Can you drown while standing up?
How can it rain so much?
Those of you of a certain vintage will no doubt be familiar with the somewhat plaintive song by Travis, ‘Why does it always rain on me?’ … Supporters, players and the sodden sportsfans that endured the rotten weather on Saturday in Amstelveen could have been forgiven for thinking that it was written directly for them… And the answers to the questions are almost, and God knows.
Sodden. Soggy, squelchy. So much so that the ladies had to migrate to the main pitch in front of the lovely new clubhouse after the last three blades of grass on the side pitch gave up the ghost and it tuned into a complete mudbath. Fearing that we might lose legs, limbs or some of our smaller players, after two matches, another pitch turned to mud (making soloing an absolute dream) and all of the action moved to the main stage.
Fearing the onset of trenchfoot, the games were played with grim determination by the sodden teams, who took turns huddling in the new clubhouse changing rooms or the bars, waiting for the deluge to stop. And it finally did, at the end of the day, after a hard days football.
Filming for the ‘One Life Two Clubs’ documentary didn’t take place, as there were no facilities for underwater filming.
In the men’s competition teams from Dusseldorf, Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Eindhoven and Luxembourg did battle – with Belgium beating Luxembourg in the final, having beaten Eindhoven, Dusseldorf in the group stages and Amsterdam in the semi final.
Group games:
Amsterdam (1-8) v Zurich (2-3)
Luxembourg (4-4) v Amsterdam (1-3)
Luxembourg (2-6) v Zurich (0-5)
Belgium (3-9) v Eindhoven (0-2)
Eindhoven (1-7) v Dusseldorf (0-3)
Belgium (0-14) v Dusseldorf (1-2)
Semi-Finals:
Luxembourg (3-7) v Eindhoven (1-1)
Belgium (1-8) v Amsterdam (1-3)
Final:
Belgium (0-8) v Luxembourg (0-2)
The standing heading into the final round of the Benelux competition is as follows
Ranking Amsterdam (3rd Benelux round)
Belgium: 25 points
Luxembourg: 20 points
Amsterdam: 16 points
Eindhoven: 13 points
Zurich: 11 points
Dusseldorf: 10 points
For the ladies competition, the group games welcomed Dusseldorf to their first European ladies competition and we’re *SO* delighted to have them play with us!
Group games:
Belgium A( 2-8) v Holland (1-2)
Belgium B (8-16) v Dusseldorf (0-0)
Belgium A (4-14) v Luxembourg (1-2)
Belgium B (1-8) v Holland (2-6)
Luxembourg (2-3) v Dusseldorf (0-3)
Belgium A (0-8) v Belgium B (0-4)
Holland (4-5) v Luxembourg (1-1)
Belgium A (2-8) v Dusseldorf (0-0)
Belgium B (8-5) v Luxembourg (0-0)
Holland (8-3) v Dusseldorf (0-1)
Semi Final:
Belgium A v Luxembourg (Luxembourg conceded)
Holland (1-2) v Belgium B (5-12)
Final:
Belgium A (0-8) v Belgium B (2-4)
Ranking Amsterdam (2nd Benelux Round)
Belgium B: 25 points
Belgium A: 20 points
Holland: 16 points
Luxembourg: 13 points
Düsseldorf: 11 points
All in all, a tough, sodden, hard day of football…
Belgium GAA 