Well, I have to make apologies for this double-whammy match report.  The following paragraphs are ‘rubber stamp’ jobs because I’m writing them from a hotel room in Calgary and about to fly to the gambling capital of the world to win my fortune on the slot machines (VEGAS BABY, VEGAS…!!!).  

[Don’t worry – I will not forget you all, and will make sure that you are all rewarded with a small token of my appreciation while I am lounging in my penthouse suite sipping on a pina colada and generally enjoying the fruits of my ill-gotten gains…. ].

WAINUIOMATA 1 – BNU PRETENDERS 3 (9th May)
Aaah well – this was an away game that we were looking forward to – apparently it was the much easier of the two Wainui sides, and we were pretty confident (a little too confident perhaps???).  BUT, when we arrived, we were not really surprised to see that they had stacked their side (sneaky…!) so it might not be the walkover we had hoped for...  Not to be outdone, we were determined to come away with a win, and I’m relieved to say that we delivered!  

Throughout the game, we were the better side and had plenty of opportunities but just didn’t manage to convert them all.  This was in no small way due to their super-loud and brightly attired goalkeeper…. Man, she was good (and really, really annoying!).  

Thankfully, the first goal came when a close-range shot from Jo slipped through the goalie’s hands, bounced nicely for Jules to put it away and BANG – we were 1-0 up.  After half time, we knew we had to step it up a bit because their counter-attacks were looking dangerous.  So, it was a big relief when Jules took a shot from the corner of the box and, despite their annoying keeper getting a touch, the shot was just too powerful and it bobbled its way across the line (phew!).  Unfortunately, they also managed to slip one in the back of our net while we weren’t looking… (1-2) but we made a nice recovery and got ourselves a cushion of 2 goals when Jo made one of her trademark runs and scored a long range goal (yay!).  

The final score was 3-1 to us – nice.  A few drinks back at the clubhouse and Kirsten was the nominated player of the day… solid as ever at the back and kept the potential for goal-scoring damage to a minimum.  


BNU PRETENDERS 1 – STOPOUT 9 (23rd May)
The less said about this game the better (and I can also hear those slot machines beckoning… ker ching!!!).  

The score-line says it all… it was our biggest thumping of the season so far (but at least we managed to keep them down to single figures!).

It all started with the schoolgirl opposition getting lifts to the game and their pushy Mums and Dads making themselves heard from the sideline…   AND, they also had a significant psychological edge (apparently they’d beaten another team 23-0… surely not?!?!?).

We held off the first goal for about 15 mins but then the floodgates opened… Coach Daniel turned up in his suit some time into the first half and it looked like we were about to be rescued by Alex Ferguson telling us what to do.  It’s at this point I should point out that Daniel was offended by the Ferguson comparison and mentioned some foreign name… an Italian manager perhaps?  But I can’t remember who it was… sorry!

Of course, the glass is ‘half-full’ for us Brooklyn girls and the highlight for us started at the half-way line some time in the first 45 minutes when Jules sent a fast, low ball into the Stopout half which was expertly chased down by Jess (the fastest girl in the league…!!!).  Outrunning everyone in sight, she really showed the whippersnappers how it should be done, and powered an outstanding goal past the goalkeeper.  Nice…

But, despite the professional image of a smartly-suited manager shouting abuse from the sideline, the ever-increasing goal difference could not be stemmed.  Safe to say that we let in quite a few soft goals (but even more hard ones) and our fate was sealed...

We retired to the clubhouse for a few beers and biscuits, and once more, our player of the day was Kirsten.  Here’s hoping Coach Daniel/Ferguson/Italiano won’t have to negotiate any million dollar transfer offers – we certainly can’t afford to lose her…

Jules