Some say ‘It’s a funny old game Saint’. Others ‘It’s a game of two halves’.
Well certainly in the case of this match both statements were true with a first half where we weren’t in the ground to a second half dogged fight back only to be robbed of certain comeback glory by a Yuri Geller million cushions with a kiss in the hole 8 ball. Goodbye home record….
Pre Match.
The Canaries boys once again showing the support for the cause with a great turnout giving Mr.‘Superman/Smug git/Manager’ some tough decisions for order of play.
In addition Mr G put his excel nerdy expertise on show with some spanking team and stat sheets which really got the Hearts boys a talk'n, mostly about how little work he must do in the office to have the time to produce such statistical wonders.
First Half Norwich 2 – Herts 4
Oh dear. The first two frames are key, and we can’t seem to win them for love nor money. We seem to get better the more we drink. I’ve known about the performance enhancing qualities of beer for years (ask my missus), but it was good to see it in action. Locutus started off well but the first frame curse stuck again with a ‘resistance isn’t futile’ comeback by the jocks. Hard luck 7 of 9.
Then came the boy Chris ‘We only want a warm up game Mr KGB’ Kadis. After a sound display last week this was an unlucky frame which was snatched from us with some cautious play from the tartan army. Colours!
Two more slow yet steady frames from Hearts saw off the valiant efforts of Brian and Jon, with both frames just about going the distance. So close yet so far. Thus far the ‘rod of God’ has not proved to be the ‘sword of omens’ we had hoped.
0-4 down. A revenge hiding and a short cup stint were on the cards for the yellows. No pressure on the next game. If I lost we were thumped like a John Terry head injury.
Somehow I managed to get the better of the leper arm that had ruined my warm up game against the right said Fred KGB dudes and put in a steady performance. I was lucky really as I wasted two chances to finish it and only won the game with a nervy yet sound long pot on the black to left bottom. The fat bloke was gutted and couldn’t even look me in the eye. Hahaha! The rod had obeyed it's master.
With a small yet pungent gust of fresh air on our sails it was now the turn of Mr Captain/Smug Git/Superman/Ace Rimmer to bring some meaty justice to the final game of the singles campaign. Wearing the green’s this week our own Christiano Ronaldo impersonator didn’t disappoint and pulled the frame into our favour with a decent exhibition of his long potting skill and a couple of sound safety’s. Well done bloke – What a guy!
With the first half over we were still in it – just. Was another comeback on the cards? The game was taking a course somewhat similar to the previous encounter and the mental advantage was with the yellows going into the doubles despite the score being 2-4.
Second Half Norwich 2 – Herts 1
Some clever doubles selections by Lieutenant Green promised to mix it up a bit. Hopes were high for another doubles bonanza.
So the first no pressure must win game was to be played by the new exciting duo of Bloke and Chris K. With a loss to the KGB in the warm up still fresh in our minds a righteous dishing out of tactical skill was required. Things didn’t start well. My break off looked like some won had spilt loctite on the pack as nothing moved. Fortunately our tactics paid off with some cautious development of the pack and a bloke cannon special to middle pocket to boot.
Chris the boy wonder put in some great potting to set up bloke for a straight but tricky black to left middle. Job done. Good work Chris.
Then up were Jon and Mr Captain fantastic. A great start for the boys in yellow but a couple of missed chances for glory had everyone on the edge of their seat. With the black in a seemly safe position the Hearts boys unleashed a hit and hope smothered with Jam shot that saw the black take a tour of the pub and surrounding area before having a knock off the white which saw it sail into the top right pocket!
As we watched the black fluke into the pocket the hopes of cup glory vanished like a beer in Andy Fordham’s pub. The Hearts boys went mental.
Gutted! We weren’t great tonight but didn’t deserve that.
So with the cup gone it was up to Seech and the Borg collective to nail the last for pride and the badge. And the boys did just that very convincingly. Great frame guys.
Well done to Hearts though who got the job done with some excellent play in the first half where the game was really won. Hard luck yellows. If we can nail some more of the singles we will be a pool juggernaut on course to whoopass ville.
Final Score Norwich 4 – Herts 5
Well thanks to the kind votes of my fellow players I was nominated as man of the match for having the only clean sheet over two games of the night ( not smug). Thanks guys. Do I get a medal if I make it 3 in a row?
Next game and stats to be sent out Ace Rimmer in due course.
MOTM: Brendan "Bloke" O'Connor
pix to follow ..
Friday, March 23, 2007
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