Number 18 - 20 March

Fixtures - Saturday 22 March 2008

.....Arthur Bailey recovering from operation.....

Fourth XI go for glory…
The Fours took another step towards their Championship goal with a 5 – 2 win against Civil Service 4s. The Hill quickly took the lead through Steve Millar and doubled it with a Chris Eskesen header before the Servants pulled one back from the spot when Stewart Honour swept the ball away with his hand. A bit lucky to stay on. Mark Crouchman restored the two goal advantage before the break but Service came back when keeper Harry Rotsa was caught off his line and was lobbed from forty yards. Second half goals from Lez Biega and Eskesen saw the Hill run out comfortable winners.

The Reserve’s season came to an early finish at the Peter May Centre against Old Esthameians. Two goals from Keith Gyles saw the stiffs to a 2 – 1 win to end their season on a high.

The Third XI enjoyed themselves across the A10 with a thumping 6 – 0 win against our old adversaries, Norsemen. Chris Cochrane and Chris Ingram scored a goal each and there were two each from Ben Turner and Ian Baker.

The Fifth XI had a bad day at the office, or at Cuffley, losing 2 – 0 to Old Owens.

The Sixth XI were in a high scoring match at Southover against Old Finchleians. Twelve goals in the match, eight of them to the Hill. Reece Wilson grabbed a hat trick and Tom Braybutt a brace, and there was one each for Alex Lodge, Barrington Dyer and Scott McGuinness

The Seventh XI had no game.

The Eighth XI were also amongst the goals, beating Broomfield 6s 6 – 0. A brace each for Ed Curtis, Darmesh Garala and Mehmet Hassan.

The Ninth XI crossed the Great Cambridge Road and had an excellent 7 – 1 win against Norsemen. Well, any win against Norsemen is excellent. Shin Ito cracked in four, and there was one each for Tony Croucman, Chris Bond and Andy Bocchi.

The Tenth XI two goals each from Mick Orme (after spending the first half in goal) and Andy Omand were not enough to get all the points against Southgate Olympic, who scored seven.

On Sunday the inclement weather put paid to any soccer, with all three pitches waterlogged.

Southern Amateur League Round Up
Saturday 15 March

Division One
West Wickham keep top spot despite being held to a goalless draw by Old Actonians at Corkscrew Hill. Third placed Nottsborough were also held by Old Salesians as the sides drew 1 – 1 at Kingston. Polytechnic move up after beating Alleyn Old Boys 4 – 2 at the Quinten Hogg Memorial Ground and Broomfield also rise after beating bottom side Old Wilsonians 2 – 0 at Madeira Road. Old Owens also climb after a 2 – 0 victory against Civil Service at Coopers Lane.

West Wickham now have a seven point lead at the top. Third placed Nottsborough are eight points behind but with two games in hand.

Division Two
Carshalton got back to winning ways with a 3 – 1 victory against HSBC at Beddington Park. Old Esthameians move up to second place following a 2 – 1 win at Kew Association. OEs are three points behind Carshalton with five games in hand. Weirside Rangers, in third place, were without a match last Saturday and are four points behind the leaders with four games in hand. Merton’s 5 – 1 win at South Bank Cuaco keeps them in with a shout and EBOG are not altogether out of the race after their 7 – 0 win at Old Lyonians. Norsemen won 2 – 1 at BB Eagles. Eight points separate the top six sides and it will be a close run in for promotion.

Division Three
Old Parkonians maintain their six point lead at the top of the table following a 4 – 0 win against Ibis. Crouch End Vampires keep in the hunt with a 2 – 0 victory at Old Latyerians and Old Finchleians, who have plenty of games in hand, keep up the challenge with a 5 – 0 thumping of Old Westminster Citizens. Old Stationers win their third game in four matches, beating Alexandra Park at Barnet.

