You’d like to think that a game which we handsomely won against a Central London first team would be a memorable affair, but I can’t recall a single thing about it. It started like any other game, 16 yays and the very real possibility of me having to ‘select’ a team. Alas, the usual match day drop outs left us with a solid 11 and given the oppo only brought 7, we had a good numerical advantage. From my very sketchy memory the game went something like this:

We win swim off
Our keeper makes a top notch save
Dr Woody hits target and scores (shocker)
Our keeper makes a quality interception
Somebody else scores for us
We score again
And again
And again
Top notch keeping denies the opposition a certain goal
The opposition score through a tremendous shot
Somebody scores for us

6 – 1 to the Narwhals at the end of the first with Dan ‘100 not out’ Bedford picking up 4 alone.

The second quarter went a bit like:

We win swim off
Our keeper makes a top notch save
Dr Woody hits target and scores
Our keeper makes a quality interception
Somebody else scores for us
Dan scores two more
We can’t pass for toffee so Dr Woody takes control and lashes it in from 8m, 3 goals from 3 shots for him, who says a Maccy D’s isn’t good for you?!?!?

11 – 1 to the Narwhals at half time

We won the second half 6 – 0, final score was 17 – 1, nothing really happened, we didn’t even play that well (other than our keeper of course who was top notch.)

Man of the Match went inexplicably to Dan, how the keeper didn’t win it is one of life’s great mystery’s… something for Alex Jones and Infowars to get their teeth into if you ask me. Dan also picked up moment, I don’t recall for what, probably a goal or something equally mundane. He does however round off the Holy Trinity by picking up fluffer for a shocker of a pass to Dr Woody.

On to next week and something more memorable…. (like an updated stats report)

Forza Narwhali!

Monday 23rd September saw the mighty Narwhals go for a cheeky Nando’s before travelling to the northern end of the Northern Line to a potentially league deciding clash with Enfield 2’s. It was a game of mixed fortunes and emotions, with arguably the high point being the Nando’s and the low point being a severe lack of facilities for the PMP’s…

28th Sept Stats

The evening started well as the Narwhals assembled at “King’s Cross” for a swift Nando’s. Some like their chicken hot, others mild, and some like it resembling “Burnt Oak”. Upon finishing our meal and being “Stock(ed)-Well” with carbs and chicken, we prepared ourselves for a journey to the end of the Northern Line – glad we weren’t heading to “Morden”. The approach to “High Barnet” was interrupted by several smelly “Tooting Bec’s” and “Tooting Broadway’s” – badgers a plenty – that chicken was ready to create some epic PMP’s.

Upon arrival at the pool, I felt like an “Elephant and Castle” were trying to leave my bowls, but to my horror, none of the facilities had a suitable supply of paper with which to wipe my “Goodge Street”. It was quickly pointed out that in fact Woody McLoveless had used the last of the paper to clean his own “Mornington Crescent”. Thus I was forced to start the game without a PMP – terrible preparation in itself – but I also had to avoid any kicks to the stomach in case a train were to leave my “Clapham South”.

The lack of team PMP’s was obvious at the start of the game as our passing lacked precision and our press lacked aggression. Our “Archway” was rarely set up well meaning our attack lacked an “Edgware”. Sadly as a result we slipped to an initial 3-0 at the end of the 1st Quarter. As the game progressed into the 2nd quarter, it quickly became apparent that the referees were a bunch of “Kentish Town(s)”. Pull backs were not given and a number of questionable reversals led to tempers flaring and Mr Shute getting very “Charing Cross”. Nonetheless, our play improved and we began to pass the “Oval” ball with more precision. We ultimately won the 2nd Quarter 4-1 (4-4) with goals from Oggy, Lombardo, a dribbler from Holah and a deft, Bedford-esq goal from Gamble – rising like an “Angel” from the pit. Delightful.

As the game progressed into the 3rd quarter, the refs began to show their themselves to be real “Belsize Park(s)”. Inexplicable decisions were made and the game became very “Tufnell Park”. We struggled to get ahead but won the quarter 5-4. Gary saw it as an opportunity to have his very own “Waterloo” and promptly received two majors. Oggy also captialised on Bedford’s absence from the pit and “Bank(ed)” three goals in the quarter. highlight of the quarter came at the end when Floater shot a good 2 seconds after the buzzer and stole a goal from the opposition – much to their coaches frustration.

