National Tournament - 3rd April 2004
A wind-swept Joseph Hood Recreation Ground was the scene for a fascinating Group Stage in this great tournament. First up, the hosts Wimbledon edged a 1-0 victory against Carshalton.
In the next game, Colliers Wood Wild Cats, playing into the wind, struggled to get out of their own half, but held on until the pressure eventually told and it was 1-0 to New Addington. That was a deficit that could have easily been overcome, but a second goal just before half-time was not what the doctor ordered. 2-0 behind at the break, but Ben sorted a few things out in his half-time talk, and the second half was much more keenly contested, but there were no further goals.
Game number 3 saw Colliers Wood Wild Cats in action again, this time against Carshalton. Despite playing into the wind once more, the first half was evenly disputed, and from a goal-mouth scramble Jeremy showed his killer instinct in netting our first goal in competitive 11-a-side football. In the second half, we managed to rattle the woodwork, gain lots of corners and learn a bit more about the offside rule, but couldn't find the net. A 1-0 victory was still very welcome, leaving us with two other teams on three points.
The 4th game was Wimbledon against New Addington. This game could have gone either way, but ended 2-2. With two points for a score-draw it put both teams on five points, and left us scrambling for a copy of the tournament rules and a calculator.
Game 5 pitted New Addington against Carshalton. We'd found a calculator, and cheered Carshalton on to give us a chance of still topping the table and qualifying automatically. This was a closely fought game, and Carshalton were unlucky to find themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline for the third time. The best we could hope for now was second place, and good news from the other groups.
New Addington now had eight points, which meant Wimbledon needed plenty of goals against us in Game 6 to get the top spot in the group. They had the advantage of the wind in the first half, and made full use of it, turning round 4-0 to the good. An early goal in the second half effectively stifled any hopes of a Colliers Wood revival, but we kept our spirits up and there was no further breach of our defences.
So the final table was:
| P | W | SD | NSD | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Wimbledon | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| New Addington | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| Colliers Wood | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| Carshalton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Next year we won't have the Year 8 players, but those who are now in Year 6 will be eligible, and I'm confident we can give the other Little Leagues a run for their money.
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This page last updated 22 March 2006