Kol Dimond
Easter Saturday witnessed a local sporting event of mammoth proportions. Think El Clasico Barcelona v Real Madrid, Man Utd v Liverpool etc and you are in the correct ball park.
We are indeed talking the now-famous pre-season Origin Trophy between the Mullumbimby-Brunswick Valley FC (MBVFC) and Shores United (a flash name for Ocean Shores FC).
Since the old fellas did a runner from Pine Ave a few years back to set up Shores United and save on fuel costs there has been an annual senior men’s competition, usually consisting of two games and the aggregate score of both games being the the winner and proud recipient of the Origin Trophy.
After a two-year hiatus MBVFC were pumped and primed to do the business up at New Brighton. As the Mullum convoy slowly made its way up through Middle Earth via their GPS apps towards the bog-and-midge hell otherwise known as north of the Shire, the stars seemed aligned and there was a feeling that the MBVFC club song was about to get its first outing for the 2016 season before a ball had even been kicked.
Upon arrival there was a pleasant sense of déjà vu as the queue for the outdoor dunny was as long and slow as the last time we were there, the sausages were sizzling and the beers were chilled.
However the president of Shores had decided there were greater battles being fought elsewhere and had left his troops without the leadership and strategy accustomed to such important fixtures.
Without Sir Patto at the helm there was only to be one victor. As the Mullum 5ths dismantled the Shores 4th division in a fashion not seen since the Panzer Division entered Denmark in 1940.
A 7–2 trouncing in favour of the mighty Valleys meant that the 7ths had a luxury 5-goal cushion heading into the second game against the higher-rated Shores 6th division.
As the Shores heads lowered and the thinning crowd made their way back home to close the screen doors, watch the A league repeats or simply sit alone in their backyard man sheds wondering where it had all gone wrong the mighty 7ths, whose average age this year is 47.6, steamrolled their way to an emphatic 4–0 victory adding insult to injury and finishing the two-game fixture with an aggregate score of 11–2 in favour of the blue and gold.
A great day was had by all as we head into the 2016 season for real next weekend.
Thanks to Shores or hosting this event and good luck to everyone in the coming weeks.