The 4th quarter was a scrappy affair. the Narwhals began to get frustrated with the reffing decisions it affected out play. Mr. Richards got very “Brent Cross” and at one point got very shouty. The game was tied at 11-11 with 30 seconds to go when Enfield called a time out. We quickly set up our arch and decided we would be playing a “High(gate)” press. Sadly as part of the defence, “Finchly Central” was ejected with a major and we conceded a goal with 12 seconds to go. Some dubious clock management later, and we fell to a 12-11 defeat.

Man of the match this week went to Oggy for his 4 goal haul. I suppose that makes him out “Golders Green”. Shout outs to Rob “Woodside Park” Loveless who ended his drought with a goal and to Zac “East Finchly” for having a cheeky fight on half way. Next time punch harder!!

Moment of the Match again went to Oggy for a superb back shot from the pit.Very few other nominations but a shout out to Rob, Phil and Gary who played a delightful passing move before putting the ball into the pit for Oggy to score.

Fluffer this week goes to Matt “West Finchly” for his final minute exclusion. Arguably it wasn’t him that cost us the game, but you can’t vote for the refs and this is a democracy. Rob got a customary nomination for wayward shooting and I think Shute is still wobbling.

Sadly this game means we have now lost 5 games in a row. It would be good to turn this around sooner rather than later – but I am confident for the next match.

If you can fit anymore Northern Line stations  in – add them to the facebook post… (look at that – engagement with the fans!!)

Forza narwhali!!

A Blue Planet special spoken in your best Attenborough voice.

21st September Stats

As the unusually warm summer draws to a close over the vast southern plains of London, preparations begin for the cooler months to come and the arduous task of the winter hibernation. The hot summer has taken its toll on the local wildlife with excessive energy wasted on frequent visits to watering holes, an extended mating season for some of the Bullfinches and prolonged summer migration for the lesser spotted ‘Bowen Great Bowerbird’.

A neighbouring migratory flock from the woodlands of Cheam pass through the southern plains in waves and according to physical superiority, the elite of the flock are the first to pass followed by the supposedly weaker of the flock in a second wave. It is this second wave of invasive species that the native animals fight for resources.

As the natives become aware of the onset of an apparent invasion of their territory, the affects of the long hot summer become apparent as they are slow to form a defence falling to a 0-5 first quarter loss.

High up in the jungle canopy the squawking siege is overseen by another migrater new to these plains, the Whistling Green Pigeon, who appears to be easily flustered by the apparent onset of danger. The slightest of movements from the Red Headed Woodpecker seem to perturb the green pigeon who repeatedly sends ear splitting whistles his way.

Awakened by the squawking and whistling furore, a response is mounted with two goals from the red headed woodpecker and the ever energetic Vine-Handed Gibbon. However a meagre attempt at best as the onslaught continues; 3-11 to the Cheam migraters at the halfway mark.

With local pride bruised and defence lines seemingly wasting away with the leaves on the jungle floor, pockets of resistance are mounted from the swift and agile ‘Bald Ukari’. Known for their peculiar excretion habits in the face of battle, the Bald Ukari dispatches a remarkably disguised pit flick to unsettle the visitors. Another strike from Ukari and the Red Headed Woodpecker, a mere formality to proceedings. 6-16 and defeat looked certain.

The exuberance of a juvenile Gouldian Finch, uses its majestically colourful plumage to both attract a mate and to confuse its prey with sudden movements. This is put to good effect as the juvenile finch launches a dart past a bamboozled defence. Perhaps also a demonstration of courtship and coming of age to impress an onlooking female finch.

The increasingly flustered Whistling Green Pigeon could not resist further squawking at the typically aggressive Holah and Weeble Tailed Macaques with two expulsions a piece. A feeble attempt all round finishes 8-24. The pin point accuracy from the migraters proved too much for the White Headed Winterbotham Capuchin. As the Autumn leaves fall in the South London plains, the natives lick their wounds and plan their own migration to the Northern Atlantic archipelago of the Portuguese Azores.

