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May. 1st, 2007 10:46 pmThe crunch game - Hawks Ladies v Portsmouth Uni...
Arrived at Moneyfields at 6.30, an hour before kick-off - just as well, as they were charging £3 to get in, the turnstile man had no change, and apart from 30p in loose I only had notes. So I strolled up to the Jolly Taxpayer (the best pub name in Portsmouth) in search of a drink costing £2.30 or less.
They had Greene King IPA at £2.20 a pint - perfect for steadying my nerves.
Jade had brought her bongo drum, and when she sat down in the stand before kick-off she said to me "Plenty of singing tonight." We spent long periods of the match making up chants, with Jade accompanying herself on drums. Some of our girls' watching relatives moaned at her for making too much noise, but others appreciated the need to give the lasses vocal support.
Although a draw would have been satisfactory, our enthusiasm was tempered by tension as the match remained scoreless with both teams having attacks - although Hawks were having the best of play throughout. Eventually, well into the first half, Lisa Cooper scored - and every one of us in the Hawk contingent went bananas. On the pitch, our girls celebrated the goal by all dropping on the ground in a recumbent posture, in tribute to the Horndean girl on Sunday!
From then on there were more high spirits to Jade's and my singing, and some of the others even joined in some of the chants. An air of tension still remained until, soon after the break, Billy made it two. After that, although the Uni surged forward once or twice, the rest of the game was a procession. I said to Jade "Bang your bongo twice in the right place, you'll know when to do it" and started the sha-la-la bit from Amarillo. When we sang 'Robbie Chamberlain's barmy army', Rob did a little dance on the touchline, drawing massive cheers. Ollie didn't respond to 'Ollie, give us a wave', and got boos. Sam S wrapped it up with a third 15 minutes from the end.
After the final whistle, the girls, coaches and Trev all congratulated themselves in a huddle in the middle of the pitch, then the lasses came over to the sideline to meet friends and relatives. When I said "Well played" to Laura and Jodie they both high-fived me; half a dozen of the others followed suit. Even lovely Michelle, who plays for the opposition, gave me a high-five and a smile when she saw me! Was she just acknowledging me as a friend, or does this mean she'll be joining Hawks in the summer? Either suits me :)
Into the clubhouse for a refreshing Magners with ice. Rose told everyone to cheer the girls when they came in from the changing room, but they all came in in dribs and drabs and she forgot to lead a cheer for the first three or four. We did cheer for all the others. Had a quick word with Lisa Chamberlain; she agreed with me that this had been the outstanding performance of the season, and with Rose that it was a great team display, with no individual singled out for praise.
Said my goodbyes and went out front to find my taxi had arrived. Got to the Hard just too late to catch the departing ferry, so moseyed down to the 24-hour snack window for a bacon roll (once I'd poked my head through the hatch to draw the guy on serving duty's attention away from Liverpool v Chelsea on telly!)
On the walk home from Gosport pontoon, passed an Indian takeaway just as its telly was showing Liverpool players celebrating their penalty shoot-out triumph and dejected Chelsea players trooping off.
The girls need one win from their last two to win the title. Their next game's on Friday, so it's pretty obvious what I want for my birthday :)
Arrived at Moneyfields at 6.30, an hour before kick-off - just as well, as they were charging £3 to get in, the turnstile man had no change, and apart from 30p in loose I only had notes. So I strolled up to the Jolly Taxpayer (the best pub name in Portsmouth) in search of a drink costing £2.30 or less.
They had Greene King IPA at £2.20 a pint - perfect for steadying my nerves.
Jade had brought her bongo drum, and when she sat down in the stand before kick-off she said to me "Plenty of singing tonight." We spent long periods of the match making up chants, with Jade accompanying herself on drums. Some of our girls' watching relatives moaned at her for making too much noise, but others appreciated the need to give the lasses vocal support.
Although a draw would have been satisfactory, our enthusiasm was tempered by tension as the match remained scoreless with both teams having attacks - although Hawks were having the best of play throughout. Eventually, well into the first half, Lisa Cooper scored - and every one of us in the Hawk contingent went bananas. On the pitch, our girls celebrated the goal by all dropping on the ground in a recumbent posture, in tribute to the Horndean girl on Sunday!
From then on there were more high spirits to Jade's and my singing, and some of the others even joined in some of the chants. An air of tension still remained until, soon after the break, Billy made it two. After that, although the Uni surged forward once or twice, the rest of the game was a procession. I said to Jade "Bang your bongo twice in the right place, you'll know when to do it" and started the sha-la-la bit from Amarillo. When we sang 'Robbie Chamberlain's barmy army', Rob did a little dance on the touchline, drawing massive cheers. Ollie didn't respond to 'Ollie, give us a wave', and got boos. Sam S wrapped it up with a third 15 minutes from the end.
After the final whistle, the girls, coaches and Trev all congratulated themselves in a huddle in the middle of the pitch, then the lasses came over to the sideline to meet friends and relatives. When I said "Well played" to Laura and Jodie they both high-fived me; half a dozen of the others followed suit. Even lovely Michelle, who plays for the opposition, gave me a high-five and a smile when she saw me! Was she just acknowledging me as a friend, or does this mean she'll be joining Hawks in the summer? Either suits me :)
Into the clubhouse for a refreshing Magners with ice. Rose told everyone to cheer the girls when they came in from the changing room, but they all came in in dribs and drabs and she forgot to lead a cheer for the first three or four. We did cheer for all the others. Had a quick word with Lisa Chamberlain; she agreed with me that this had been the outstanding performance of the season, and with Rose that it was a great team display, with no individual singled out for praise.
Said my goodbyes and went out front to find my taxi had arrived. Got to the Hard just too late to catch the departing ferry, so moseyed down to the 24-hour snack window for a bacon roll (once I'd poked my head through the hatch to draw the guy on serving duty's attention away from Liverpool v Chelsea on telly!)
On the walk home from Gosport pontoon, passed an Indian takeaway just as its telly was showing Liverpool players celebrating their penalty shoot-out triumph and dejected Chelsea players trooping off.
The girls need one win from their last two to win the title. Their next game's on Friday, so it's pretty obvious what I want for my birthday :)
