The last day of competition beckoned and it was time for the players to step up to the plate (I know, I know… that’s a baseball term) Rise and shine, it was around 8 am and too early in my opinion. We all had breakfast and packed out things because we were about to check out of the apartments we were staying at. They were nice apartments with plasma screens, leather couches, queen size beds, officially 4 stars, so it was a shame to go so early.

On the Way to the Fields

With all our bags and luggage in the bus now, the seating became uncomfortable and crowded. We still pushed on until we got to the fields where we would play our last games. Some of the games that were happening were consistent of high class performances, so I would hang around to watch those.

Problems Before the Match

Our team was to play very soon, but the big problem was that a lot of our good players had injuries from the previous two days. I offered to step up and play but I was not registered, so there was no chance I could. Anyway, many injured players risked making their injuries worse by playing. The first match began and our team did well to match and go ahead the other team, however, something would happen in a few minutes that would change the way the game would pan out.

Problems During the Match

We received a penalty just under half-time, words were exchanged and our striker decided to push the other. Things escalated quickly where it came to the point where one of our other players came in and punched the opposition in the mouth. Now to be honest I was hanging out for an all out brawl our bench was mostly cleared, but I stayed put, like many others, because it wasn’t that bad just yet. The organisers raced onto the field threatening my friends that they would never return to Forster for this tournament if they came onto the field again. The fight broke up as a result.

Back to Business

With that mishap out of the way we could get going on our campaign and we did. We won that game 6-1 and drew the next game 2-2 which meant that we were going home. We needed to only win our games to proceed. We didn’t lose one match throughout that entire tournament, which was good.

Andy Who?

Team manager decided to go ahead and purchase a book that was being sold at the tournament. The book was about the Socceroos, the Australian Football team and all their biographies. The author Andy Harper was there to sign our copy of the book which was a thrill because he is a well known host on Foxtel (Paid Football Channel in Aus) We hung out and chatted with him and is a really down to earth kind of guy. But by now, it was time to leave Forster.

Trip Back to Sydney

It was hell, well not that bad, but the first two hours were pretty bad. Once we stopped off to get something to eat, I was no longer tired Once we got back on the bus, we decided that we would play a game to pass the time. We played Mafia, a really good game of paranoia. That ate up 2 hours pretty quickly. Once I got back I was quite relieved but missed hanging out with my teammates and would have to wait until next week to see them for training.

Conclusions About Forster

In the end, it was a great trip and holiday. Our team did us proud and we played a good game. I am definitely going back next time I receive an invitation, just like this year. Here’s to good times