MoM – Dan for this 50% goal contribution
Moment – Floater for a neatly dispatched pit flick
Fluffer – Almost uncontested and unanimously awarded to Gamble for his row Z attempt. Pretty much everyone off to Portugal for crap passing, attack and defence.

Guten Tag meine Polo Friends. Zer Report on der Wasserpolo matchen gegen Zer enemy Croydon from our very own Deutsch correspondent, Herr Floater von Pooheim

So jetzt gehts loss.

September 7th Stats

Erste Quarter. Narwhalz on ze rampage. Some superb schitzenshooting on zer goalen from ‘Holzschieser’ Rob, Frau Weinhände und Herr Ginger macht das 5-5. Being zer Team with all zer cunning, we had one Scheissrichter pfifenblower who was a secret spy for das Narwhalwasserpolomanschaftgesselschaft. Er blowed sein whistle, aber ze other really Scheisenrichter blowed in zer other way. All zer time. Croydon must have offered zis dummkopf more Bratwursts as payment that ve could. Scheisse!

Zweite Quarter. Nicht gut. Wenig goalen, viel scheisse shooting und splish-splashing ohne result. Zer zer schlecht. Scheiss wasserpolo game. Narwhals sinking faster zen zer Bismark.

Dritte Quarter. Sehr sehr gut. Frau Weinhände und Herr Gimli von Weeble mit goalen, mit zwei Tore von Herr F v P macht viel better scoreline. Jetzt sind wir nearly level. Achtung Narwhali – jetzt kommen wir!

Vierte Quarter. Also gut. But nicht gut enough. Herr Ginger und Frau Weinhände again viele schitzenshooting mit goalen und swimming. Stephan der Puncher mit eine toppenpunch in der letzten minute – Croydon now only mit sex. Sorry, sechs. Aber nicht mehr Goalen von Narwhali, und some mehr other goalen von scheiss other manschafteam. Eine minute von very very Kackscheissspeielen von Finchy, Graf von Babymachen – nicht again bitte!

We haben verlohren 20-16. Aber – sehr gut playing, viel wasserpologoalen und splishen splashen.

Frau des Matches: Frau Weinhände
Moment des Matches: Herr Holzschieser with ein Tor das very gut wahr. Herr F v P also shooten a gut goalen.
Fluffer: Bren ‘der angryman’ Heath mit zwei disallowed goalen und sehr viel arguing und general dirty spielen.

Danke. Aus.

Forza Narwhali

Several Wednesdays ago, the Narwhals played Sutton and Cheam 2’s at Whitgift in a London League match up to add excitement and intrigue to the usually empty water polo month of August. This report was intended to be written at the time, but like a fine wine we can only hope it improves with age. Our regular report writer has spent the last 2 weeks sampling France’s finest reds, whites and fizz, so we shall consider the game as a wine tasting experience for you, our global fanbase.

August 30th Stats

There is a gentle start to our gastronomic voyage of discovery, a smooth, light Pinot Noir from somewhere in South America. Jut as the fruity notes of cherries, raspberries and strawberries offer a perfect but distinct contrast to the vanilla middle, the Narwhals were, in stark contrast to Sutton, informed of the correct start time of 9pm due to school holidays. We were optimistic of our chances when, at 9:10, we enjoyed a distinct advantage in manpower of 10 to zero. Alas this pinot noir had a bitter finish, as where one would expect a smooth rounded palate, the opposition duly turned up.

For those of you not so well versed in wine appreciation, there are 5 main elements to a wine’s profile: acid, alcohol, sugar, tannin and water.  While the Narwhals might claim to be experts in the water (and almost certainly the alcohol), a fine wine requires that all 5 elements come together in harmony to form a well-balanced taste. The next glass on our tasting card is a French Bordeaux red. Specifically Chateau Norbert, 2018 vintage. An evenly balanced wine (specifically 1-1 after 6 minutes of the first quarter thanks to a fine goal off the arc from Phil), fragrant and ripe in character, but this particular offering had perhaps been corked as the finish was sharp and not to the Narwhals taste – a generally stoical and well organised defence found Sutton’s combination of strong pit and accurate outside shooters too much and fell to 2-4 by the quarter end. One diamond in the rough of this forgettable wine was a particularly handsome goal from Dan, ghosting off his defender at the back post to catch a lofted pass and convert into the back of the net.

