2009-09-12 - Edinburgh Open
Saturday 12 September dawned sunny and hot which was an excellent start, much though it would have been fun to play the "squeeze 16 teams into 1 gazebo" game which has proved so popular at previous tournaments with less clement weather.
Getting near the end of the season, injury had started to affect the team and we were down to a squad of 5 ladies and 5 gents to take on the world...
Click on Read more for result, photos, summary, etc.
- Team composition
Captain: Freshy
Freshy, El, LA, Maddy, Jenny
Doug, Rob, Pierre, Dunkan, Dave
- Photos
- Summary
Saturday 12 September dawned sunny and hot which was an excellent start, much though it would have been fun to play the "squeeze 16 teams into 1 gazebo" game which has proved so popular at previous tournaments with less clement weather.
Getting near the end of the season, injury had started to affect the team and we were down to a squad of 5 ladies and 5 gents to take on the world - there were players there from Wales, England, the Channel Islands and even France and the standard was undoubtedly the highest we had seen all season. We started off facing Hammertime, a team incorporating several of our old rivals (not to mention drinking companions throughout the season), the Glasgow Lions. Things started off well with an impressive score from Rob...but it wasn't all about RobLee™ this time, as Hammertime fought back to draw the score. Despite impenetrable defence from Jenny and Pierre and some inspired attacking moves by Dave and El, the draw stood firm at final whistle.
Next, we played the formidable Barebacks, holding our own throughout the first half with our expertly executed moves to keep things neck and neck. By the second half, their freestyling flair and the guest appearance of several UK international players got the better of us and they finished with a comfortable lead. The final group match was against a team new to us: Statue Bro. Weary and hot, this was a slow match for both teams, the undoubted highlight of which was Dunkan storming all the way down the pitch to score whilst being egged on by a bevvy of enthusiastic locals who were enjoying their Buckfast in the sun!
We took an hour off for a restorative lunch where we were treated to a view of Rob with his top off (again) and which culminated with the standard Superhands pile-up on the grass - girls on the top next time, please! Now we were all set for the Plate Semi-Final against Barely Kilt. Finally things were coming together and the match allowed us to showcase several of our signature attacking moves as well as providing an opportunity for most of the team to score at least once, with Superhands finishing 8-3 up.
At last, the Plate Final. A mixture of excitement and delight when we realised that it was Hammertime again. We were sure we could do it! We started off powerfully and took the lead straight away, but they weren't going to let us have an easy ride and they stepped up the pace to draw the score. With minutes to spare, Maddy sprinted up the pitch with the ball and dived over the line. Much ecstatic hugging ensued and both teams made their way back to the centre...but it was all too premature - after a lengthy debate between the refs, the score was disallowed. Lions Doug, much though we love you here in Superhands (especially the girls, apparently...), there’s no way that touch was in! ;) Back to a draw and the whistle sounded to indicate the start of the dreaded drop-off. Neither team was showing weakness and soon we were down to 3 on 3 with a Superhands dream team of Lesley-Anne, Doug and Pierre keeping all of the play up at their line, putting Hammertime under relentless and uncomfortable pressure. But then it was all over: perhaps Hammertime had become stronger throughout the course of the day as they got used to playing together, or maybe we were just tired, but they spotted a break in our defence and went for it, scoring to win the Plate.
A morose half hour followed, especially when we found out that Pierre had been injured during his heroic efforts in the final. But we brushed ourselves off and several bottles of warm, flat beer later we were ready for the next stage: The Night Out. Not being an away tournament, we could for once go back to our flats to get ready instead of squeezing into Narinder's trusty 9-man tent!
The fancy dress theme was "Golf Pros & Tennis Hos" which was approached with varying gusto by the Superhands members. Most willing to make fools of themselves were Freshy and Dunkan, who were kitted out in a melee of tennis whites, legwarmers, McEnroe-style headbands, plus fours and flat caps. The award for the most feeble effort goes to Doug whose concession to the theme was to turn up with a golf tee behind his ear. Dave was so unhappy with his outfit that he felt fit to throw a glass of red wine down his shirt at the impromptu pre-party kindly thrown by Maddy and had to request a hairdryer (my initial choice of word here was vetoed...) from the hostess.
A 100m stagger to The Standard and the downstairs bar was packed with merry players for the prizegiving. A night of much banter was to follow, punctuated by various ill-conceived attempts by Superhands to steal the Plate from Hammertime and the procurement by Lesley-Anne of a much more impressive Cup from a location unknown! The hard core moved on to Fingers where the dancfloor was packed until dawn. A special mention must go to Jenny and Dave who each made a sterling and selfless effort to build “closer relations” with members of the Lions team...
The next morning, we had a clear idea of what to work on at the next training session, mild sunburn, less mild hangovers and some very good memories.
All in all, a great tournament!
Freshy