Manchester Tournament 02/06/07MK Bucks team - Caz, Kat, Katie, Kirsty, Mandy, James (who wrote this), Jon, Paul, SpeckyThere was only ever going to be one of two outcomes at the Manchester Tournament. Fortunately although there were 9 willing volunteers to lay down their lives for the advancement of MK Bucks Korfball Club, it was determined that we had achieved an astronomically high enough level of glory to label the tour a success. Building on the impressive display at the Oxford Tournament two weeks before, Milton Keynes sent its finest to Manchester to compete in an invitation only Korfball Competition. Held in the picturesque vistas of a Salford industrial estate, Burnage Rugby Club hosted teams from as far a field as Edinburgh and Holland. Locals looked on in puzzlement as 6 foot 6 Dutch men and women (they drink lots of milk apparently) assisted 5 foot nothing northerners erect wicker baskets in the middle of their rugby pitch. The preparation for MK began on the Friday night, as the squad assembled at Milton Keynes favourite Australian, Specky’s, house in Northampton for a BBQ and a discussion of tactics. Heated debate continued into the night and it was eventually decided that to achieve maximum glory we would have to score more goals than the opposition in each and every game. The squad rose early, readied our breakfasts, ate heartedly and were soon racing down the motorway with no real hiccups, just a fine display of how to recover a rear wheel skid on a motorbike in front of 7 laughing Korfballers… The Tournament was split into two sections. An initial group stage followed by a play off. The top two from each group of six would then battle for the 1-8 place rankings, the 3 and 4 group places would compete for positions 9-17 blah blah blah, we didn’t understand it either, we came to korf and let Kirsty deal with fixtures. First game saw the Bucks take on Lancaster Uni. Easy victory for Bucks you’d think? But no, Uni developed a tactic that MK City should employ, make half your team be late and collect a load of ringers from the Dutch team… Going a goal down the Bucks looked in for a beating, but a sterling effort from Specky saw the gutsy underdogs draw 1vs1 and last minute penalty was missed by yours truly, but then the sun was bright it was windy etc. Not a bad start, we got the first game out the way and began to gel as a team. As you all know, Milton Keynes Korfball is a fusion of intense and relentless pressure coupled with a do or die attitude aptly summed up in our motto Death or Glory. I for one would not have wanted to face them, and neither did Birmingham Uni. Watching 8 fully grown adults belittled in such a manner was not a sight anyone wanted to see, so the crowds focussed on the beauty that was a well assisted long shot by Kat and the rarest of rarities, a Caz Cant running in shot, 2vs0. Glory. Big game against the Mega Losers (a scratch team packed full of international players) followed. Ever had an international Czech korfballer in your pocket? If not ask Kirsty what its like. She may have been a seasoned pro but no amount experience could help her score past our girl. A second goal from Caz, one from Mandy and a quite incredible halfway line effort from the Bucks player of the tournament wasn’t enough to save the day. 5vs3 final score, but we were beginning to believe. This faith brought us a nice 1vs0 victory courtesy of Club Captain Katie Ellis vs the Trotters, but we couldn’t quite handle the pros of Warriors Manc, lost 0vs2. With a third place finish in the group, it was anticipated that the team would have to compete for the 9-17 positions. However, the organisers could not find anyone brave enough to face the mighty Dutch SDO team, so we were bumped up to the pro-league. In the 40minute lunch break that followed many things raced through our minds. Katie ran through various plays, Caz and Kat practised dodging manoeuvres, Jon and Kirsty discussed the benefits of front and rebound defence while Paul tried not to get sunburnt. Specky, Sloany and Mandy drank. It was felt a bit of Dutch courage was appropriate and Mandy seemed confident beer was a good source of carbohydrates. SDO were good. Their men were tall and their women fast. Plus they never missed. The Bucks weren’t helped by the fact Paul refused to score in order to win the guess the goals competition, one cannot help but think things would have been better had the little train spotter not have been tempted by the £25 prize money. Nail biting penalty shoot out against Edinburgh City finished up the wrong way with the Bucks nearly losing Katie who, taking the Death or Glory motto a little too seriously, had to be talked down after her penalty miss (and Sloany’s and Specky’s and Paul’s). However she easily converted the next one after Jonny P topped off a long shot with the celebration of the tournament to ensure the 7th and 8th playoff went down to penalties. Bucks sealed the victory to stand tall, being ranked superior over 17 other teams who made the trip. Unfortunate not to have any all-stars selected from the team, Paul defending very well with an air of confidence that steadied my performances for one. Specky too, regularly embarrassed his opponent but couldn’t hit a dingo with a drop bear when it came to shooting. Caz and Kat proved they were the better halves scoring 3 between them highlighting the fact good (or at least lucky) girls are vital to a championship team. Mandy collected rebounds like they were going out of fashion, demonstrating the importance to have at least one lanky beanpole in the team. I cannot stress how well Kirsty did against a real pro and as for Jonny P, ah bless him. Only joking, Jonny P is the embodiment of the Bucks determined attitude. Socially, Bucks performed even better. Specky secured the use of golf clubs and balls so that ten drunk korfers could smash (or in Katie’s case, tap) a ball around the course. Jonny ‘Par 13’ Partridge proved that hard work and determination just isn’t enough to ensure you don’t look foolish on the golf course. Sloany felt especially let down by the lazy performances of his partners Caz and Kirsty who were quite frankly inadequate. Mandy’s son Joe managed to distract the ladies long enough to allow the men to strut their stuff with the opposition girls. The next 30minutes saw an exhibition on how just good Dutch women are at dodging out of the way of drunk Milton Keyners… The Bucks did good. Represented Milton Keynes well and will definitely look to dominate in a fortnight against the best in Luxembourg. Death or Glory. Results: vs Lancs Uni 1-1 (Specky) vs Birmingham City 2-0 (Kat, Caz) vs Mega Losers 3-5 (Mandy, Caz, James) vs Trotters 1-0 (Katie) vs Manc Warriors 0-2 vs SDO 0-lots vs Edinburgh City 1-1 (Specky) (lost something-1 on penalties) vs Cardiff Dragons 2-2 (Specky, Jon) (won 3-2 on penalties) 
Apparently this was James's bloke! ;-) 
Apparently this missed (not many of theirs did...) |