Date
Sunday December 27, 2009.
Participants
John Carroll, Sean Daly, Simon Hutchinson, Kevin Nieman, Wayne Smith
Table
| Pos | Name | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Wayne Smith | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Kevin Nieman | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | Simon Hutchinson | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | John Carroll | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 5 | Sean Daly | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 |
Report
The "Noughties" is the term coined in 1990s to describe the first decade of the 21st century. While it has proved popular in the United Kingdom, it has not been widely used in the USA.
This event was called "Farewell to the Noughties" as it was the last time the members of the Southern California Subbuteo Club met in the "noughties".
Of the five players taking part in this tournament only two, Wayne Smith and Sean Daly, were regulars at the start of the decade. Due to the distance Sean and John Carroll live away from the other players, it was a treat to be able to face them across the green felt of a Subbuteo pitch for one last time in the 2000s.
Wayne finished the event in first place winning all four of his games. Second place was decided in the penultimate game by Kevin Nieman's victory over Simon Hutchinson. Last place was decided by the game between John and Sean, John had to win to not finish last, which he did in a four goal thriller.
Wayne Smith 4 v Sean Daly 0
The Mercy rule was called before the end of the first half.
Wayne: Sean's rust showed, and on the Fast pitch, mine didn't.
Simon Hutchinson 2 v John Carroll 0 (HT 1-0)
Simon: I had a good start of attacking play lead to a chip shot over the goalkeeper from the left to the right side of the goal. I
stranded my goalkeeper twice, but John was unable to take advantage of it. In the second half a build up on the right side lead to a chip shot for my
second goal. At the end of the game I had no defense, and was scrambling to keep John at bay. A good result for me at the start of the day.
John: I was hoping to catch Simon with quick play, but my form was off to start. Simon was connecting passes well, and had two nice
shots for the win.
Sean Daly 0 v Kevin Nieman 0
Kevin: Sean had an unbelievable go with his keeper, saving an incredible seven or eight shots. I felt I had the run of play, but Sean
had several pushes into my [shooting] zone. Fun match despite the frustration of not scoring.
Sean: A few lucky saves and some fortuitous ball control preserved the draw.
Wayne Smith 3 v John Carroll 0 (HT 1-0)
Wayne: Fun game. John showed good control, but could not break through my defense.
John: Wayne was kind. I pestered him a bit, but I was ineffective against the Wayne legend.
Simon Hutchinson 3 v Sean Daly 0 (HT 1-0)
Simon: Sean's fat goalie is a devil to get past. I think it is fair to say I had most of the chances, but missed the ball at crucial times
in his shooting zone or he pulled off a great save with the fat goalie to keep the score down. So far so good, two games and two wins.
Sean: Glad I avoided the mercy rule. Definitely need to practice my shooting. Only had two shots sent them both
wide. Simon shot well and easily, the score could have been 4-0.
Kevin Nieman 2 v John Carroll 0 (HT 1-0)
Kevin: I'm always impressed with John's abilities to see the openings in my defense. Fortunately, it did not garner any goals
against me. My play was methodical, and my goal were both careful. I enjoyed the challenge.
John: Kevin played well and gave me no good [shooting] chances. His shots were precise.
John Carroll 4 v Sean Daly 1 (HT 3-1)
John: Finally got my passing rhythm and found some shooting opportunities. Sean had at least five shots that went right to my keeper.
Sean: High scoring and lots of fun. Had most of the shots in this match, with one quality shot that went in. Ball moved back and
forth all over the field.
Wayne Smith 3 v Kevin Nieman 0 (HT 1-0)
Kevin: Oddly, despite losing 3-0, Wayne was missing more flicks than usual, which is depressing because even when Wayne misses flicks, he still
kills me. Fun game, though. Wide open.
Wayne: Very wide open game. Lots of fun. I ended the first half with a goal with a second left and finished the game with a lucky
goal with five seconds left. That helped make it more fun.
Kevin Nieman 1 v Simon Hutchinson 0 (HT 0-0)
Kevin: It was another nervy match against Simon. After several blown chances, I had one of the best pushes down the pitch and a nice
goal. Very pleased with that creative spurt. I was able to hold on despite several corner attempts by Simon.
Simon: Very frustrating. Kevin scored a great goal to win the game midway through the second half. I can make excuses about the
pitch or whatever, but in reality my flicking came up short too many times. I had a number of great shots, but Kevin's goalkeeper was just too
good.
Wayne Smith 2 v Simon Hutchinson 0 (HT 1-0)
Wayne: Simon played very well of the first half of the first half.
I didn't get a shot until about the ten minutes into the game. Simon had
most of the possession but couldn't get any good shots. I think both of us made
a good save before I scored my first goal.
Simon: A closer game than the score suggests. Two great goals
from Wayne, and I struck the cross bar once. I probably had 40% of the play but could not get a killer shot
on his goal.