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Hanno, Saturday 20th September
10:30 AM, morning break. - We stream onto the playground for our 15-minute kick around. At least 5 minutes are spent picking teams. If you're big or quick or mates with today's 'captain' you get picked first, weedy, smelly or funny-looking and you're one of the dregs that both captains try not to get lumbered with.
Game starts. 40 kids swarming (20-a-side is not uncommon) after a balding tennis ball that bounces wherever it chooses. Running, rushing, the odd nudge into the fence and someone loses the knees of their trousers and a roll of the skin underneath.
'MY MUM WILL KILL ME!'.
Occasionally, the pinball is interrupted as the ball accidentally finds its way into the goal. At the end, we realize that no-one has kept score, providing fuel for deep arguments at least until lunch break.
Fast forward 25 years or so...
The backdrop of Saitama's mountains is more pleasant, and the astro carpet of Hanno Misugidai more forgiving than the playground. We also had a bloke standing in the middle blowing a whistle, bizarrely whilst donning a fluorescent yellow shirt. He oversaw a cracking 5-5 draw between Div 3 newboys Sun United and Saitama Jets 2nds. The details (and often the ball) passed me by, as the combination of penetrative attacking and unstable defending on both sides resulted in this early contender for 'What the hell?' award for the season.
Sun led 2-0, mostly through the brilliance of the fleet-footed no. 27, Konuma (?). We rallied, snatching a couple ourselves through the sure shooting of Gildart and Piper. Sun United then started to really turn it on, and somehow we found ourselves 5-2 down in the second half. Goals from Gould (2), and a calm equalizer from Cap'n John Rayner brought it to 5-5. Both sides pushed for a late winner, but the end-of-break bell rang and that was that.
And the big fella in the dayglo shirt even remembered the score.
Report by Gary Garner
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