the cup

Ah Gymp,

SCW did have to concede one of the trophies on offer, and there is still some controversy within SCW ranks about how this came to pass. Allow me...

Had the Champions League format applied (which was the pre-tournament model), then the final would have been contested between Family Values United and the South Coogee Liberation Front, SCW's two proudest teams.
The trophy would now rest on a mantelpiece somewhere in south coogee, as carefully designed by the tournament's organisers. (The CL format I refer to is the one that says when two teams are tied at the end of the group stage, it comes down first to the result between those two teams, then for and against if the result a draw, and so on).

However, our Club Treasurer intervened before the penultimate game (in a move pundits argue was designed to protect his team's interests, adding fuel to the controversy) to make For and Against the decider. As a result, Family Values United were dumped out of the final on an inferior for and against count to hand the glamour and the glory (and the pain) of a finals berth to some outsiders called the Terriers. On the upside, FVU had first hit at the cold beers, and it was questionable whether they had any players left that could stand up let alone do the club proud in a final.

As fate would have it, the Terriers went on to win the final by golden goal, overcoming the South Coogee Liberation Front after the latter had established a convincing 2-0 lead. Seeing the outsiders lift the trophy, a glorious plastic lampshade designed during an acid flashback to the early seventies, was cruel. However, remembering back to Game 3 when Camikaze had hacked and abused the crap out of 2 of their players and a third had limped off took a lot of the pain away.

There were some redeeming results for the club, however:

a) The winner was beaten during the group stage by the Cardinal's Family Values United. So SCW is still better than them.

b) The golden boot went to Playmaker for most goals (anyone see that coming?), and for a high number of misses to complement the goals - as is the balance expected of any high calibre SCW striker.

c) The coveted white glass-light-covering-thing-mystery-object that signifies excellence went to Van Hankelroy for most valuable player, for missing the most number of sitters over the course of the afternoon - although this was a close contest.

d) There were no challengers to the SCW in the trouser sock dept, the other teams presumably content to focus on a competition they could feasibly win rather than be embarrassed below the belt.

So if virtue is a trouser snake, which it is, then SCW still stands tall this morning. If you read otherwise in the British tabloids, its no more than muckraking...

DJAA