Still euphoric from a dominant winning streak against Green Park Content, the boys of TMI exhumed an air of superiority and arrogance in the build up to the game against the ladies. The first half was tight, with the defensively minded ladies formation regularly frustrating frontmen Jackie Yen and Alan Ngo. Agile Romanian winger, Ilinca Prodanel, made history by being the first TMI female player to score against the TMI boys, which she celebrated in the most dramatic fashion. Hungarian striker, Teodora, was not to be outdone and contributed with a goal of her own later in the game, although VAR is still reviewing the legitimacy of the goal.
With the scores level at 5-5, Jackie decided to take matters into his own hands by taking out the promising midfielder Charlotte with a vicious tackle.
Ali ”The Spider” Kerr graciously volunteered to switch to the ladies team after Charlotte was rushed to A&E by helicopter, although his fluorescent orange boots blinded both teams equally. The ladies, clearly rattled by this level of savage aggression, needed to rethink their strategy quickly in order to avoid being overrun in the second half. Italian defender Gaia conjured up images of Paolo Maldini with an all action display, trying to break Jackie’s ankles whenever he had possession, out of revenge. The ladies faced an upward battle towards the end, with cardio levels dwindling (in no small part due to ’cigarette-gate’ during the warm up) The boys then dominated proceedings, with Royston continuously trying to do a bicycle kick for no apparent reason, James scoring his first ever goals, and Alan contributing with some silky play.
Although the boys ultimately deservedly won, the fact that Tom was speechless for the first time in his life after the game was a testament to the effort the ladies put in. A rematch to follow soon.
