Number 7 for Gus Gillespie

Saturday 9th September - Woody Point 9am flick off:
The Brisbane Subbuteo clubs 31st WASPA competition had a pretty good turnout on a rather splendid Saturday morning at Woody Point, Queensland. Six flickers fronted up with their little men and polish, all ready to go toe to toe for the grand prize. One of last month’s finalists however wasn’t present, Rik was paying for his recent holiday in the UK and had to work the weekend – luckily for him reckoned Andy who was all geared up to give him a flogging…..
So the 4G network of Gareth,  Gerry, Gus and Giuseppe were joined by Shane and Andy.  Gerry faced the current champ Gus and put up a great effort in only his second comp, narrowly losing 2-0. Andy back from the dead saw off Shane 1-0 whilst the two local boys of Redcliffe saw Giuseppe win 3-0.
The next round had Gerry losing 2-0 again, to a very motivated Andy, Giuseppe came back twice to earn a 2-2 draw with Gus, whilst Shane and Gareth also shared the points with a 1-1 draw.
Round 3 witnessed Gerry lose by a 2-0 margin but this time getting a goal and losing to Giuseppe 3-1. Andy continued his winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Gareth. In the last fixture, Gus snatched a late win in a very tight affair with Shane 1-0.
Round 4 gave Gareth his first win of the day, beating Gerry in a close game 2-1. Shane held Giuseppe to a 1-1 draw and last month’s Champ came unstuck against Andy, going down 1-0.
Round 5 had a few permutations, though Andy had secured a final berth, Giuseppe would need a win to gain his spot, whilst Gus needed a win and hoped Andy could finish with five wins. In the other tie, Gerry got his first point of the day, getting a credible 2-2 draw with Shane. Gus did his bit, beating Gareth 3-0 but all goals came in the second half to keep Gus twitching, and Andy finished top of the group in style, beating Giuseppe 2-1, allowing Gus to sneak in the back door.
So the first ever Sunshine Coast derby final would take place, guaranteeing a trip North for the trophy no matter who won. The first half was very cagey, not many chances created as the two defended doggedly, looking for an opening (the ref Giuseppe’s description was a bit more blunt, “boring” he said). The second half opened up a bit and Gus took a lead with 3 minutes gone. This was the signal for the game to really open up and the game went end to end, Andy though definitely creating the better chances. The final buzzer went and Gus had held on to win back to back trophies for only his second time. A great day as usual, good feed from Giuseppe before the final, and all games played with great sportsmanship. The scores were all pretty close today, a sign of things to come as Gerry finds his feet, Gareth’s flicking is up there with the best (some great blocking) and Shane is not far from rekindling his form from yesteryear.

The next two WASPA tournaments will be on October 28 and November 11 at the Clubhouse.

(Report by Giuseppe Tardiota)