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Jun. 1st, 2008 09:58 pmThroat still sore - hawked up a solitary Dockyard Oyster this morning - nose becoming stuffy and sneezing a lot. Bah.
Donned my Oranje shirt and Havant & Waterlooville baseball cap and headed for Southampton, where my first stop was the Encore pub to watch Netherlands v Wales over a couple of Wells Bombardiers. Nobody minded me supporting the Dutch, and there didn't seem to be any Welsh people there. The Oranje won comfortably 2-0, with a well-taken goal by Arjen Robben and a beautiful curler from a free kick by Sneijder. I'm hoping that's a good sign for Euro 2008, even if we wasted several chances to add to the score.
From there it was on to the Goals Centre to see the Hawk girls' ragbag side in the FA Umbro Fives. Jade arrived with a girl I'd never met before, whom she introduced as 'Norway'. "Just call her Norway," Jade said, "it's easier." She was indeed wearing a tracksuit top of a Norwegian football team, but I later found out her name was Charlotte - nothing complicated about that. Everyone called her Norway, though.
Erin, Jodie and Laura all came along to lend the ragbag team their support, and Portsmouth Uni were there so I got to have a chat with lovely Michelle <3
As for the football, the less said the kinder. Played 4 lost 4, goals for 2, goals against 11. Apart from our own performance, another disappointment was the elimination of a scratch team of random girls called Harris-shire, who featured a couple of friends of the Hawk girls and played attractive football, when they were robbed in their last game by a referee who showed blatant favouritism to their opponents Red Star. A Red Star girl clattered Chelsea, one of our girls' friends, and the ref sent off Chelsea. He also let Red Star get away with lots of infringements he'd been very quick to call other teams on. The extra man helped Red Star get a late goal to notch an undeserved 1-0 win, clinch the group and leave Harris-shire in third place and out of the competition.
I stopped for a talk with lovely Michelle, who was watching the last game of her team's group hoping New Forest would lose, which would have put the Uni through to the semis. When I began to speak to her Sabrina said "Don't talk to her! She's the opposition!" even though the Uni hadn't been in our group. I replied "Michelle's my mate" and Michelle high-fived me and told Sabrina "We've been mates a long time." If only we were in the other sense of the word...
New Forest drew, so Pompey Uni went out.
But come the semi-final I was cheering for New Forest, since they were playing Red Star. Justice was done, as despite the same ref's best efforts on Red Star's behalf Forest had the better of the game and, after countless chances, notched a late goal that proved to be the only one of the match. Red Star had a late shot but the New Forest keeper made a magnificent save. A bit later, as I walked to the clubhouse that same ref told two Red Star girls "You deserved to win". "Don't know what game he was watching," said the New Forest coach.
That sent New Forest through to the final against Bournemouth. Of course I supported Forest after their super showing in the semi, and because they were the underdogs - four divisions lower than the Cherries - but most of the Hawk girls cheered Bournemouth because they had friends on the Bournemouth team. One of our party had in fact had carnal knowledge of one of the Bournemouth players, which earned the two of them relentless ribbing from the rest of the Hawk contingent! New Forest played brilliantly to hold Bournemouth to a 0-0 draw, but in the penalty shoot-out the Bournemouth goalie saved their first two kicks then Forest's third kicker hit the post. As I passed the New Forest team on my way to the clubhouse I said to them "Well played, girls. Bad luck."
A drink with Sabrina and Jade and quick skim of the Non-League Paper, then Trevor and Dick gave me a lift as far as Fareham. Dick diagnosed what the team's problem had been today - "in a word, unfitness."
Donned my Oranje shirt and Havant & Waterlooville baseball cap and headed for Southampton, where my first stop was the Encore pub to watch Netherlands v Wales over a couple of Wells Bombardiers. Nobody minded me supporting the Dutch, and there didn't seem to be any Welsh people there. The Oranje won comfortably 2-0, with a well-taken goal by Arjen Robben and a beautiful curler from a free kick by Sneijder. I'm hoping that's a good sign for Euro 2008, even if we wasted several chances to add to the score.
From there it was on to the Goals Centre to see the Hawk girls' ragbag side in the FA Umbro Fives. Jade arrived with a girl I'd never met before, whom she introduced as 'Norway'. "Just call her Norway," Jade said, "it's easier." She was indeed wearing a tracksuit top of a Norwegian football team, but I later found out her name was Charlotte - nothing complicated about that. Everyone called her Norway, though.
Erin, Jodie and Laura all came along to lend the ragbag team their support, and Portsmouth Uni were there so I got to have a chat with lovely Michelle <3
As for the football, the less said the kinder. Played 4 lost 4, goals for 2, goals against 11. Apart from our own performance, another disappointment was the elimination of a scratch team of random girls called Harris-shire, who featured a couple of friends of the Hawk girls and played attractive football, when they were robbed in their last game by a referee who showed blatant favouritism to their opponents Red Star. A Red Star girl clattered Chelsea, one of our girls' friends, and the ref sent off Chelsea. He also let Red Star get away with lots of infringements he'd been very quick to call other teams on. The extra man helped Red Star get a late goal to notch an undeserved 1-0 win, clinch the group and leave Harris-shire in third place and out of the competition.
I stopped for a talk with lovely Michelle, who was watching the last game of her team's group hoping New Forest would lose, which would have put the Uni through to the semis. When I began to speak to her Sabrina said "Don't talk to her! She's the opposition!" even though the Uni hadn't been in our group. I replied "Michelle's my mate" and Michelle high-fived me and told Sabrina "We've been mates a long time." If only we were in the other sense of the word...
New Forest drew, so Pompey Uni went out.
But come the semi-final I was cheering for New Forest, since they were playing Red Star. Justice was done, as despite the same ref's best efforts on Red Star's behalf Forest had the better of the game and, after countless chances, notched a late goal that proved to be the only one of the match. Red Star had a late shot but the New Forest keeper made a magnificent save. A bit later, as I walked to the clubhouse that same ref told two Red Star girls "You deserved to win". "Don't know what game he was watching," said the New Forest coach.
That sent New Forest through to the final against Bournemouth. Of course I supported Forest after their super showing in the semi, and because they were the underdogs - four divisions lower than the Cherries - but most of the Hawk girls cheered Bournemouth because they had friends on the Bournemouth team. One of our party had in fact had carnal knowledge of one of the Bournemouth players, which earned the two of them relentless ribbing from the rest of the Hawk contingent! New Forest played brilliantly to hold Bournemouth to a 0-0 draw, but in the penalty shoot-out the Bournemouth goalie saved their first two kicks then Forest's third kicker hit the post. As I passed the New Forest team on my way to the clubhouse I said to them "Well played, girls. Bad luck."
A drink with Sabrina and Jade and quick skim of the Non-League Paper, then Trevor and Dick gave me a lift as far as Fareham. Dick diagnosed what the team's problem had been today - "in a word, unfitness."
