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The Magnificent Seven!
Cyril Ray Lewis28 Nov - 16:34
Coventry won their group, but were edged out in the final by Kicking Cancer
Coventry & District fielded a team to take part in a Charity Walking Football Tournament today at the home of Rushall Olympic in Walsall.
We started our games with only 7 players against teams of bigger squads of at least 10 or 11 players, Coventry won their group winning 2 and drawing 1 and went on to play Kicking Cancer, the winners of the other group in the final – but unfortunately lost out 1-0 in a closely contested final.
We welcomed a new player to put on the Coventry shirt – John Courtney who had a tremendous series and was deservedly voted man of the tournament for Coventry. And big thanks go to Bryce who stepped up to take the manager role when Colin was asked to join the referees, after a referee had dropped out. He joined Ken Badland to make up the 4 referees used in the tournament.
Leading up to the tournament it was proving difficult to get a squad of 10 players together, with so many players not available due to other commitments or injuries and a couple dropping out at the last minute.
I guess, you could say, that being short of numbers would work against us and it probably did a little in the final, but we were galvanised into a very efficient and hard-working unit, playing some good football and scoring 4 goals along the way – hence the Magnificent Seven!
Each group played 3 games of 20-minute duration, each with 10-minute halves and no breaks. We probably had a few minutes break between each game.
In our first group game we played WOW FC (Worcester Oncology WFC) and won 3-0 with goals from Ray, John and Phil. Our second game was tougher, playing Old Corinthians Clarets, but we eventually won by a single goal scored by Ray. In our final game, we came up against a very strong Alvechurch Foundation side and managed to secure a 0-0 draw in part to some good saves by Guy in goal. We competed well and did enough to edge out Alvechurch on points to win the group.
The final game started 5 minutes later and was another 20-minute game – this time against Kicking Cancer, who had won their group. They were a very strong side and playing for them they had some familiar Coventry faces in Bruce Doe, Colin Yates and Paul Feeny. Unfortunately, Bruce did not play in the final as their second goalkeeper came in. The game ebbed and flowed and Kicking Cancer were getting more ball possession as Coventry started to tire – but just when it seemed the game would go to penalties, their left winger hit a shot that was parried onto the cross bar by Guy only for it to fall agonisingly on the line and trickle over. Try as we might we could not find a goal against a very good side. Credit to Kicking Cancer for making it a good game and congratulations to them for winning the tournament.
The event was organised to raise funds for a local Prostrate Cancer charity, who were presented with a cheque for a whopping £1000!
It was a great day all round, raising money for a worthwhile cause, whilst playing the game we all enjoy, and with a fantastic effort from the whole squad and to Bryce for stepping up and managing the side to the final.
The Magnificent Seven were: Guy Rawson, Tony Malone, Phil Hutchings, John Courteny, Mick O’Connor, Cyril Ray Lewis and Phil Maund
Manager: Bryce Taylor
Report by: Cyril Ray Lewis
We started our games with only 7 players against teams of bigger squads of at least 10 or 11 players, Coventry won their group winning 2 and drawing 1 and went on to play Kicking Cancer, the winners of the other group in the final – but unfortunately lost out 1-0 in a closely contested final.
We welcomed a new player to put on the Coventry shirt – John Courtney who had a tremendous series and was deservedly voted man of the tournament for Coventry. And big thanks go to Bryce who stepped up to take the manager role when Colin was asked to join the referees, after a referee had dropped out. He joined Ken Badland to make up the 4 referees used in the tournament.
Leading up to the tournament it was proving difficult to get a squad of 10 players together, with so many players not available due to other commitments or injuries and a couple dropping out at the last minute.
I guess, you could say, that being short of numbers would work against us and it probably did a little in the final, but we were galvanised into a very efficient and hard-working unit, playing some good football and scoring 4 goals along the way – hence the Magnificent Seven!
Each group played 3 games of 20-minute duration, each with 10-minute halves and no breaks. We probably had a few minutes break between each game.
In our first group game we played WOW FC (Worcester Oncology WFC) and won 3-0 with goals from Ray, John and Phil. Our second game was tougher, playing Old Corinthians Clarets, but we eventually won by a single goal scored by Ray. In our final game, we came up against a very strong Alvechurch Foundation side and managed to secure a 0-0 draw in part to some good saves by Guy in goal. We competed well and did enough to edge out Alvechurch on points to win the group.
The final game started 5 minutes later and was another 20-minute game – this time against Kicking Cancer, who had won their group. They were a very strong side and playing for them they had some familiar Coventry faces in Bruce Doe, Colin Yates and Paul Feeny. Unfortunately, Bruce did not play in the final as their second goalkeeper came in. The game ebbed and flowed and Kicking Cancer were getting more ball possession as Coventry started to tire – but just when it seemed the game would go to penalties, their left winger hit a shot that was parried onto the cross bar by Guy only for it to fall agonisingly on the line and trickle over. Try as we might we could not find a goal against a very good side. Credit to Kicking Cancer for making it a good game and congratulations to them for winning the tournament.
The event was organised to raise funds for a local Prostrate Cancer charity, who were presented with a cheque for a whopping £1000!
It was a great day all round, raising money for a worthwhile cause, whilst playing the game we all enjoy, and with a fantastic effort from the whole squad and to Bryce for stepping up and managing the side to the final.
The Magnificent Seven were: Guy Rawson, Tony Malone, Phil Hutchings, John Courteny, Mick O’Connor, Cyril Ray Lewis and Phil Maund
Manager: Bryce Taylor
Report by: Cyril Ray Lewis
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