The King was in his Counting House… by Hoppy

…counting all his money…

With the Lions facing formidable Teddington opposition, Robbie was late. He had woken up in a cold sweat at 3 am and demanded a meeting with his bank manager to check if he had mislaid a guinea or gold sovereign somewhere. Saturday is said manager’s day off, so when Robbie arrives at the bank that the family has banked with since Kroonenberg was first brewed in 1666, the young whippersnapper of a deputy did not recognise Robbie’s wax seal and insisted he walked twice over Hammersmith Bridge to go and fetch his latest utility bill before he would assist in locating missing Krugerrand. Anyway…

This required Col, who was looking to umpire the game to preserve a nasty niggle in the leg, to take a position on the field.

With Robbie missing to start with and availability low, another guest whippersnapper, George, 19, son of Hoppy, who had never really picked up a hockey stick or played a game before, therefore ensured a bare 11 on the pitch.

Robin won the toss and tactically decided the Lions would play into the lowering sunlight in the first half. Unable to see in the blazing sunshine, the Lions struggled to locate team mates on the pitch in the overpowering glare.

Fortunately for the second half, the opposition enjoyed clear vision after the sun set and enjoyed playing under the spotlights….

Teddington, with a strong side as the norm, and without a goalkeeper, meaning 11 very strong outfield players on the pitch, really put the cosh on the Lions and scored a brilliant goal from an impossible angle to set their tone.

Col, in the meantime, managed to connect with a Teddington Stick to the head, with a nasty gash taking him to the bench for the remainder of the game, …after Robbie finally arrived.

2 nil down at half time and 3 down after a couple of minutes into the second half, things were not looking good…A thrashing coming up?

Earlier on however, George had started to unsettle the right-hand side of the Teddington defence, tearing strips along the left-hand wing. This continued in the second half and a fluke (?) pass to Pete got a bit of honour back at 3 – 1.

The Lions then continued to develop to play a tight passing game, Walders, at right-half, instrumental in securing a Silly Boy brace to bring the score back to 3 - 2.

Under extreme pressure the Lions played magnificently, closing down an onslaught of attacks and with a distribution of the ball out to the wings, George to Hoppy, 3 all !!!

At the final whistle, our friends, Teddington were very magnanimous in accepting a draw snatched from, an on paper, easy victory.

Robin was a bit cross about something or another all day and I do not think I improved his humour by ensuring we drank all the beer kitty again in the bar afterwards. Again. However it was a good day.

Huge thanks to the Hawks Clubmen who umpired for us and therefore allowed us to play with a full and competitive team.

New teas and thank you to Michelle and the team behind that there. Top work from Sam behind the bar.

Trev sported new shorts in the bar, to top yet another Grand Day out!

Hoppy