Foggy Day in Northampton Town

Halloween was a gloomy, creepy affair, and the Sils Addams family assembled for the jaunt to deepest, darkest Northamptonshire. 'Ghoulish' Gary Perkins had assembled a strong squad - and Steve Aylin. The trip over was clear and crisp. It felt like a perfect night for hockey. However, as we neared the pitch, it began to resemble Dartmoor and the Hound of the Baskervilles. Creepy stuff.
As we arrived the opposition were assembled in their serried ranks and we knew it was going to be a hard night. And so it proved. Wave after wave of Northampton attacks crashed into the Sils defence and 'Cuthroat' Chris Thompson, John 'Scary' Scott and Jim Goldslaughter played well in repelling the attacks. I reached for the garlic and the silver crosses to help defend the goal -but to no avail. Northampton scored and then the fog rolled in. This helped the bald-pated members of the Sils to creep about in the fog and avoid detection. 'Uncle Fester' Nick Danks slipped in at the far post to flick the ball into the net, and against all the odds - it was 1-1. The fog grew thicker and there were many scary moments. There was a dreadful Faustian nightmare when Simon Russell, Richard Thurman and Nick Danks were running back toward my goal. It was like a scene from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. However - we were working hard.
Half time- we assembled in the goal for half time chat and a ghost story. By now, it was visibility of 20 yards, and the plan was to sneak behind the defence without being seen. An unusual slant on the normal team talk.
The second half was a strange experience for me. I heard some of it, imagined a lot of it, and the defence absorbed 12 penalty corners. We conceded 2 second half goals which was probably a fair reflection of the game. We did compete really well and could have easily scored. One shot by 'Spooky' Simon Russell was heading for their goal - but was intercepted by Nick Danks nether regions on the way. Cue a big howl and a missed opportunity. I blame the fog. The game ended 3-1 and was an excellent run-out. MoM was Keith Leeson who made a welcome return. We enjoyed a warming chilli and a couple of pints before a high speed run home led by Gary Perkins in his turbo-charged vehicle that cannot spot speed cameras.
I had a lovely evening. Northampton are a thoroughly decent bunch and this is an enjoyable fixture.