Ossie's Further Footie Meanderings ....

[Workingman]

Ossie, you do know that all this running around, in a fossil fuelled car, to watch man-sized Subbuteo games makes you a climate change menace? Also, don't forget all the server power to make your posts available to the World.

What the hell, I enjoy reading them.

But what on earth is a Bombay Potato and Spinach Vegan Pasty. Can't you get them without the Vegan? I'm not keen on Vegans (spinach or not), there's no meat on them.

[TheOstrich]

But what on earth is a Bombay Potato and Spinach Vegan Pasty.

A good question, and one which I was asking myself everytime I took a bite from it. It might have tasted better heated, but then again ......

My Thursday night U23s match was indeed postponed, and tomorrow I don't think I'll be straying far in the fossil-fueled car due to the prevailing weather conditions. Everything down here is simply soggy.

[cromwell]

But what on earth is a Bombay Potato and Spinach Vegan Pasty.

A good question, and one which I was asking myself everytime I took a bite from it.

Great read Os, and staying near home seems a good option atm.

[victor]

What a great read,well done that man

Sent from my SM-A127F using Tapatalk

[TheOstrich]

Thank you both! I did manage to get to a match last Saturday afternoon as the rainfall in Dorset has been relatively mild compared with "oop norf" and Milborne Port's excellent social media posted that they had passed an early morning pitch inspection. Full game report to follow ....

Master O somehow managed to obtain a ticket for Saturday's Worthing v Yeovil game, Vic, his place of work being situated 10 minutes walk from the ground. Not sure who he was supporting, though! He thoroughly enjoyed it and Yeovil won 1-2 to confirm their position as league leaders.

[Kaz]

Bombay potato and spinach!!

Glad you managed to get to a game this weekend, it has been awfully wet!

[cromwell]

I suppose that Axminster 'piled' on the pressure?

[TheOstrich]

Crommers

It's another wet, miserably cold, winter's day here in Dorset so a quick update (Part 1, anyway) on how Ossie’s Grand Plan to watch 17 Particular Named Teams this season is going - or rather not!

The whole, carefully planned and choreographed shooting match this year has been totally derailed, firstly by the wretched Hamworthy Recreation FC embarking on a lengthy cup run in the FA Vase, cancelling a key league fixture in my itinerary on the way, and then by various Named Storms wiping out other further planned games, and leaving me scrabbling to find any matches at all being played in this neck of the woods.

Saturday 21st October was indeed one of those days, with my planned game at Downton falling to an early morning pitch inspection; in the event local side Milborne Port tweeted they were going ahead so a quick dash down the A30 saw me pull into the Village Hall car park where the renowned Pendragonwood Mobile Fruit and Veg van was just packing up from a morning’s community market. Masterminded by the resourceful Nikki, they seem to have a regular round of local villages at the west end of the Blackmore Vale, and I managed to wheedle the last remaining (rather small) cauliflower off her for a slightly over-the-odds £2. On a cold afternoon, I also indulged in a very welcome mug of tea; they be on sale from the changing room office at £1 a throw, but be warned, the electricity supply there appears to be powered by hamsters as the kettle takes 10 minutes to boil.

I was able to watch a couple of games, Milborne Port losing 1-2 to the prosaically-named Portland United Youth Panthers FC in a Dorset League Division 1 fixture, and Milborne Port A defeating Evercreech Sports 3-1 in the Yeovil & District League, the latter being the more entertaining match.

The following Saturday again went right down to the wire with heavy rain leading to games being called off left, right and centre, but I discovered at the last minute that Sturminster Newton United’s Dorset Premier League match with Portland United Reserves was going ahead, and at least they’ve got cover there (after a fashion), so a rather rapid 10-mile drive south, dodging large puddles, saw me take the last car-parking space at Critchels Field. I last visited Stur’s neat and tidy ground in January 2022, and since then they have since acquired, and set out behind the stand, an inter-linked series of 11 large white 1,000 litre plastic containers, purporting to contain variously (according to the labels on them) formaldehyde, castor oil, hydrochloride and fine wine amongst other things - but in reality I guess it’s some sort of rainwater storage system for pitch watering. A heavy deluge led to their LED floodlights being switched on at half-time; the first time I’ve seen them in action, and impressive they are to. I like visiting Stur - you get a complementary chocolate Hobnob with your half-time cuppa, and a ham and salad bun at £1.60 also nicely filled a gap!

