On a blisteringly hot day in London, TMI faced their next challenge in the form of Green Park Content. Keen to keep the momentum going following impressive performances against Adthena and Google, the TMI boys foolishly showed up 30 minutes before kick off to play against some local youths. At the cost of a mild heat stroke and acute dehydration, TMI quickly dispatched of the 15 year olds (after Roy Coughlan performed a two footed, studs up challenge on a teenager) and were now ready for the main challenge.
Green Park Content, lead by Athar Naser, surprisingly showed up in all red outfits and immediately impressed with slick passing and positional play. Some quickfire goals from TMI ensured a comfortable lead, with a trademark long range effort from Max Learoyd the pick of the bunch in the first half. TMI, sporting an ‘experimental’ line up, chose not to opt for a permanent goalkeeper, instead rotating after Jackie Yen had a few Karius-esque moments at his near post. Rowan Kleij lead the line up front, with Thomas Hutton spraying passes and shouting at Jackie and Ali Kerr in equal measure. Roy Coughlan opted for playing between the lines, and was having success with his combination play, which conjured up memories of him as a promising talent in Cape Town in 1978.
While much has been made of Ali Kerr’s reading of the game and overall intelligence in the past, in this game his love for the occasional lager and his aversion to any form of cardiovascular exercise was harshly exposed. Luckily, Max Learoyd’s athleticism and aggression went a long way to plugging the holes in our defense, and it was nice to see that his shorts were at least several inches longer than in our previous outing against Adthena, in which the opposition aptly referred to him as “the lad in the hotpants and pink socks”. A special mention must go out to Jackie Yen, who was recently presented with the extremely prestigious “Most Improved Player” award.
Although the heat eventually caused everyone to lose track of the final score, TMI’s somewhat biased reporting is confident that the score was comfortably in our favour.
Final Score: 20-12 (maybe?)
MoTM: The Sun
A re-match has been scheduled as Athar and his boys look to get revenge. Please stay tuned for the next match report.
