What a day…

The last mixed game of the season was a biggie against our friendly mixed rivals, St Ives, who always give us a great game and today was no different! The team met on St Ives's turf and actually did a proper warm up (for those who haven't played for the mixed team, a proper warm up is a very, very rare occurrence): I think this was the secret to our success!

St Ives put the pressure on from the first whistle but our defensive unit of Tom, Colin, Janette and Dani and some amazing saves from man of the match, Jason, kept St Ives off the scoreboard. The game was going end to end with a lot of battling in midfield. Ollie, Hannah, Naomi and Emma-Rose worked so hard and created great chances for the forwards, who were hampered by a strong St Ives defence.

Our first goal came from a free hit from Colin just inside St Ives's twenty-three. A pass to Sophie went slightly wide but a cheeky deflection from her saw the ball nudged in Andy's direction who, calm as you like, slotted the ball passed the St Ives keeper. Half time was very welcome as the sun was beating down hard and the fast-paced match was taking its toll. While Tom reapplied his Factor 50 and Colin ate jelly babies off the ground, we discussed our strengths and shortcomings and were ready to take on the second half.

The second half was just as competitive as the first, with great hockey being played from both teams. The South forwards of Jack, Sophie and Andy tried their best to find a way through the St Ives defence but were denied a goal from open play and short corners. The St Ives forwards were also finding it tough to get a ball in the back of the net and even had a goal disallowed. South's second goal came from a frenzied attack that resulted in a penalty flick being awarded. Colin, desperate to beat Shin's goal tally for the season, stepped up to the plate. With an epic flick to the top left corner, South had the game in the bag.

Playing St Ives is always a pleasure and we look forward to seeing them again during the summer.

On to the extra curricular activities match report…

During teas and sipping on slush puppies, Andy mentioned that he had locked his car keys inside his car. This not only immediately earned him the title of Lemon of the Match but also provided the team with a challenge…turns out that breaking into a second hand Renault Laguna is really difficult! Colin had all the big chat saying he knew exactly what to do, being a copper on the streets and all that, but despite having a cable tie, a shatterproof ruler, two tennis balls (one cut in half and one with a small hole poked through), two screw drivers (flat and cross head), a large piece of plastic, many innuendos from useless helpers and criminal know-how, we could not get into this car!

Our last resort before smashing the windows was to call the one man who we thought could save the day, the genius that is: Simon Jelley. While Jelley took his time getting his super hero suit on and releasing the batmobile from the bat cave, Jack taught us a game from his grass-less life as a child in Singapore - car park tennis - that turned into quite a competitive match and saw Jack and Naomi victorious. Jelley arrived as car park tennis was ending with the proper tools for the job…a bladder and a wire coat hanger. With the coat hanger bent into a hook around the window lever in the back we manged to wind it down far enough to reach in and open the back door… We may not have won the National Mixed Team League but damn it, we can break into a Laguna in just an hour and a half! I hope the following video (filmed and edited by Jason) makes you laugh even a little bit as much as we did today!