On Tuesday night Act Two had the pleasure of hosting Grey London for a 7 a side game of football. The stage was set, the floodlights on and in a slightly overcast White City the battle was due to commence.
The first half started well with everyone's fitness put to the test and it was quite evident early on who hadn't done much cardio vascular exercise in a while..
Due to two unforced errors by the away teams goalkeeper, one a penalty and the other being slight confusion regarding the pitch markings, Grey found themselves two nil down, both tucked away by new kid on the block Jack Hodges.
Act Two's momentum dropped towards the end of the first half and a lackadaisical 10 minutes resulted in a goal for Grey and the awarding of another penalty, but this time to the away side. With a chance to level the game just before half time, penalty winner Paul Wentworth was dubiously receded from taking the spot kick. Alternatively, on his head be it, captain Joe Arojojoye commanded that it should go to the first goal scorer Alex Dunningham.
This turned out to be a costly mistake. Jamie Tutton, representative and founder of Act Two's sister company RM2, manoeuvred his body comparable only to that of a startled feline which denied the young man his second. Big Save. Paul was not happy.
The half time whistle blew - much to the delight of the panting collection of fellas. Clichéd footballing lingo, a few sips of water, and an optimistic check on the Arsenal Champions League score later and we were set for the second half.
Act Two, not too dissimilar from the first half, hit the second half running. Jerry the Bear commanding the center of the field, living up to the his title of Woodford's Pirlo. An early penalty awarding (again) and a chance to disrupt Greys half time spoken optimism, young Jack McCarthy was called upon. Confidently smashed down the middle whilst looking like a Steven Gerrard/Harry Styles amalgamation, the game was now 3-1.
Grey's fight couldn't be questioned however and as a team they were unified, knowing that a chance their way and they were back the game. For a period of 10 minutes and a total of 10 shots on target, the disarray as to how they hadn't scored was evident on most of the teams faces. Their frustration and appreciation toward the goalkeeper, blended together perfectly. But they were ultimately made to pay for not securing a way back into the game by pocket rocket Ben Raven and his sheer determination allowed him to nick the ball in front of the goalkeeper. 4-1.
Finally in one last act of brilliance, Carl Taylor, 49, whom had been grafting for the entirety of the game, slipped an exquisite delicately weighted ball through to Jack Hodges who was in for his hat trick. Calling upon previous experience playing for Grey, Jack gave the keeper the eyes and slotted home to seal the win.
75 minutes of game time up and the exhaustion, both mentally and physically, was evident to see. But it was definitely well earned. By everyone.
All round a great night of football and possibly one of new regularity...