Moving on from the Chateau Norbert with a shattered reputation and tastes of bitter disappointment we come to a pleasant surprise. We next travel to Georgia, to sample their signature red, a piercing and punchy Saperavi. The Georgian traditional grape, grown in clay soils on the terraced vineyards of the Kakheti region, is the upstart of European reds, and its high acidity and phenolity give it a razor sharp edge, with a sweet finish. This is the Narwhals second quarter, a fine comeback (albeit from a familiar source with Dan scoring twice in much the same manner as his excellent first quarter effort) meant the Narwhals drew within 1 goal at the half, a well poised contest at 4-5.

We enter the second half of our tasting in a similar vein with balance of acidity and body being the order of the day. A hearty Argentinian Malbec of a struggle awaits us in the third quarter, with hints of plum and chocolate. A strong full bodied contest, with quality pit defence and disciplined drop in equal measure held a challenging Sutton team to just 2 goals, with the Narwhals answering with 2 of their own from Dan and Nick. The finest of these two was Nick’s long range bounce shot, combined with the hearty punch of 2 Gamble majors formed a strong middle to this well apportioned offering. 6-7 after 3.

4 wines in already, and the Narwhals are starting to feel the effects of a long evening’s tasting. Perhaps it’s the alcohol causing a haze to set in, or perhaps its just that August holidays have meant leisurely drinking as opposed to effective training for such a wine tasting challenge. Either way, as giggles appear and chairs are fallen off, the pickled Narwhals had put up a strong fight, but now needed an Uber home while trying not to vomit over Pietr in his Prius. There was a final goal for Nick, and a rare Gamble special, but these 2 goals did not make up for a tired defence cracking and 5 Sutton goals finishing the game off to a disappointing 8-12 final score.

Hungover reflections would see this experience as a tale of excellent defence only tiring at the final hurdle, and some good individual moments in attack not quite making up for a lack of effective attack from set play.

Man of the match this week goes to Dan, for 4 well taken goals (almost all of them at the back post). Moment also goes to Dan, for the second goal of the contest, the aforementioned perfectly placed lofted pass to the back post with a strong break and a great finish. Fluffer this week was Matt, who succeeded in letting in a 12m shot just as the quarter expired in truly embarrassing style. 5 Narwhals head to Portugal this week, Oggy, Chris Mann, Zach, Tim and Rob will all be hoping for more success against the Amphibs next week.

Until then, Cheers! And Forza Narwhali!

Wednesday 25th July saw the Narwhals take on their local rivals Croydon at Whitgift Pool. Given that was a week ago and I have been drinking heavily, I can’t remember much of what happened, but I’ll give it a go…

August 1st Stats

The lead up to the game started in unexpected circumstances as we were told by our referee for the evening that if we gave him any back chat, we would be told to “F*** off”. That left us with no ambiguity – the only remaining question was whether to drop or press…

For all intents and purposes, we started the game pretty well. Our defence held (for the majority) and we scored some good, well worked goals – for example – a peach of a pass from Ed “BBQ Boozer” Gamble that went inside the defender found the swim of Nick “I like 12yr old… whisky” Shute who promptly put it in at the near post. A Further two pit goals from Dan “treasure hunt” Bedford left the score 4-3 at end of Q1.

Rather surprisingly we did pretty well in the 2nd quarter too – screamers from Chris “fillet steak” Mann, returning Narwhal Bren “the other Heath” Heath were roundly applauded and we all welcomed back the return of Tim’s bicep cannon. The half-time score was 8-7 and we seemed relatively surprised to be where we were. Sadly it didn’t last…

Fitness and decision making showed in the 3rd quarter (7 goals to 3), with Croydon scoring a number of breakaways. The score could have been a lot worse had it not been for some superb one-on-zero saves from Andy “face save” Winterbotham. Cynics said he was showing off to the crowd (having brought supporters) – loyal Narwhal fans know it was more to do with the Monday swim session he’d had two days before. Andy was definitely heard praising Coach Weebs after the game for ensuring he was in tip-top condition.

