three we’re putting up a fight ... they had waited until the last game of the season to show some grit ... some fighting spirit ... and it felt good. Despite losing the doubles it was still three matches apiece on the night. Then up stepped Brian Canterbury to spoil the party ... he beat Dazla in three and then matters were made worse when Carl did the same to BetGed.
Brian Canteen delivered the final blow beating Scamperer in a big hitting (and often big missing) game ... and with it Brian Cantering was crowned man of the match.
But tonight’s game was incidental ... it was a side show ... the story wasn’t about the game ... the real story was about Poolstock Pirates being crowned as Div 2 Champions ... undeniably the best team in Div 2 across the season.
In the post match interview Brian Can’t Lie was asked if he was looking forward to playing in Div 1 next season ... he paused ... his face contorted as he considered the magnitude of the question ... then he spoke ... “we should have listened to our stablemates, the Scousers. If only we’d missed a few Wigan League meetings we wouldn’t be in this predicament”.
In the bar after the match the Pirates reviewed next seasons prospects ... after much discussion the favoured course of action was to change their team name and apply to join Div 2 next season ... all players to change their names by deed poll and grow beards during the summer to change their appearance.
The Smash boys were safe in the knowledge that their often erratic play and their devil-may-care approach had secured another season in Div 2. As my old mate Jimmy Greaves used to say ... “It’s a funny old game”.
Written by: Martin Machin
