Another defeat for the “A” team.
Firstly, thanks to Dave Smith and Scott Smith for arranging the extra players: Simon Graney, Liam Murray, Nick Danks and Dan Young. Also, thanks to Greenwell for saying he’s going to turn up and actually turn up.
The so-called “B” team was as follows: Dave Simpson, Simon Graney, Liam Murray, Scott Smith, Chris Taylor, Nick Danks, Dan Young, Davinder Sangha (replaced by Wayne Greenwell), Michael Garrett, Wayne Ramsey, Stephen Conlin
Couldn’t really call them a “B” team as such, and more of a Sassco XI. The A team was as follows: Dave Smith, David Oxley, Mark Muers, Paul McConville, Chris Dixon, Dave Gourlay, Lee Ramsay, Callum Howe, Scott Hembrough, Dan Campbell, Anthony Pearson
We had various drop outs and a couple of no-shows. However, I was sort of prepared for this and made sure everyone attempted to bring one or two players.
Callum Howe opened the scoring as the “A” team were resplendent in the new shirts (sponsored by The Bunker), however it didn’t all go well. A resilient performance from the Sassco XI backline, with Scott Smith and Chris Taylor being outstanding, so them recover from the wind against them and the mini-onslaught. The first half remained at 1-0.
Second half saw a more sure performance from the XI, as they had several chances. Titch, having missed a first half sitter, clipped the crossbar and Greenwell hammered in the equaliser. More chances came and went, with Garrett and Wayne Ramsay having much improved second halves. Eventually the XI team went ahead when Simon Graney deftly chipped the ball over an advancing Dave Smith.
Somehow, the scoring ended there. XI were catching Sassco on the break, but at the other end, the team were camped in the XI penalty box. Shots were cleared off the line and Simpson made several spectacular saves to keep the second half scoresheet clean.
So, once again, the XI team defeated the first eleven. McDermont and Pearson were missing, but the “A” team had the advantage of having the prolific Scott Hembrough at the helm. Take him out of the equation and the XI team could have had a much more comfortable game.