This was an entertaining game between two well-matched sides which Stur just shaded 3-2. It looked like one of the linesmen hadn’t been able to make it, so a young, track-suited lass took the flag on my side and did find herself in the spotlight on 29m - the home side’s no.11 headed home but the lass flagged him offside. The referee came over to talk to her but she firmly stood her ground, and the goal was chalked off. And as luck would have it, Portland promptly went up the other end and opened the scoring, their no.10 deftly back-heeling the ball over the line in the midst of a goalmouth melee!

A comedy moment in the second half when Stur’s keeper hit a clearance straight at an attacker, then hit the rebound straight at another opponent, and then hit the second rebound against a third Portland player before eventually scrambling it clear!

Saturday 4th November was another rain-affected day, but an interesting fixture emerged at the local rugby club. Selected Saturdays throughout the season are deemed to be “blank” by the RFU to allow any previously postponed league fixtures to be rescheduled - this was one such day. North Dorset didn’t have any catching up to do, so they’d arranged a Friendly against a touring side, RK Speed.

Now, a bit of history. Well, sort of. The Battle of Peonnum took place either in 660AD or 1016AD, either just up the road here at Penselwood on the Somerset/Dorset border or at Penenden Heath in Kent, and involved either Edmund Ironside versus Cnut, or two completely different combatants entirely. Recollections, as someone important once said, may vary.

Anyway, for some reason best known to the committee, back in October 2016, North Dorset rugby club decided to commemorate the 1,000 year anniversary of this epic (which they rather tenuously claimed had been fought on their campus - hence the name Slaughtergate) and staged a Sunday festival with a hog roast, medieval craft fair, mock skirmishes and a friendly between their Colts and, to represent the Vikings, RK Speed’s U17s. Hence the link between the two clubs.

RK (Rugbyklubben) Speed hail from Kastrup, Copenhagen and are one of the top club sides in Denmark. Their U17s gave a very impressive performance of the Viking equivalent of the Haka on the day, involving a lot of drumming and sword banging on shields, but were duly turned over 39-19 by their hosts. Today, their 1st team, who are currently touring over here from a base in South Wales, took on North Dorset’s 3rds, the Buffaloes. Billed on social media by the home club as a “fun fixture”, the Buffaloes are the club’s social side, a mixed team of cider-drinkers, reprobates, callow youths and grizzled veterans. Nobody had obviously informed the Danes of this; RK Speed currently have 10 players in Denmark’s 2023/24 international squad - I have no idea who was playing this afternoon, but there were three or four players out there on the pitch who were head and shoulders above the rest and RK Speed comprehensively took the Buffaloes apart.

The first try came on 36 seconds with one of those stand-out players, RK.24, going at some pace round the outside of the Buffaloes’ defence and in under the posts. As the game progressed, almost exclusively in North Dorset’s half, RK showcased impressive handling skills and only the occasional flash of brilliance (or desperation) by the Buffaloes kept them at bay.

0-43 at the interval, RK never ratcheted down the pressure until the last quarter, when a couple of Danes switched sides donning green home jerseys, RK try scorers started to take their own conversions, and given the choice of touching down under the posts or wandering out to touch down by the corner flag, to make it interesting, RK.24 decided on the corner flag - and his subsequent conversion attempt just shaved the far post! North Dorset did eventually get on the scoreboard with an interception and 50 yard run in on 68m; prior to that, they had never got anywhere near their opponents line.

The referee ended the game 4 minutes early with the score 7-93. That was about right, I reckon.

More later .......

[Kaz]

Blimey!!! The Vikings are coming