With the score 15-10 going into the 4th, we tried to stage our come-back. Two quick goals put us in touching distance before Croydon scored 3 in reply. A final score of 18-12 not a true representation of how close the game “could” have been.

Man of the match was pretty much unanimous this week following a host of great saves, Andy ran out a clear winner. Shout out to the ever present Dan “gold bar” Bedford for grabbing some votes and a cheeky nod to Matt “far post lob” Finch for his brace of goals (including a well executed lob).

Moment similarly went to Andy for a superb three-on-zero save. I think we can all agree the main highlight of the game was Barry missing 2 such opportunities and proceeding to blame his own team mates. If only Croydon had a fluffer vote…

Speaking of Fluffers, this unanimously went to Gary “passive aggressive” Bowen for his poor lob attempt. Eventually we will teach you not to do it!! Lobs are a cruel mistress – get it right and you are in the running for MoM, get it wrong and well… you know…

Sadly assists don’t count, so Messers Lomardo, Gamble and Finch Jnr take the trip out to Obidos. Its lovely this time of year.

Forza Narwhali!!

Buoyed by not only the absence of Gimli, but also Dr ‘High and Wide and that’s just the passes’ Loveless, an eager and invigorated 9 Narwhals travelled up to New Malden to take on the might of Kingston II. All of this enthusiasm was knocked out of us in the car park when a certain referee was spotted, would the curse of Mr Lenkei strike our brave boys once more?

 July 21st Stats

The initial omens were not great, Nick “Back to Black” Shute was going up and down the A3 for sh1ts and giggles and leaving us with 8 against an oppo with a full complement of 13. An inexperienced starting seven took to the water more in hope than anticipation….

With the Lenkeisation of the game somewhat mitigated by a second ‘competent’ referee the game quickly settled into a pattern. Kingston dominating possession (the lack of a shot clock helping them out here) but with little cutting edge and with the Narwhals countering efficiently. Two minutes in saw the Narwhals take the lead through a first time shot from Stef ‘New Boy’ Lombardo, this was closely followed by a Floater rocket and a typically well taken pit goal from Dan ‘Organisation’ Bedford. We would have had a clean sheet too if our illustrious keeper hadn’t been ‘distracted’ by some whimsy and let a speculative shot fly in without moving….

 Nick blessed us with his presence for the second quarter having finally got bored of the delights the A3 has to offer and the Narwhals continued to dominate, all be it mostly without the ball. Defensively sound except from our awesome keeper yet again literally drifting off and being lobbed from distance, a couple of Dan specials and a Nick breakaway goal saw us 6 – 3 up at half time….

 The third quarter, whilst attacking the deep end, saw our moment of the match. A mediocre ball into the pit was plucked from the water by Andy ‘The Scoutmaster’ Ogg and placed in the top corner of the Kingston goal in one motion. Our defence was yet again effective and tight and if our talented goal keeper hadn’t been busy organising our defence rather than watching the ball, Kingston wouldn’t have scored another speculative long range effort (anyone seeing a pattern here?)

The final quarter saw the Narwhals run away with it, a quick fire ‘perfect’ Nick hattrick (lob, near post & far post) coupled with another Floater screamer and a Dan pit goal saw the Narhwals run out 13 – 5 winners on the night. A highly satisfying victory in a pool where traditionally we have struggled with the shallow end, Lenkei reffing and Kingstons industrial physicality….

Man of the match was Dan for bossing it in the pit whilst also covering in defence and ploughing up and down the pool, very much an all round performance despite the five goals! Moment was Oggy’s excellent goal. Fluffer was not quite as unanimous as it might have been. Nick voted for himself for his A3 adventure, but despite that I managed to convincingly wrap up another fluffer on my quest to build a ‘unique’ DVD collection… Messers Young and Mann took an early summer holiday and we last seen enjoying the sites of the Doura valley….

Forza Narwhali

This week we have a double stat attack from our two away games of last week – vs. Sutton & Cheam 2’s and London Orca 2’s. Unfortunately I cannot remember much from either game so you’ll have to make do with what you get here and look forward to Finchy’s match report in a few days!!