Match Reports
Norsemen 0 Winchmore Hill 6
Southern Amateur League
Junior Section Division One
Saturday 15 March

On a cloudy day at Norsemen the Supa 3’s produced their best half an hour of football of the season without Will Dench in sight. If Hill had played like this all season they would be celebrating trophies once again and hopefully this bodes well for next season. There was excitement before the game as Andy Cochrane stole Stuart’s toiletries meaning the poor skipper was unable to get clean, shave, wash or clean his teeth whilst he was away. Very mean Andrew!! On a lighter note they are now on ebay with all monies raised going towards Sport Relief. The current top bid is 87p from an anonymous bidder who just wants to be known as Smelly and Hairy from Stamford Hill.

The skipper lost the toss again and Hill kicked off with the wind behind them. Hill started well and looked dangerous and it was no surprise when they took the lead after 10 minutes. A fine through ball by Haslam was slotted home by Ingram and from this point there was only going to be one winner. A second goal was not long in coming as a fine run from Graves led to a pinpoint cross picking out Baker who coolly slotted home. The first half was all action albeit only in one half as 2-0 became 3-0 through the same combination of Graves and Baker.

Hill were rampant and the fourth goal of the game was the best of the lot. Turner picked the ball up 40 yards from goal, beat 2 players and smashed an unstoppable shot from 30 yards into the top corner. A wonderful goal!! Turner grabbed his second goal minutes later as Baker went round the keeper only to square the ball from a tight angle. A very unselfish pass or jug evasion. As we won so well we will give him the benefit of the doubt. After 30 minutes it was 6-0 as Cochrane scored his first ever goal at the correct end. This includes warm up’s, 5-a-side and all of his school days!! He had plenty of time and coolly slotted home.

At this stage Norsemen looked shell shocked and double figures looked on the cards. The second half was to be different however as a mixture of an improved Norsemen performance, Hill taking their foot off the gas and a generous referee kept the score at 6. Indeed it was Norsemen who created the better chances and should have scored at least one when their speedy winger rounded the keeper only to shoot wide. Hill defended well however and kept a well deserved clean sheet to go with their 6 goals in the first half.

In the first half Hill were truly exceptional and this is the standard they should try to reach every week. The second half is best forgotten and so now we will get back to the important business. Nick Sharp has bid £1 for Stuart’s toothbrush!! Well done Nick!! Bidding ends at 5pm Thursday and any bids would be gratefully received.

No game next week but it is my birthday on Easter Sunday if anyone would like to buy me a present. It seems that the King did rise again on Easter Sunday and made the world a better place for all those that know him.

Man of the match: Ian Baker. An excellent find!!

Winchmore Hill 7 Norsemen 1
Southern Amateur League
Minor Section Division Four (North)
Saturday 15 March

And so our good form continues. This result sees us cement our position in second place in the league. As we found out a couple of weeks ago with a draw against the bottom of the league side, no fixture in this league can be taken for granted. To maintain the second place spot, the same high work-rate shown in recent games would again be needed straight from the off.

Injuries and unavailability’s meant some small shuffles around the team; Chris Bond stepping up-front to partner Shin Ito, Mark Turner shifting out to wide right, and most notably, forward Rob Sweetner donning the gloves for his debut appearance as a goalie.

Within minutes of the start, Norsemen forced a corner, and their centre forward rose unmarked to head home. This stunned our team into action; we were determined not to let ourselves down.

The standard of football we had been showing in recent weeks soon returned. Tony Crouchman, recently returned from Australia, joined Dom Molloy in the centre of midfield, and they soon began creating openings for the forwards and wingers to latch onto. It wasn’t long before Shin Ito drifted past his marker to slot home into the corner. From a far side cross, Andy Bocchi then found himself unmarked on the edge of the area to loop a shot over the keeper to put us 2-1 up. From then on, our defence stood firm, all bar the odd defensive goalmouth scramble, and the emphasis switched more and more to attack. Molloy set Ito through to chip past the keeper, and as the half time whistle blew, we knew a solid second half would earn us three points.

