Xmas Eve/DMW 59

From http://bvetsfootballgroup.blogspot.com/

What an excellent afternoon - perfect conditions and a huge turnout, including a few late additions to the expected teams. It made for a busy pitch, but for those of us that are getting on a bit - like me and Andy Gore - it made for a slightly easier ride - less gaps to trot into.

The late changes unbalanced the sides a little - the Youngsters ended up with 10 on their side against the mere 9 of the Oldies. We did not bad however and it was nip and tuck, with each side swapping goals until it was 3-3, which was the turning point, with a controversial decision from match referee Ian McRae not to award what the Oldies all thought was a stonewall penalty. The Youngsters immediately ran up the other end and scored in what was effectively a 2 goal swing.

Of course, as I will be reminded endlessly, the Oldies - i.e. me - had earlier missed a penalty - or should I say Ken Black saved it? Geordie had strayed in to the box and, what's more, had blocked a goal-bound shot as he did so. There were loud appeals from the Oldies, but there was silence from the other side for a few minutes, until Geordie, having obviously taken a few moments to consult with the Almighty, finally confessed and a penalty was awarded.

The final score was 6-3 to the Youngsters, but it was great fun - although painful for the likes of me who haven't even tried to kick a ball for over a year. We also had debuts from Bill Whyman -  who unfortunately pulled his hamstring after 15 minutes and ended up playing in goals for the rest of the match - and Raymond Tedeschi (Gerry Mullins' cousin). It was a nice mix of Wednesday and Friday night regulars plus a bunch of Veterans who only turn out for this occasion.

Here's the team line-up at the start:

Back l-r: Tyrie. Tedeschi, Kennington, Whyman, Ziegler, Hay (E), Black, Marshall, Williamson, McRae (ref), McCubban, Mullins and Stewart
Front l-r: Paterson, Lodge, Gore, Hay (R), Moir, Sharp and Trimble

It was then back to the Douglas for soup, sannies - and, of course, beer. We were joined there by Rob Dunnachie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Jamie Williamson. Dylan Tyrie and Andy Marshall's Dad, who was been a regular attender at these events. Here's the team line-up in the pub:

Rob Dunnachie is top left and Dylan Tyrie and Jamie Williamson are respectively 4th and 3rd right at the back, with Andy Marshall's Dad and Brian Fitzpatrick next to them.

It was quite a rake of drams for Dave to buy - thank the Lord he can afford it!

Eventually, one by one, chauffeur and chauffeuses - and the bus back to Aberdeen - turned up and people started to drift off. This made for some complications with the kitty and paying for the soup and sannies, but we got there in the end. There was, however, only £1.10 left in the kitty to donate to the Football Forecasts charity winner - unlike last year, when an amazing £30 was left over.

Weather dependent, there may be another outdoor match to celebrate the 24th Anniversary of BVFG's formation (3rd January, 1988) and/or Andy Gore's 65th birthday (28th December, 2011) - watch this space.

There was also interest from a few to attend the local Junior derby match next Saturday 31st December between Banchory St. Ternan and Culter. A walk there along the Deeside Way, then back to the Douglas to watch the teatime footy on TV - sounds good - watch this space again.