Kick off at Maiden Castle
The sun had set. The floodlights were beaming. 8pm on a mild Wednesday Halloween evening: three Butler teams occupied the hallowed turf of the Maiden Castle astro pitch. While Butler ladies played out their encounter against St Mary’s ladies on the adjacent pitch, the first titanic showdown of the Butler men’s football teams allowed Matt Clarkson, B team captain, to go face to face in pitting his wits against Ben Alexander, captain of the A Team, in the astro 6 a-side league. Evidently it would be a vital match not only for league standings, but also for early bragging rights in the college banter stakes.
Matt Clarkson set the ball rolling as the B team, adorned in a variety of kit colours, kicked off the first half with the A team carrying the traditional Butler red.
The As wasted no time in establishing quality possession, with some reassured touches on the ball. The B team, although working hard, were mostly confined to their own half in the opening minutes. The first clear chance fell to Mark Stichbury breaking through the B’s defence after having been fed from the right by Ben Alexander. Stich beat the defence, but not the keeper as club president, Rich Monaghan, who was making a cameo appearance for the B team, got down low to tip the ball around the edge of the post for a corner. Ben then had a good chance to break the deadlock himself after finding time on the ball, but Rich was again match for it.
Pressure told, however, when the A team took the lead just after half time. This particular journalist happened to miss the goal as he was too busy attempting to take photos, which nevertheless produced a fairly fruitless yield. A reliable source, who shall remain anonymous for his own benefit, recounts the goal:
“A deflected pass was well judged by Stichbury, latching onto the ball before Chris Eleftheriades. Stichbury brought the ball down with one touch, danced a couple of step-overs and jinked around a much bamboozled Eleftheriades before powering towards goal. Stichbury composed himself, picked his spot and nonchalantly rifled a shot past Rich into the bottom left corner.”
It should be mentioned at this point that although the A team had kindly lent the B team their regular 11 a-side keeper, they then proceeded to knock him out. Striker George Boddy, racing in on goal, collided with Rich Monaghan, leaving the net empty for Alex Game to side-foot the ball home. The Bs were forced into replacing Rich, who was unaware of the goal, as he stayed down for some considerable time
At the other end, Ian Haran, playing in goal instead of his preferred midfield position, pulled out a couple of solid saves as the Bs threatened to make a game of it, but they were unable to find a way back into the game before full time approached.
Final score: Butler A 2-0 Butler B
A team:
George Boddy
Mark Stichbury
Paul Bowden
Ben Alexander
Ian Haran
Phil Yates
Alex Game
James Cregan
B team:
Ollie Bamford
Matt Clarkson
Naz Narracott
Phil Mhina
Chris Eleftheriades
Chris Savage
Rich Monaghan
Butler College ‘Mound‘ Magazine
Posted by tomlfoley 
