LX  v  Pistons  
at Trent Park on Thursday 9th August

On a balmy (or barmy might be a better description in terms of what followed!) summer’s evening LX opted for experience at Southgate, fielding a team of aggregate age totalling the best part of seven centuries, and without a goalkeeper to boot (or should it be ‘to kick’?) – John ‘Incurably-Hyphenated’ Marriott being delayed in traffic (he said!).

Not surprisingly, the youthful Pistons soon rattled in a couple of goals, despite the noble efforts of John Widgery and Gilbert Grace at the back. Nigel Dixon decided he would be better employed in the LX goal and so changed ends, only to concede two more in as many minutes, before the aforementioned ’keeper arrived and filled the now vacant Pistons’ goal.

LX began to settle down and, following a good run from Mike Surridge, David Gill netted with his customary aplomb. A degree of respectability was restored when J I-M was fooled by the pace (and third bounce) of David Gill’s reverse-stick shot. Despite the best efforts of hard-tackling half backs Hugo Rowbotham, David Wright and Mike Greenhough to stem the tide, Pistons added a fifth before half time.

The second half was much the same story, with LX conceding three more goals before a rusty Graham George (replacing the ailing match manager, Brian Woolcott) swept home a pin-point pass from Keith Hedley, following good work from the evergreen Gerald Wilkinson.

And so to the bar. With good beer, good company and the customary Southgate shepherd’s pie, all’s well that ends well and the young-at-heart LXers returned to points North, South, East and West bloodied, but unbowed, to fight another day.