July 13th Stats

Wednesday 6th July saw us head into battle against Cheam 2nd’s at Cheam Baths – a location we had not visited in several years. This became apparent when Matt “late arrival” Finch forgot how long it actually took to drive to Cheam and nearly missed the start of the game. Subsequently we ended up playing the entire match with borrowed Sutton hats… We did reasonably well for 3 quarters, going into the 4th 6-8 down. Sadly we didn’t do particularly well in the 4th – conceding 3 and scoring none. We had a lot of chances, but missed them all – some botched 1 on 1’s and some dire shooting. The final score (11-6) flattered Sutton but our shooting really let us down.

Awards for the match:
Man of the Match: Matt “double” Finch for grabbing two goals despite not having a warm-up
Moment of the Match: Dan “flappy hands” Bedford for a delightful volleyball-esque goal, flicking the ball over the pit man’s head and then flapping it past the keeper. He definitely was not standing. Or jumping.
Fluffer: Sadly goes to Rob “Woody” Loveless for his profligacy in front of goal. 1 hour of shooting practise the remedy…

Friday 8th July saw a plucky 8 turn up to Porchester Baths to watch the Belgium-Brazil game… I mean, play Orca 2’s. The team consisted of some returning heroes, including Tom “one major, one goal” Burridge and Tim “Bicep cannon” Young. After a World Cup Quarter-Final, a burger and a few beers (and a fizzy apple juice for Charles), we wandered down to the pool. As we were sans keeper, we all took a turn in goal – Young, Shute, Holah and Gamble doing the honours. A high press worked wonders for us and a convincing 16-4 scoreline was the result. With the final whistle the crowd went wild – mostly because Ed “Jordan Pickford” Gamble had managed to keep a clean sheet. Miracles do happen. Potential fluffers to the whole team for not trying to score an own goal…

Awards for the match:
Man of the Match: Big man Burridge for making his way up to the game from Bournemouth and heading home that same night. Big effort for the team – and despite not getting his usual major, did pick up a goal for his troubles.
Moment of the Match: Nick “acrobat” Shute for his deft redirection of a drilled pass to grab a goal. One of the voters likened it to an “overhead kick with his hands”… So a shot then?
Fluffer: goes to rubbish Nick Shute for his awful quarter in goal where he let in half of the Orca goals. We are all very disappointed in him… (lol)

Anyway – that’s the stats for this week. Will hopefully have another report for you soon from our game vs. Kingston last night.

Until next time – Forza Narwhali!!

Despite the heroics of last night (did someone say penalties?), I had to get this match report out before the next game. With England’s shooting as bad as ours and Colombia’s defending as punchy as Eastern Otters, it feels appropriate that this stat report comes out now – not to mention the Lenki-esq refereeing from the American in charge…

June 30th Stats

Following a team sing-a-long at the social last week, we bring to an end our celebration of all things football and Narwhal related by bringing you the alternative lyrics to two more fan favourites… Please enjoy:

“Pre-Match Poo” (to the tune of Vindaloo by Fat Les)

Where on earth are you from?
We’re from the Arctic
Where you come from
Do you put the shot clock on?

Swim off

Nah nah nah Narwhals!
Nah nah nah Narwhals!
Nah nah nah, nah nah nah Narwhals!
Nah nah
Bonjour (Narwhals!)
Otters (Narwhals!)

(nah nah nah nah nah nah)
Narwhals! Narwhals! Na Na!

We’re Narwhals
We’re gonna score ten more than you

Narwhals!
(whistle blown)

Can I ask you kindly please,
To score a goal like one of these
Pit one
Bounce one
Lob one
Smash one

Smash it

Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah…
Narwhals! Narwhals! Narwhals! Narwhals! Na Na!

We’re Narwhals
We’re gonna score ten more than you

Narwhals!

Gamble and Bedford / And Shute and Finch
We’re off to Whitgift Pool
Loveless and Mann and Bowen and Holah
Phil did a pre match poo

F*ck it!

Pre match poo. Pre match poo. Pre match poo, pre match poo. Narwhals! (repeat)

Pre match poo, and we all love a pre match poo

We’re Narwhals
We’re gonna score ten more than you

Narwhals!

