Match Report. 78cc vs Shipham AFC

Ah, the beautiful game, with it’s ebb and flow and natural drama, and oh, the timeless wonder of the english countryside! A ramble up the Mendips on a Sunday morning is a simple and spiritually nourishing pleasure.

Fortunately for the travelling 78’s the steep gradient of the Shipham pitch presented an opportunity to combine both amateur football and hill climbing for 90 minutes in the gorgeous Somerset sunshine.

Earlier in the week the gaffer had issued a strategy memo to the squad. Not wishing to complicate matters only two tactics were to be employed:

a. Turn up with a full compliment of players.

b. Turn up with at least one football.

Well, we brought two balls but only ten men. An incremental improvement on the previous game it must be said. As we exited the changing room someone slyly pointed out the de-fibrilator bolted to the side of the clubhouse…

We won the toss and opted to play against gravity first half, aiming to get to half time perhaps with the scores even. But when the whistle went we were 4-0 behind, so despite playing down the slope second-half, we were facing an uphill struggle.

We’d had some chances in the first half, and had more in the second, but only put one away – Phil and debutante James linking up down the left, executing a lovely one-two before James finished.

We went down 7-1 in the end, but considering we played a man short on the side of a small mountain, and Shipham seemed to make substitutions every 5 minutes, this was a valiant defeat.

As we struggled, exhausted, back up the clubhouse steps, Alex stumbled forward and nutted the de-fibrilator.