Jokers 3 - 1 Woking MO50s (H)
By Jim Sayer
South Masters Mens O50 Premiership
Team: Tony Haycroft GK (Capt), Steve Todd, Nick Sait, Jim Sayer, Chris Beaney, Richard Beaney, Martin Dye, David Barnicoat, Paul Dowthwaite, Rob Stone, Luke Michael, Andrew Wingfield, Charles Revill, Paul Gyles
Umpires: Glyn Jones and Alex McKee Many thanks
In a game of the proverbial two halves, the Jokers defeated Woking Piranhas 3-1 to bounce back well from last weekend's defeat.
Despite Gylesy's gnarled and bloodied pre-game appearance, the oppo didn't seem unduly frightened and took the lead somewhat against the balance of play. The Jokers rallied though and pressure and pace from Wingers, Dick and Luke saw the latter restore parity before the break.
The lights came on at half time and the Jokers began to shine. Ravvers was classy in the middle of the park and, along with strong displays from Stoner, Dowthers, the returning Charlie R, and Gylesy, began to connect, create and dominate the game.
The defence was strongly marshalled by Big T, Toddy and Dave B in the middle, and Chris B, Saity and Jim S began to make some progress down the flanks. Dick B made it 2-1 with a well-timed diving finish before Jim S broke his goalscoring duck late on to put the game beyond doubt.
Well played, Jokers: strong performances all round, no cards and some lovely whole team passing moves in the second half. There were no obvious DOD candidates, which is usually a good sign, but congrats to Saity for taking the title nevertheless.