December 1st and the church bells are chiming as I pull back the curtains and I am relieved to see the sun rising and blue skies. The last thing I needed was rain at our first Walking Football tournament.
I arrived at the Fair Game Sport Center at 8.00 a.m. to prepare for the arrival of the teams, Pafos Utd, Enad Panthers, Pafos Over 70’s, and Tremithousa Tigers.
We kicked off at 9.00 a.m. Each team would play each other once in a mini league. Three points for a win and one for a draw. The team at the top of the league would win the St Michael’s Hospice Charity trophy and medals.
Pafos Utd lost to Enad Panthers 1-3 and Tremithousa Tigers beat the Over 70’s 2-1. We had a tie on points after one game but Enad were top on goal difference. Enad then played the Tigers and it resulted in a 1-1 draw, with the same result between Pafos Utd and the Over 70’s. The top two positions were still shared on points but as we went into the final fixtures mathematically any team could win the trophy it was the perfect climax to the morning. As I moved from pitch to pitch keeping a track on both games Enad were starting to dominate against the Over 70’s and Pafos Utd scored against the Tigers. It was looking like we were heading for a clear winner as the final whistles blew, Enad won 6-0 and Pafos Utd won 1-0. Our champions for the first time were Enad Panthers.
It had proved to be an exciting morning of football played with a great sporting attitude and enthusiasm. As the players relaxed we prepared for the raffle and the winners presentation, made by our President David Hart.
The total raised on the day was just short of €900. This included a donation from the family of recently deceased David Geddes a big thank you. Also an additional donation from William Fyall, thank you.
I would like to say a big thank you to Ben Tumber and Pafos Utd for helping to organise the day, Andreas at Fair Game for his support, all the players and of course our referees Mark Hignett, Tony Watson & Les Sadler. Also Anne and Rachel for the raffle and Steve Ballard of SHS for the Alexa Echo in the raffle.
If you would like more info on our future events and view more photos and video from this event, please visit our website www.stmichaelshospicecharity.com or visit our Facebook page. You can also contact Robin at [email protected] or telephone 99258479.