The fourth arrived not long into the second half, and this settled any nerves of a Norsemen comeback. Ito completed his hat-trick after controlling the ball in acres of space on the edge of the area before firing into the corner. Another Molloy through ball then saw Bond beat the ‘keeper at the near post, and it was then 6-1 with probably the best of the day’s goals. A long through ball from defence saw Ito beat the off-side trap, and on the half-volley he lobbed the keeper. The game’s scoring was concluded following another good build up from which Crouchman nipped in front of the defender to poke home the 7^th.

This was another good all-round performance, yet again. The defence was once again tight, and the midfield worked well to minimise the time the opposition spent in possession. Thanks also to Sweetner for filling in in goal.

Earlier in the season our efforts were not always rewarded with the points we often felt were deserved, and so it is great to see our recent form has resulted in a surge up the table.

On this (footballing) day…
20 March

YOU really have to feel for the poor FA bod who had to make the phone call to FIFA.

“Umm, now don’t get mad, don’t get cross but we’ve had a bit of a break in and someone’s stolen the World Cup.”

It was on this day in 1966 that the English Football Association managed to lose the most famous and precious item in the world of football when the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen in London.

At the time it was on exhibition at Central Hall in Westminster as part of a stamp display, in anticipation of the world cup tournament that was to be held later in the year.

The theft occurred despite two (clearly inept) guards being in the room at the time, although they were seemingly tying their shoelaces at the time and missed the whole thing.

The best lead the Police had sounded like they simply made it up to sound like they were on the ball. They said a suspicious-looking man was seen in the building at the time of the theft. He is described as being in his early 30s, of average height with thin lips, greased black hair and a possible scar on his face. They might as well have said he was wearing a black mask and carrying a bag marked ‘SWAG’.

There was now the very real possibility of having to conduct the World Cup prize giving ceremony without the World Cup. A much more difficult proposition.

Given the lack of leads the police had this was looking likely so in secret, the FA secretary, Denis Follows, visited silversmith George Bird at his workshop in Fenchurch Street. He asked him to make a replica of the trophy and to keep the whole thing under his hat.

Meanwhile the plot was thickening like school dinner gravy when FA and Chelsea chairman Joe Mears received a phone call from a man named Jackson telling him to expect a parcel at Stamford Bridge the next day. The parcel contained a removable piece of lining from the Cup and a ransom note for £15,000.

Despite warnings from ‘Jackson’ not to involve the fuzz, Mears had got DI Len Buggy of the Flying Squad in on the action and an exchange was set up between Jackson and Mears.

All the excitement was too much for Mears who had an angina attack on the night of the swap and could not go. DI Buggy took his place posing as Mears’ assistant.

After picking him up in Mears’ car and driving around London for a while Buggy was forced to alter the plan and arrest Jackson when he smelt a rat and made a break for it.

His real name was Edward Bletchley and in interview he claimed he was simply a middleman working for a mysterious Keyser Söze-like figure: The Pole.

What happened next is the subject of much debate but there are claims that Bletchley cut a deal with the police that if he was allowed a visit in prison by a lady friend the Cup would turn up. Two days later, a dog named Pickles succeeded where the whole of Her Majesty’s Royal Constabulary had failed when he found the Jules Rimet trophy wrapped in paper under a car near his owner’s home in Norwood, south London.

David Corbett was just popping across the road when his dog found the priceless item. He told The Observer in 2006: “I picked it up and tore some paper and saw a woman holding a dish over her head, and disks with the words Germany, Uruguay, Brazil. I rushed inside to my wife. She was one of those anti-sport wives. But I said, ‘I’ve found the World Cup! I’ve found the World Cup!’”

Surely even one of those famous anti-sport wives would have realised the significance of this and David ran straight down to the local Police Station to hand in his find, where he was promptly arrested for his trouble. Some people have no gratitude.

Eventually Corbett was released and him and Pickles became world-wide celebrities with Pickles even being named Dog of the Year, although you would hope so really given that no other dog in the running could lay claim to finding the World Cup.