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Match reports, session one, 2006/07
And so, the HSA members felt a twinge in their index fingers, dropped everything and packed their gear up to descend on Duncan Way. One member reported that he was in the middle of cooking at the time and, feeling that instinctive urge to head to the Home of Subbuteo immediately, left all the hobs on. He retuned home after the weekend to find his kitchen gutted by the resulting blaze. It�s all part of the territory for those committed to the Green Green Beize of Home.
It was soon apparent, however, that �one of our dinosaurs was missing� as last-season�s runner-up, John �Willard� Porter, was a no-show. Already, Huntingdon�s local papers are rife with speculation as to why, some suggesting that his fianc�e Dawn, a �HSA WAG�, has lead him away from the game. Because of this, some of the local rags predict he will play this season behind her back, disappearing on �business meetings� in Europe, or to �an old mate� in Colchester. Let�s hope, if that�s the case, that sore nails or mumbling about Subbuteo in his sleep after a thrilling secret session won�t give him away. A sore nail is the Subbuteo equivalent of lipstick on your collar to your HSA WAG.
On this occasion, it was 4 HSA-ers that showed up, wide-eyed and eager for those �teenage flicks� that only Subbuteo in the top flight can provide. They came from the HSAs most famous families, The Butlers and Porters. Tom flew the flag for the latter whilst the Butler Brothers, Darren and David, and their dad, Mr B, saw the former restored to a full compliment with the return of David from his self-exile abroad, following his devastating last-gasp defeat to his nemesis Darren.
First up, Tom Porter, playing under the new name of �Red Star Bluegate� (RSB) following his stadium move, met Mr B � Dad�s Army (DA). RSB, who finished 3rd above DA last year, scored early to emphasise their superior finish. The goal underlined that Mr B hadn�t sorted out his �dodgy keeper� label, as he failed to move his goalie to attempt to deflect Porter�s well-placed shot. After the goal, however, Mr B sprung into life: he was on his home turf and he bossed it, confidently stroking the ball around the pitch. Despite creating the game�s best chances he could not get his shots on target and when he did, RSBs keeper was on hand to beat them away. Tom also created some good chances, but the nerves of having been put under the kosh for so long seemed to have got to him as he squandered his opportunities. In the end, however, it didn�t matter, as his early goal was enough to give him the three points and elevate him to the top of the league for the first time in the club�s history � a proud moment for him, the Porter family and Godmanchester.
There was no time to bask in the glory of this accomplishment � not even for a well-earned cuppa, as, after recovering from his Subbuteo-induced breakdown, came the HSAs forgotten man, Dave Butler, also playing under a new name � �Nails of the Unexpected� (NOTE). The Subbuteo community reckoned he might never play Subbuteo again after his last taste of action � the last-gasp defeat at the hands of his arch-rival and sibling, Dazza, which saw the older brother snatch the league title from under David�s nose with quite literally the last flick of the season. It was a defeat that kick-started David�s breakdown and subsequent self-exile abroad. He later reported that his next memory after the defeat was two months later when he awoke in a Mexican brothel covered in tattoos calling for revenge for his defeat. On the other hand, for Dazza, it kick-started the best period in his Subbuteo career as he went on to retain the league title in the subsequent year. For David it was a period of rebuilding as he roamed South America seeking answers as to how it all went wrong, and plotting his revenge.
David�s return to action saw him play Tom Porter�s RSB. Porter�s tough defence proved difficult to break down until an unforced error gave the Unexpected an opening just before the end of the first half. He made no mistake to go 1-0 up and Red Star were left rueing their defensive lapse as the team�s changed ends. The second half saw NOTE double their lead and rob RSB of the HSAs much-coveted top spot.
Dazza had a chance to extend his lead in the next match where he faced Tom, whose team had pushed him close last season, only just losing 2-1. The first half underlined how close a match this would be as Red Star were solid in defence, limiting Dazza to only a few chances which he failed to put away. The Mustangs emerged after the break as if in a rush to open the scoring, and eventually did so after a string of three successive corners stretched the RSB defence to breaking point. Two minutes later it was 2-0 as a Bluegate defender gave away possession in his own half. There was no way back for Porter, and his misery was complete when he lost the ball under pressure in the last minute and the defending champion put the chance away for an eventually comfortable 3-0 victory that gave him 8 goals and six points from his opening two matches.
Dazza stayed at the table for the eagerly awaited reunion on the green beize with his brother David. The shift of the balance of power between the two is underlined by the startling statistic that it is now four years since David has recorded a HSA victory over Subbuteo�s new champ. In this era of the Mustangs, could David reclaim his control of the HSA? In the first minute he had a chance that he must�ve dreamed of whilst away from the HSA plotting his revenge � a clear one-on-one with the keeper. He flashed it wide and an early opportunity to stamp his authority on the game had gone. It proved even costlier a few minutes later when Dazza crashed the ball home from a not-as-easy position � a good couple of inches separated ball and man, but he got hold of a thunderbolt of a shot and the keeper was beaten by sheer force. The referee, who appeared to shout �Yes!� in celebration of the goal, is currently under investigation for infringing refereeing impartiality rules.
That was to be Darren�s only shot as David took the initiative and launched attack after attack. The Mustangs proved equal to them, constantly producing goal-saving blocks to force the Unexpected to deflect the ball toward goal. It was not until midway through the second half that David got one of these deflections right, looping the ball over the defender and cruelly trickling it toward goal at a deceptively slow pace. The keeper was through his save too early and the game was back all-square. The following minutes saw David probing the Mustangs defence as before, but the defending champion�s resistance was strong and the game finished 1-1.
David will look back to his first-minute miss, the only clear chance the stubborn Mustangs defence gave him. You can�t miss chances at this level and expect to win. Darren will take heart from a match where his defence passed a thorough examination, and where he took a point despite being under pressure for most of the game. He reported after the game that �It was great to renew my acquaintance with my fellow HSA members, especially my old rival, Butler Giants [now NOTE]. There were some great games on Saturday, and it is nice to see that the title race is nicely poised. I can promise my supporters some exciting play over the next few games, as one thing is for sure....with the Mustangs you never know what to expect.�
David therefore needed a 7-0 win over his dad to reclaim the top spot on goal difference � he fell one short, leaving the league beautifully poised with the two Butler brothers completely level with identical records.
And so ended a thoroughly entertaining opening day of the season - if there is something better than a couple of guys meeting on a Saturday afternoon to make battle on the Green Beize, then I�m yet to find it. Could the season, as it did two years ago, go right down to the wire? There�s absolutely nothing to separate the Butler Brothers. If Willard sits out this season, Tom Porter�s Red Star Bluegate and Mr Bs Dad�s Army will be left to take points off a Butler brother for the first time in the return matches to prevent another nail-biting, hair-pulling, breakdown-inducing end-of-season title decider.
HSA 2006/07 table and results at-a-glance