Surbiton 2s 2 - 2 Indian Gym 1s (H)

Typically the 2s haven’t much enjoyed a game on the sabbath but with just two players in their 20s on the teamsheet, a Sunday afternoon seemed quite appropriate for a Dads & Lads day out.

Table topping Indian Gymkhana arrived at Sugden Road with a boombox and an army of fans and the bookies were for once offering good odds on a home win. Most of our side are too young to gamble and Dave Bartram was navigating Surrey without the A3 after a school rugby 7s tournament but the travelling support saw their accumulators ruined on a Sunday once again. It’s a mugs’ game after all.

Their bloke who’s really good at scoring scored a really good goal (even Dewi didn’t claim he’d have saved it) and I write this match report because I then gave him a couple of gos at easier chances. Fortunately he didn’t fancy diluting his gold standard and I wasn’t on the end of a point from Dewi’s Optimum rugby glove (the red ones this week, to match his smock, of course).

1-0 at half time became 2-0 after Q3 but the Dads formed a very solid foundation and the lads can really play. Personal highlights included how fast Conor Tinker is over five yards, Lars Hansen back like he’s never been away, Teddy Warner making great use of his re-gripped stick and Charlie Harrison thriving against an opposition and in front of a crowd that appreciated some dribbling. 

Doidge and Marshall had put on an aerial masterclass that the Red Arrows would have been proud of and long time 2s fans will have been filled with nostalgia by Surbiton pulling a goal back. Doidge. Aerial. Bartram. Trap. Goal.

The 2s were then awarded a stroke for the third week in a row from a Liam Doidge drag flick. Willie Marshall strode forwards. The umpires chatted for five minutes about whether Marshall could do this week what Jones and Doidge couldn’t the previous two weeks and decided it wasn’t worth the risk of making it three missed strokes in a row, so gave a long corner instead.

With time running out, we belted it into the D (when the Romans are in Surbiton…) and won a corner. The final whistle went. The Dads assembled.

The corner was charged down but dropped to the undisputed king of the Dads Race, the man used to playing Sunday League. Scott Evans shifted the ball onto his reverse and rammed the ball home. Fist pumps akin to Bryn at Gwen’s barn dance followed. Reference for the Dads there. Don’t gamble kids.