We are the champeens my friend!

The 2007 Sado Soccer League champeens

We played the final game of the season on July 8th against the team that we were joint top with, the evil black stripped 'Shoot Club', which is obviously an anagram of Succubus. It was winner takes all and the biggest game of the season.

Two things were significant in this game. First, Matt and I had been out the entire night before with the Niigata ALT football lads for a farewell do, getting no sleep other than two and half hours on the ferry home, which seemed like a time machine. We were still a bit reeking from a very late but great karaoke performance. Both Matt and I had differing orifices sending very threatening neural messages to our soused brains, that if we put on a pair of shorts and kicked a ball, they'd unleash their payload with as much fury as they could. The other point to note was that I have recently introduced one of the new young PE teachers from one of my schools to the team, and it was his first game. This new player turned out to be the best player I have ever played with. He was awesome! It turns out that he's played to a very high level in Niigata.

Having said that, we were down 0 - 1 at half time though we'd had the majority of possession in a pretty physical game. I was a bit shaky to say the least and I was actually booked, for the first time in my puff, for wellying some poor Shoot Clubber. I chopped him with an uncharacteristic flailing right foot though I wasn't the only guilty one, as every Destroyer seemed to hack this poor wee mite at some point in the match. The referee was bloody awful, but doing his best and I deserved the yellow card. At half time, I knew we were going to win. I couldn't put my finger on it, due to said orifice threats, but I knew we were going to do it. I was moved from midfield to attack in the second half and the change helped I think. Not because of my performance but because the guy they moved into my position played well. I managed to do a job and header the odd ball. Not long into the second half, good old Matt scored the first goal after a header was saved from a corner but not cleared. Matt punted the ball into the back of the net, making no mistake, and set us up for glory. We were all over them and Shoot Club should have been renamed Shat Club, as they were on the defensive big time. It wasn't long before we had another chance and Matt laid off a ball to another good player, Machan, who finished the move expertly. The crowd went bananas. From then on we were cruising and there was only the odd moment when we were under any pressure. The final whistle blew to conclude a great closing game to the 2007 Sado League. To be fair to Shoot Club they put in a typically brave Japanese performance though the score flattered them, in my opinion.

Our captain, Tsuyoshi, a very nice chap, was awarded the cup and the job was a good 'un. He even got the ice water box over the head a la NFL culture. After the disappointingly early exit from Nagano with the ALT team, this made it up for Matt and I, who have been enjoying playing with this nice bunch of Japanese lads. I'll be sorry to leave them.