From prime ministers to monarchs to possible re-locations, the times they are a changing, or so it seemed, as the PFTP gang raised a glass to the fifth in the deadly drinking tourney series…
Time Trials and Tribulations
First up, with the citrus whisky taste still lingering, the retro trio embarked on the five goal challenge. Score five different goals as quickly as you can, the rules couldn’t be simpler, but try telling Ste that lol He might not grasp the objective but man, he sure knows how to find the back of the net! Not only was he the only player to execute all five goals, but he did so achieving four of five fastest times. Only split seconds behind it was close but no cigar for Gaz while Si just couldn’t hit a god damn barn door and so his was the first official drink of the night.
Let the Shots begin
On to the main event with drinking forfeits aplenty. Score a dodgy goal, fail to score, get carded or fail your mission, a shot of something was coming your way. Drawn at random, the first mission for the opening game, Si vs Ste, was to commit a foul without punishment aka and “the foul no foul”.
And so they were off and quick-score Ellesmore wasn’t messing about, 2-0 up in no time, while Si showed some nifty footwork in committing “a foul no foul” that not only deceived the ref but Ste and Gaz too haha Only an action replay revealed the truth before Ste not only completed a 6-1 rout but the mission too, leaving Gaz to take the sole forfeit of the game. An unlikely beginning or maybe a omen of things to come…
Typically for a Si v Gaz encounter a brace of dodgy goals were involved so ching ching the forfeit counter was chalking up the drinks not that Si cared much, his 4-3 bounce-back victory was more than worth it! Gaz then achieved the first-to-score mission as well as his first point of the evening whereas Ste faced his first forfeit drink to conclude the first round.
Must have felt like ground hog day for Si as Ste opened the second round on easy street and in total control by HT. Yet an inspired second half response saw Si claw back a satisfying 4-4 draw as well as hit the woodwork to complete his mission. Things weren’t looking so good for Gaz who after failing to score by HT and getting carded, knew it would soon be moonshine time again so while he still could, he managed to secure a 4-3 victory over Si. Normal service was resumed, however, as Ste continued to score for fun, in a ding dong 6-4 defeat of Gaz.
And as the games tumbled by so did the whisky, beers and that mad, mad moonshine… The voices got raised, the evening began to blur, and it was around this time the controversial moment of the night happened. Si vs Gaz was one of those tight, tight games that could go either way when the ref blew for a goal even though Si’s shot hadn’t even crossed the line. DODGY! yelled Gaz. NO WAY! replied Si. It was over to the adjudicator, Ste… and the president of the SK Fan Club he said nooooo…. obviously. The “goal no goal” proved decisive as Si proceeded to win the game 3-2 but fair play to him in taking the forfeit anyway. Gaz nevertheless found consolation in his next game, with a emphatic 7-3 victory, for Ste’s first defeat of the evening.
So with change in the air, the players mixed it up, after 3 rounds. In fact, for rounds #4, #5 and #6 they doubled up! Mistake!!! Things got hazy and in a strange blurring of the near death experience videos, the drinking forfeits themselves became minefields, every shot, every foul, was increasingly dangerous!! And this was felt no more than in the final match of the night/morning, with Gaz vs Ste, knowing that whatever happened in this game, one things was sure, that a hangover lay ahead haha
And why the hell wouldn’t it… Not that they knew it at the time but looking back over the tallies now, there was something like 40 odd forfeits chalked up in total, 11 or 27.5% each by Si and Ste, and 18 or 45% for Glugger Gaz who topped the league he wasn’t seeking to lol Unsurprisingly the dodgy goal (11) accounted for most forfeits overall followed by failed to score (9) and carded (7). Of the missions, foul-no-foul was failed most (7) marginally above hitting the woodwork (6).
The think it’s all over…
The morning after the night before was a sight for sore heads but the antidote was coming… in the form of super sized, super tasty, super mixed grill. It was the works alright and just what was needed. Kudos and thanks to hosts Si and Shell for a five star job on this and everything else besides, it really could not have been any better.
And just before packing up the gear, there was just time for a fistful of friendlies between Gaz and Si. Finding the back of the net with ease Si should play with a hangover more often lol, achieving a effortless 5-2 opener. It felt like a different dimension compared to the moonshine twilight, and even the ref remembered where his cards were unlike the night before. And just when it appeared Gaz might be struggling, he responded with a 4-3 win himself, and so it went on, to and fro, resulting in an unlikely outcome of W2 D2 L2 for both players!
Once again this highlights how Kick Off 2 is nothing but a mystery, at times a thrill to play, and at others, a total ball ache – and that’s no joke haha! All part of the fascination, I guess, but it’s the friendships of course stretching back even longer than the great game itself that brings the real fun. So here’s to great friends and good times, and to many more to come wherever that might be…
Press Fire to Play 