Stingers bite back........

The Classics again entertained a team on the artificial turf at Newton Athletic in a drizzly encounter with the Stingers. Although they have been 'fantastic on the plastic' the question is will they ever play on grass again? The game set off at a blistering pace and the Classics almost took the lead in the first few minutes when an Alf Deglan shot came back off the cross-bar. There was lots of huff and puff from both sides with Stingers using their nine substitutes so often that it looked like they were all on long pieces of elastic.

The game was evenly matched but the Classics just couldn't get into their usual stride. Gone was the fluent football from last week and passes were going so astray that the match resembled more of a Sunday morning amateur pub team game. With several players, including the team photographer, missing in action it looked like being a long, hard slog. Deglan had several shots but all came to nought as did Manny Soucker's efforts. Soucker (of the 'Amazing Technicolour Coat' fame) did try a bicycle kick at one stage but it just went to prove that all German bicycles need to be provided with stabilisers.

Bruce Cook was doing his best to hold up the play up front but he wasn't getting the necessary service to make the most of it. The Classics did get a breakthrough in the 35th. minute after a great centre from Jim Eden deep on the left wing was met by Cook at the far post. Cook executed the perfect header and powered the ball down and into the net for the opening goal. The goal was Cook's 127th. for the team and he is now joint leading all-time scorer with Eden. Stingers came close to equalising with time running out on the first half and they were unlucky when a shot came back off the cross-bar but it was the Classics who held the slender lead as the teams left the field for the half time break.

Stingers came out all guns blazing in the second half and stung the Classics with an equalising goal in the first two minutes of play. A long through ball had Dave Moore, Chas Jones and Chuck McGill all going for the same ball, but Moore's eventual overhead clearance fell nicely to one of the Stingers players who wallopped it from distance into the top left hand corner of the goal, giving Garry Hackel no chance. During the second half period John Wilson was playing just like Rooney. Unfortunately, we never realised that Mickey Rooney had such poor ball control!

The remainder of the game was one of cat and mouse with both teams vying to take the upper hand but both teams negated each other. In the end a draw was a fair result in what will be remembered as a well fought game between two evenly matched sides. There was a special award at the end of the game for the loyalty and enthusiasm shown by Fisher Crockett who arrived at the field early, in fact very early. Unfortunately nobody remembered to tell Crockett that the clocks had gone back one hour so the aptly suitable "crap" award was ceremoniously handed over and was graciously accepted.

Final Score 1-1 (1-0)

Stats:
B. Cook equalled the all-time scoring record with his 127th. goal
Sin binned: J. Eden (retaliation)
You were crap award: F. Crockett