Philly Soccer Tournament
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Last weekend we took our motely Sunday league team to Philadelphia, PA for the annual Fado Cup soccer tournament. 4 games in one day is quite a bit for the old fellas, but we made a good showing. After a rocky start, a 0-1 defeat to “The Misfits”, we got back on track with victories against Chicago and Stamford. For my part, I scored the goal that put us through to the semis, and then slotted in the assist to the fella in the orange shorts, sealing the deal.
Embarrassingly enough, the tourney film crew caught my meager celebration on film. I hope to have a copy of the vid posted soon. If I’ve lost a strp on the pitch, then I’ve definitely lost all of my swagger in celebration. Who knew that I’d have to add goal celebrations to my training regime?
While the pitch was absolute rubbish, we did manage to put together a few decent football moves, including a handful of overlapping runs from the (balding) wing backs resulting in goals. Ollie, second from the left, top row, managed to volley in a screamer and a cheeky one-timer to clinch the win against Chi-town.
Our tournament came to an end against a fit and young Columbus side that plays together twice a week. A hand ball and own goal into the match, we found our legs a bit a held fast, but ended up losing 0-3. There’s a part of me that’s thankfull we didn’t make it to the finals, where a very good Atlanta team was waiting. They thumped Columbus 8-1 on their way to a second straight Fado Cup.
Beyond the footie, it was a weekend repleat with great quotes, including the insiteful scream of “I’m running!!!” by a defender as he called for the ball. The quote of weekend had to be “Sham, I’m bollocksed,” said by an anonymous teammate after one two many beers – and pouring one of those beers all over his crotch.
Ah, the pleasures of playing football with the Irish. It was a fantastic tournament – a big thanks to Fado for organizing the event, keeping us fed, hydrated and alive.