By Miro Milanov

The first game for SUWPC against Gloucestershire was supposed to happen on the 20th of October. A few hours before the event the boys received a peculiar message from Jubilee officials stating that a large amount of chlorine had been release into the pool. Investigations are still ongoing about whether or not the sabotage could’ve been caused by Gloucestershire out of shear panic from having to face us. After all, president Alex was fairly confident that the match would’ve been very straightforward.

Despite a small delay, the match did occur with the spectator benches almost full! Gloucester took the first ball and both teams played conservatively – trying to wait out the other team to make a mistake first. Omar received the first major of the match, but due to diligent defense from the SUWPC boys and an even greater performance by Nimrod, the net was safe. After a foul in the third minute Antonis managed to score a beautiful backshot straight into the corner of Gloucester’s goal earning the ovation of the crowd (love you all). The team, filled with determination, proceeded with a relentless attack managing two more goals by Antonis and Omar respectively, followed by a goal by Gloucestar in the last second of the quarter.

The second quarter saw the men attacking into the shallow end. A quick foul into man-up scenario resulted in Miro Georgiev scoring a goal. A pleasant surprise after a couple unsuccessful man-ups previously. Having heard the president’s comments from earlier, Glouster’s men decided to prove him wrong and executed a strong resistance by scoring two nearly consecutive goals. Antonis answered by blasting two more shots in the opponent’s net. His fate would subsequently be sealed by having a second man from Glaucester spot him at all times. With two more goals from the opposing team the score was now 6-5 in favor of SUWPC. An expulsion in favor of Southampton’s men 10 seconds before the end of the quarter had captain Miro Milanov calling for a timeout. His pleas, however, did not reach the ref’s ears. Mild discontent at what should’ve been an easy win had the boys gather around for strategizing. Omar and Daniel provided high quality insight into the offensive and defensive tactics.

Finn started off the third quarter snatching the ball from under Glaucester’s grasp earning the boys the much-needed confidence after two lost first balls. A goal by Gloucester in the fourth minute had the game for the first time in a stalemate. The game was neck and neck with Omar and Antonis scoring one more goal each with Gloucester also getting one in. Tensions were high with the quarter nearing its end. A turnover with 30 seconds on the clock resulted in a timeout for SUWPC’s boys. With exact strategy down, the men assumed positions and Omar managed to score in the last second. A solid 9-7 in our favor.

The fourth and final quarter resulted in two more goals for each team with Antonis and Miro Georgiev scoring for the lads. Nimrod demonstrated exceptional goalie skills throughout the whole game earning himself heartful cheers from both friends and foes. In the end, the score was 11-9 for Southampton’s biggest boys. Truly a much more challenging game than initially thought, but a W nevertheless.

Man of the match: Nimrod for his valiant defense of the goal as well as receiving what was undoubtedly more ovation than a fresher after winning a game of twenty plus one.

Dick(s) of the match: The employee(s) at Jubilee that released the chlorine in the pool. Nice prank mate(s)! It’s not quite April yet, but you do you.

Goals/Majors

Nimrod Abramovich – 0/0

Miro Milanov – 0/0

Miro Georgiev – 2/1

Omar Towakol – 3/1

Max Cohen – 0/1

Luke Bennalick – 0/0

Daniel Ammon – 0/1

Michael Scott – 0/0

Alex Wilmshurst – 0/1

Antonis Prodromou – 6/0

Oliver Miller – 0/0

Finn Thomas – 0/0

Til Jordan 0/0