I have returned to this page after my self-inflected exile from the Scarbelly fold. Alas it was not as glorious a return as Nelsons Mandela's after being released from Robben Island, I was not treated like the prodigal son, indeed the only calf to the slaughter was Scarbelly Town.
On a day that most people wouldn't send a dog out in Scarbelly took to field to try & regain some of their early season momentum & restore some glory.
Dave Sparrow made his third start on the trot in goal, having replaced the more than reliable Pat Nugent after his early season injury nightmare. Nugent himself partnered Corks Pa Barry at centre half, with Mitchell & O'Keeffe occupying the defensive flanks. Loughlin & Murphy were their midfield counterparts, while Sheil filled in for the much missed Mark Heveren along with Willy Codd in centre midfield.
The early omens were not good. Within five minutes the injury prone Sheil pulled his hamstring & had to be replaced by lone sub Pete Hughes. Even at that early stage I think it was fair to quote Julius Caesar & say the dye was cast.
What happened next can only be described as a combination of a lack of class, atrocious conditions & a calamity of errors. Although it was all done in the best of humour & with a strong team spirit.
Scarbelly battled bravely for the first half hour, dominating possession without really threatening to score. However by half time a complete & utter breakdown had ensued the result of which was Scarbelly being three goals the poorer.
After some lighthearted chat the second half began with a downpour, of rain not goals conceded (& certainly not scored). However Scarbelly played with a bit a passion, without taking themselves too seriously, which was refreshing.
Not that it changed their fortunes on the field much with The Titans quickly repeating the three goals they scored in the first half. The pick of which was a nutmeg followed by a twenty yard piledriver. Scarbelly scored two late consolation goals through Tom Hughes & Willy Codd but nobody complained when the ref blew the final whistle to allow people to go indoors, get a hot shower & remember what their toes felt like. A miserable day & a miserable result but good fun all the same.
Irish rugby star Neil Best put it best when he said, tongue in cheek, in his post match interview after beating Australia, “Well when I say the weather this morning I wasn’t really up for it.”

Scarbelly: Sparrow, Mitchell, O'Keeffe, Nugent, Barry, Loughlin, Murphy, Sheil(c) (P.Hughes 5), Codd, T.Hughes, O Leary

Yellowbelly Town..

Scarbelly: Lydon, Mitchell, O'Keeffe, Sheil(c), Barry, Murphy, Rocke, Hevern, Piggott, O Leary (Ruane 70), Fields (Hughes 70)

Things that are habitual to Sunday morning; reading the papers in bed, taking your mother in-law to mass, maybe washing the car & of course three points for Scarbelly Town. Or at this stage you would have thought, they certainly did.
Fielding an identical team to the won which defeated The Sexual Terrorists on match day one, bar injury plagued striker Órán O Leary returning to replace absentee Joe Fields, Scarbelly dropped their first points of the season with a mediocre performance in an exciting yet generally poor game of football.
Playing the match on the billiard table that is the astro turf also guaranteed a large crowd of hard-core ultras in the guise of injured keeper Dave Sparrow & number one fan Katie Boyle.
My enthusiasm for this page & football in general has being on the wane recently & this game certainly did nothing to stop the rot.
In a way Scarbelly were the architects of their own destruction here, talk of 6-0 drubbings were being lauded about before a ball had even being kicked, names I won’t mention.
Anyhow Scarbelly rode they’re luck in the first half, which should be sent to trial at Nuremburg for genocide against football. Nothing Special Wanders had several chances to kill the game off, including a ricocheted clearance off the line in the pinball machine that was the Scarbelly defence. Also their rightback (rightback!) ran the diagonal length of the pitch only to be snuffed out before he could pull the trigger.
In contrast Scarbelly’s attack was lively & somewhat creative. Jim Rocke hooked a perfect through ball to Órán O Leary only for the powerful striker to narrowly fire wide of the intersection. O Leary nearly turned provider soon after, strike partner Brian Loughlin unlucky not to score.
O Leary had not long to wait before he got his assist. When Mark Hevern fired into the box O Leary trapped the ball allowing tireless midfielder Willy Codd to up his season’s tally to three.
Wanders had every right to feel hard done by as it was fair to say it was against the run of play but it was certain Scarbelly players who voiced the most discontent deeming the goal not good enough! I have two theories on this obscure opinion. Firstly, these players might be worshipers of Dutch legend Rinus Michels & his beautiful Total Football, thus a somewhat scrappy goal like Codd’s would disgust their purest ideals. Or perhaps they were involved in some massive match fixing scandal? After all gambling megalomaniac Derrick Ruane was present.. Either way these opinions reek of works too foul to print on these pages & are better left unsaid. Still at half time it was Scarbelly Town one goal to the better.
In fairness to The Belly they showed a lot more verve & spirit in the second half in which they dominated proceedings. Their quick, clever attacks carved out chance after chance. On a dour note striker Loughlin hobbled off with a suspected hip injury, being replaced by Ruane.
Scarbelly pressed & pressed but couldn’t find that vital opening. The decisions weren’t with them on the day either as several times the ref oppressed them, his worst offence coming after disallowing advantage after a challenge on Hevern when Ruane was clean through on goal.
Scarbelly were to pay for this wastefulness. The circumstances surrounding Wanders goal can only be described as bizarre. Belly Keeper Nugent came for a ball & in the maze of bodies clattered the Wanders striker. While they were (wrongly) screaming for a penalty the ball ended up in the back of the net.
Rough justice considering how Scarbelly were playing although Wanders can claim it was karma making up for the first half.
What happened next can only be described as an act of Satan. Workaholic striker Órán O Leary was unjustly subbed for Mr. Versatility Richie Piggot. Whatever feeble excuses of tiredness were being thrown about this was clearly an act of stubbornness & pathetic loyalties. Not in O Leary’s favour either.
But back to the footb