Odyssey were delighted to take part in the Daisy Chain charity football event held at Powerleague in Stockton on Sunday 19th May 2013. .
It was an eye opening day for the Odyssey Allstars, as the team were comprehensively outplayed in all but one of their games on the day – but they went home with their heads held high in the name of charity.
It became frighteningly clear before the tournament began, that the other teams meant business. Obviously in a better psychical state and with better tactical nouse, Odyssey were on the receiving end of several drubbings.
The first game began quite well, the fast pace of the game seemingly working in Odyssey’s favour, until the opposition took the lead. The floodgates had opened.
McKenna was viciously hacked down by one of the opponents, only resulting in a wasted free kick. McKenna wasn’t the same for the rest of the afternoon and this, it seems, set the tone for the game ahead.
Despite trailing heavily, a rare chance was taken sublimely by Dowle, who was first to pounce on a rebound following Hay’s drive at the goal.
This turned out to be the last Odyssey goal, until game 5.
The next few games went by traumatically fast, with them all pretty much playing out the same way; Walters barking orders (to no avail), Roger regularly throwing the ball above head height (despite this being against the rules), and McKenna rolling over claiming a foul (or being a little girl).
The afternoon was summed up, quite spectacularly, by Finn, garnering laughs from the opposing teams when the following on-field conversation took place.
Walters: “Come on Rich! Keep up with your man! It’s like you’re chasing your shadow all game!”
Finn: “It is a pretty big shadow to be fair, James.”
Odyssey’s luck started to change by game 5, against “Grangetown”. The team started to get into more of a rhythm and started putting some good passes together, and though while still clearly and deservedly beaten, Odyssey managed to register a further two goals.
These came from a solid, almost Beckham-esque drive from the half way line from Walters, which still needed a bit of luck after the keeper let it slip through his fingers.
Hay registered his first goal of the tournament with a quick finish after the keeper could only parry it to him.
The next game came to a conclusion with Odyssey, again, failing to register on the score sheet.
Now, to summarise, that’s: 6 games played, 6 defeats, 3 goals, and about 40 conceded. That’s some pretty sorry reading.
The final game, it seems, turned out to be “The Decider”. Fat Boys FC had also lost all of their games. The winner of this final game would save their blushes, relegating their opposition to the dreaded bottom of the table.
Odyssey initially fell behind, but soon got back into the game with a lovely equaliser from McKenna, who had finally put his earlier injury behind him.
A 2nd goal for Fat Boys made it look like Odyssey were staring into the abyss. How could they turn up for work on Monday following a return of 7 games played, 7 defeats?
Luckily, this dreadful prospect seemed to spur them on.
Two quick goals from James “Daddy Cool” Hay turned the tide, before Walters scored 2 incredible goals, including one a spectacular free kick, to put the game to bed.
The final score was Odyssey Allstars 5 – Fat Boys FC 2.
Despite losing the other games, the Odyssey lot felt like champions after this performance.
At least they won’t get heckled too much in the office in the morning from the others?
Thousands of people across the country will be phoning their place of work this week to tell their employer’s that they unable to come to work. This scenario will be faced by many businesses over the coming weeks, cost millions of pounds in lost time and revenue. But what is the cause of this mass abandonment of desks?