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It
had passion, it had controversy, it had goals -
the second annual Christmas meeting between the
Diamonds and the Hamsters certainly lived up to
the hype, as once again it was the visitors who
walked away with a winning margin of 20, this
time with the score being 24-4, although in
honesty it could have and probably should have
been a lot more for the Yellow Army
The
Hamsters squad were ravaged by illness ahead of
the game, with both Peter Chapman and Ian
Simpson pulling out with viral infections.
Kieran Elliott suffered a freak fingernail
injury in training, and as such was deemed not
fit for the trip. Scott McCarthy began the match
in goal, with the returning Doug Lane partnering
Jack Simpson in defence, who had done enough in
his previous defensive outing to regain his
place. Bert Lloyd also returned after missing
the Hove Lawns game, and he joined Robert Jones
in the midfield, leaving James Calver to carry
the line in his first start since April
It
was a record-setting start to the game, as James
Calver scored the quickest goal in Hamsters
history, taking just 12 seconds to net as he
chased down the Diamonds kick off to intercept
and make it 1-0. While many of the traveling
Hamsterites thought this would be the start of
another massacre, they were bought quickly down
to earth as an early error by McCarthy, in which
he fell over with nobody around him nearly cost
an equaliser. The goal soon arrived though, and
it was Tom Binstead, who netted with a trademark
pinpoint finish beyond the dive of McCarthy. The
Diamonds were dictating the game, and soon lead,
as another goalbound effort looked to be heading
for McCarthys hands, until a clever piece of
play by Mark Potter saw him use his incredibly
large breast to divert the ball into the
Hamsters goal, much to the despair of the
visitors who desperately appealed for the
offside
It
was a wake up call for the Yellow Army, and they
were driven on my captain Robert Jones in the
midfield, who lead by example alongside frontman
Calver to put the visitors into a four goal
lead. Jones wrapped up a first half hat-trick,
which saw the Diamonds explode as Joe Sturgess
became involved in a heated debate with manager
and goalkeeper Oli Wright, during which a
headbutt appeared to be headed. This was much to
the delight of the visitors, who cheered on this
disruption among their opponents, and as the
Diamonds lost their heads, so the Hamsters began
to dominate, ending the half with a 12-2 lead
McCarthy
appealed for his men to keep their head in the
second half, and they duly did as any Diamonds
pressure fell away. The instigation of the over
head kick competition, for which the winner
would be awarded with a pint, should have
allowed the home side to get back into the game,
but Scott McCarthy was in fine form between the
posts to deny the Diamonds on several occasions.
The Hamsters pretty football continued to
impress, yet they were guilty of missing several
guilt-edged chances, especially when Robert
Jones turned the defence inside out, only to
miss an open goal
At
13-2, the Diamonds were gifted a life line as
what can only be described as an attempted
line-out by Dougie Lane, confused between what
sport he was playing, saw Robert Jones miss the
throw and allowed Joe Sturgess to net. More
controversy followed, as Potter and Calver
continued their rivalry from last years game
with a bit of handbags following a tackle.
Determined not to lose the game, the Hamsters
pushed forward and went into a 23-3 lead,
knowing one more goal would break the record win
margin for the club. However, Doug Lane had
other ideas, and being the sportsman that he is
decided to switch teams without telling anyone
or changing his shirt. The confussion this lead
to was unprecedented in Hamsters history, and
Lane even went onto net for his new team past
Jack Simpson, who had since taken up the gloves.
Despite McCarthy adding a 24th to restore the 20
goal lead, the Hamsters couldn't find a 25th in
the last few minutes, as the final whistle blew
to end an entertaining game at the Hippo Arena.
The final goal scoring totals for the Hamsters
were James Calver with 9, Robert Jones with 6,
Doug Lane with 3, Bert Lloyd with 2, Jack
Simpson with 2, and Scott McCarthy with 2
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