Narwhals (pre match poo), Narwhals (pre match poo)
and we all love a pre match poo

You know the rest… repeat forever!!

and for fun…

“The John Barnes Rap” from World in Motion (c.1990)

You’ve got to press or drop
But do it at the right time
Rob got a goal at last
Chris Mann wants him to be fined
They always hit Ogg and hurt him
Dodgy defence and attack
There’s only one way to beat them
Swift counter attack
Now Catch me if you can
‘Cause I’m Amy Wine-hands
And what’s quite clear to see
There is no master plan
Finch made a great big save
But left an open goal
A Narwhal on his trunks
We knew it would all go wrong

We’re singing for Narwhals
(Narwhals)
We’re playing our song,
(Badooooooop)
etc.

So basically – we beat Eastern Otter 18-8. it was a punchy affair but we won through. A nice distribution of goals and majors and a relatively good performance. Man of the Match was shared by Nick and Phil, whilst Moment of the Match was shared by Nick, Oggy and Weeble (2 votes each). Fluffer this week was shared by Woody (for not passing to Chris Mann and missing a “few” shots) and Finch Snr (for saving a 1v1 only to then flick the ball to an opposition player leaving an open net). Finch Jnr failed to vote so could have broken the deadlock…

Maddies were collected by Zac, Stef, Charles K-T and Andy W. A delightful four man trip to the Algarve.

Sutton tonight – up the Narwhals!! Baaaddooooooooooppppp!!

A heat wave, an unexpected result, people on the streets – yes the World Cup is on, but make time in your schedule because Water Polo is coming home too!! This week’s match report is brought to you by Matt “Baddiel” Finch – it’ll bring a tear to your eye!!

June 26th Stats

A Narwhal on our Trunks (to the tune of some football song about Lions…)

We lost at home, we lost at home, the Narwhals, the Narwhals lost at home,
We lost at home, we lost at home, the Narwhals, the Narwhals lost at home,
We lost at home, we lost at home, the Narwhals, the Narwhals lost at home,
We lost at home, we lost at home, the Narwhals, the Narwhals lost at home.

Everyone seems to know the score (8-7), they’ve seen it all before
They just know, they’re so sure
Our defence is gonna throw it away, gonna blow it away
But we know we can play cos we can boast,

A Narwhal on our trunks
Our passing’s still appalling
11 strapping hunks
But massive problems scoring

So many shots, so many tears
But all those ‘oh so near’s
When your down and can’t find the gears
But I still see that tackle by John
And when Bedford scored, Finchy saving the ball
And Weeble wobbling

A Narwhal on our trunks
Our passing’s still appalling
11 strapping hunks
And Woody’s still not scoring

(The Narwhals have blown it, in the last minute of the game)
(The lights have failed, what now?)
(Bedford misses a sitter, didn’t miss the fluffer though)
(It’s a Father / Son / Shute tie for glory)
I know that was then, but could the Narwhals see glory again?

We lost at home, we lost at home, the Narwhals, the Narwhals lost at home
We lost at home, we lost at home, the Narwhals, the Narwhals lost at home
(Avondale have done it)
We lost at home, we lost at home, the Narwhals, the Narwhals lost at home

We lost at home, we lost at home, the Narwhals, the Narwhals lost at home
*REPEATED IN BACKGROUND*
A Narwhal on our trunks
Our passing’s still appalling
11 strapping hunks
But bigly problems scoring

A Narwhal on our trunks
Our passing’s still appalling
11 strapping hunks
But bigly problems scoring
A Narwhal on our trunks
Our passing’s still appalling
11 strapping hunks
But bigly problems scoring
*FADE TO END*

For those who didn’t get it – Fluffer went to Bedford for missing a sitter but he also got moment for doing something that I assume was ok. Man of the Match was shared this week by Finch Snr, Finch Jnr and Shute.

Due to the lack of majors in the game (despite our best efforts) we recorded 7 Maddy’s. That also includes Andy W’s match day disappearance. Stefan takes his first trip to Portugal and it was nice of the guys to keep him company.

Onwards to Wednesday and the visit of Eastern Otter. I wonder who can create our third football themed master piece?

Forza Narwhali!!