LX  Over 70  v  Midlands Senior Vets

Sunday 21st October 2007

LX  Over 70  0   Midlands Senior Vets  2

An LXX team based on a nucleus of the successful team who won the European Over 70s tournament in Hannover in May this year took on an Over 65 Midlands team at Cannock.  It was decided that as both teams had squads of 14 players it was appropriate to play three sessions of 30 minutes in order to provide as much pitch time per player as possible. The downside to this was that team co-ordination was the loser and it did not help to play on a difficult surface (a new surface recently laid on Cannock’s water based pitch) which appeared to need more time to ‘bed down’.

The Midlands scored once in each of the first two sessions whilst the third session ended goaless with the writer admitting not being on target on four occasions, although LXX had territorial advantage for much of the time. The cry was heard, ‘Come back Dominic, you are needed to put the goals away!’ but he was ailing somewhere in Egypt at the time after fraternising with the Egypt’s Over 60s goalkeeper, we were given to understand.

The facilities and hospitality were of the usual high Cannock standard, masterminded by Laurie Alcock whilst Mike Greenhough, although absent on the day, mustered the Midlands team. As there was also an LX fixture with a Midlands Over 60 team on the same day there was a convivial gathering of LX club members in the dining hall and bar afterwards. It was an occasion well worth making into an annual event. The Senior Grand Masters European Cup, with England inscribed as the first winners, was on display for the first time before joining the many other trophies in the LX trophy cabinet housed at Tring.

Team:  Jim Standish, David Birch, Arthur Barber, Leon Mack, Mike Mann, Gilbert Grace, John Gordon, John Davey, David Higham, David Wright, Geoff Turk, Tom Darlington, Gerald Wilkinson (capt), Keith Hedley, Brian Woolcott.