A 3 - 1 victory set the Vets up for a good Christmas. Pete Terry continued his comeback with 3 goals in a good spirited match. 2 - 0 at half time was increased to 3 - 0 before OEs gained reward for their persistence.
On Boxing Day the annual Memorial game between Southampton (OTs) and OEs resulted in a 7 - 3 win to Southampton. Fielding mostly under 18s supported by Mark Cozen, Mike Foulds, Chris Ellis and Martin Hannant Southampton quickly moved into a 3 - 0 lead through Chris Ellis, Chris Stokes and Matt S zwinto, only to see OEs make a storming come back. Wholesale substitutions at half time increased the average age by some years and resulted in more goals flowing in Southampton's favour. Neil Harber (2), Jon Day and Mark Cozens made the most of their chances.
As is now becoming traditional, on the other pitch some 30 plus players enjoyed the winter's morning with a gentle run around. A good mixture of youth and experienced ladies and gentlemen took to the pitch and stroked the ball around with amazing precision, considering the Christmas spirit that abounded.
With matches thin over Christmas it was even more disappointing to see the snow necessitating all but two of the games on Saturday. I am sure that there were some who took to their sledges and enjoyed themselves equally as much.
The two games that were played were:
The Vets match was a traditional visit to the hills of Marlborough. The home side took an early lead but this was cancelled out when Robin Meacher finished off a Simon King's shot. Pete Terry continued his Christmas feasting with two before half time before Marlborough got back to 3 - 2. Geoff Danby's got one at a short corner strike and Keith Finch finished off the fifth for a well-earned victory. I heard snow on the Salisbury plain slowed the journey home which may well take over from fog on the Hogs Back for a laborious journey home.
The Men's first took on Bournemouth from the Hants/Surrey league in a seasonal friendly. Both sides were intent on playing the ball about and the midfield saw much of the early play. Two quick breaks from Bournemouth caught the Southampton defence napping and square passes found an unmarked player in front of Andy Rowe in goal. Fighting hard to get back into the game Chris Ellis clawed one back only to see his effort cancelled out within seconds at the far end. Chris Stokes then scored his 150th goal for the club when his deflection at a short corner caught Bournemouth asleep. Ed Danby found himself on the edge of the D and nobody wanting to tackle him, so he shot to bring the score all square at 3 - 3. With both sides moving the ball well Bournemouth again took the initiative to move to 4 -3. Chris Stokes brought Southampton back from the edge and the game looked to be ending in an exciting draw. However Jimmy Millar was comfortably bring the ball out of the D when two heavy tackles saw Bournemouth with the ball and then score for a 5 - 4 victory. A good game of promise and potential for the second half of the season.
Happy New Year to you all.
Roger Merry