The Old Bordenian Association

Football Report: Sittingbourne 5 a side league. Season 09/10.

The season finished in May with an upturn in our fortunes. Disappointingly we couldn’t muster enough players to field a team on two of the last three weeks resulting in four 0-4 defeats in the record book, however, the last third of the season saw us win most of our games lifting us from a very poor 9^th place to a much more respectable 7^th.

This was the first season that the Sittingbourne 5 a side league comprised just one division and this pitted us against stronger teams than we had previously faced in the old Second Division. Even so we took points off of every team except for the league champions and, as you will see from the final league table below, they lost just 2 games all season.

Our winning run coincided with a few weeks of a relatively settled side and we did play some simple but effective football. We even had the league champions rattled before conceding two very late goals to lose a feisty game 3-0. So rattled in fact that they had two players booked, but with age comes experience and the referee didn’t spot our misdemeanours!

We were also runners up in one of the cup competitions but considering our recent good form, we were disappointed to lose the final, especially as we had beaten the eventual winners in an earlier round.

Old Bordenians FC has entered the league again for next season and we hope to add a couple of Old Boys who have recently finished university. With a committed squad of 9 or 10, some with legs still in their 20s, we can look forward to a better season. Incidentally there is a vacancy for a further team so if there is a budding OBA 5 a side team out there then send me an e-mail (toshea@live.co.uk).

With most Old Bordenians footballers now in their 50s and 60s and it means that we struggle to find ‘appropriate opposition’. Thursdays are out because that’s pension day and during the normal football season many of the mobility scooters can’t cope with muddy bobbley pitches. Consequently, we don’t get together very often to the detriment of a very enjoyable social side to the OBFC. To resurrect that social side we plan to hire a hall, say once a month for an hour or so, and play some 5 a side before retiring to a pub. I was going to suggest we play some ‘gentle’ 5 a side etc but knowing how competitive OB footballers are I can’t see that happening. We will need around 15 committed players and I’ll send out details by e-mail soon. A straw poll of OB footballers taken at the Dinner suggested there is already considerable interest. Indeed, as the evening progressed, interest grew at a rate that was proven to be inversely proportional to the rate of beer flowing down the collective necks.

That Leyton Orient reserve kit will soon see the light of day again. I’d better wash it.

Keith Shea.

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