Tournament report
Tournament report
‘Bexeter’ at GFSN 5-aside tournament in Brighton
The weekend began auspiciously with us arriving at our accommodation in Hove at exactly the same time on Friday evening as our team mates for the weekend, players from Exeter Lions. Mike, Brian and Sam introduced ourselves to Paul, Chris, Howie and Kevin and we stuck together for most of the weekend.
The first evening saw ‘Bexeter’ partying hard at Legends, with many beers and shots downed and some cools moves on the dance floor, before we drifted back to the hostel in the small hours. Unbreakable ties were formed, setting us up nicely for the football that was to follow the next day.
Saturday saw a beautiful sunny warm day dawn over the English Channel and, with one or two of us nursing hangovers, we headed for the Stanley Deason Leisure Centre on the outskirts of Brighton.
The tournament was split into two parts: leagues of 9 teams, followed by either a shield or vase knockout, depending on your placing in the league.
With Mike in goal for the whole tournament, Sam upfront and Brian defending, we kicked off against Stonewall 2. Both sides kept clean sheets as we drew against the eventual winners of the vase knockout competition. There followed a few results where we lost by one goal and a mixture of defeats and a victory against teams from around the country. We went through to the vase competition.
First up in the knockout competition was Birmingham Blaze and, with the game tied 0-0 at full time, we went to penalties. The first ‘sudden death’ spot kick for the Blaze hit the post and we were through to round two. We faced one of the three Leftfooters sides and, again, no goals were scored to separate the teams. Penalties again! This time with a host of spectators. Bexeter could not find the form of the previous penalty-taking, whereas Leftfooters found the back of the net from each of their kicks.
Tournament over, but Bexley Invicta and Exeter Lions had acquitted ourselves well. Sam is rumoured to be second-highest scorer in the tournament, with three goals, and Mike grew in confidence between the posts to become a formidable goal-stopper by the end. Brian’s personal highlight was sprinting back to catch a Merseyside player clear on goal and tackling him at the crucial point to send the ball into the side-netting.
>> Pictures of our game against Yorkshire Terriers and penalties against Birmingham Blaze.
Huge progress was made by the Bexley Invicta players and by the club itself during this tournament; we announced our arrival in the GFSN family.
Saturday night saw dinners together and further drinking, including at the dodgiest karaoke bar you can imagine. Drinks were drunk, songs were sung and we opted for an earlier night than Friday’s, after the exertions and emotional roller-coasters of the day.
Sunday morning: a late check out and a large English breakfast at a central Brighton Wetherspoons. The rain was just starting as we arrived back at Legends for the presentations. Congratulations to Stonewall 1 for winning the shield and to Stonewall 2 for success in the vase. Given the despondency that the weekend was at an end, it was fitting that the rain was pouring down as we prepared to part from our friends from Devon and head for home. A series of heartfelt hugs later and we trudged to the station with the memories of a fantastic time fresh in our minds.
My Bexley player of the tournament: too close to call between Sam and Mike.
Brian Silk
BIFC Team Manager for the Tournament
Saturday, 4 June 2011