“'Well, Bob, that was truely a game of two halves, you have to score goals to win, and each team put in 110% effort.'

'Bill, stop talking in cliches, even if you are right on the button in this case, a good old fashioned bit of biffo, jumpers for goalposts, oo that giggsy-wiggsy, wot ho.'

----

Madchester took the pitch in their gold-plated armour, forged in the heat of the Qatari sun, to play the scrufy ne'er-do-wells of Bristol Reavers. At the other end of the pitch the stench of fermented apples rose from the huddled orc scrum: 'oo da 'ell be thiz lot dem', spat Bodgy Joe. 'They be them rich buggas from da norf, they be' mumbled Tom Lockyer, the words barely understandable thru the hay stalks in his mouth. 'Well, I'z gonna kik dem in da ballz all day long, or me name in't Bodgy.' 'Shut it, yoo lot,' barked Applejack Sid. 'Dis lot may have da moneys, and da golds, but screw 'em all. We is Reavers, and we been there and seen it all, n' we ain't gonna take a step nowhere nohow bakwards today. We bin 'ad a little chat with dat here referwee ova' dere, and we tellz 'im dat we know where 'ee been livin'. Bodgy -- get dem boots ready. It be ball kikin time, it be.'

And so it began. The first half Madchester drive looked good until a couple of desperate Reavers' blocks got them the ball back; but then Applejack Sid tripped trying to get the ball downfield, and City recovered the ball and scored in T8.

Second half began with the Reaver's drive, which stalled for a turn or two, but then punched down the left and found clear space. Madchester's team started leaving the field at this point - first via KOs (mainly from the boot of Joe), and then later a couple of BHs from the rock hard ground and failed dodges.

A draw was probably the right result, given the swings in dice and the slow teams involved, and both teams have a solid platform to build on for the season.

gg Valen, and gl in rd2!

All hail Bodgy Joe and his 9 fouls (unseen!!!). He is trying for the Dirty player awards this season.”