The first rule of fight club is.....
It was semi-final time and there was some bad blood in the run up to this fixture. A moment of madness from manager John Ison saw Myton reported to the league for fielding an ineligible player, with Gatehouse Tavern being the tell tales on this occasion.
Another moment of madness from John Ison saw Adam Whitefield selected in the centre of the park for the big game, in a previously untried 4-2-1-2-1 formation. Even Kevin Keegan was left scratching his head. To be fair to John, Myton were down to their last legs with crocked Jez Carpenter standing in the sticks and John Woodhouse taking has 5 square metre of turf further up the pitch as the lone striker. Kiam Galdins was not available for the game and was quoted in the press as saying "It's all about Saturday football. I just love it at the Kings, especially when we get to go down the club after and play snooker. Sometimes I get to nosh the managers, I'm so lucky".
The game started badly for the home side as Gatehouse took an early lead after Sean Monnington was caught out of position on the right hand side. The left winger carried his run into the box and struck into the far top corner, despite the efforts of 'keeper' Jez Carpenter.
After the early set back, Myton struggled to compete with only Andy Bynon sticking his foot in, much to the dislike of the visitors. A disallowed goal from a corner may have changed the game on 20 minutes but the referee deemed the goalkeeper was fouled as he dropped the ball over the goal line. Another poor decision to go against Myton this season.
It was not to be for the home side on the night as the Gatehouse doubled their lead before half time. Usually strong from set pieces, Myton conceded from a corner as captain Macca was beaten to a header for the first time since 1994. The omens were bad.
But the oranges weren't. Dale rounded off an up and down season with a fresh selection of clementines. He may yet get a contract extension yet for next year.
The second half didn't get any better unfortunately as Jaguar conceded from another set piece. This time Adam Whitefield was beaten to the ball six yards from goal.
A fourth followed as the referee allowed a Gatehouse player to foul centre half Danny Burke and lash in but the game was long gone by this point. But the action certainly wasn't over....
The St Tropez laden Gary Lineker wannabe Gatehouse midfielder fancied himself a bit as he went straight over the top of the ball on Andy Bynon - a constant source of irritation on the night. Things got tasty as Bynon and Dale Winton went head-to-head and some windmill fighting style came to the fore. Both sides settled things down but one player didn't want it to be over. Adam Whitefield came in with his 'Tile Hill Hello' and stuck the bonce on the big man, followed by a couple of haymakers and flying studs to boot. 22 man scuffle ensued.
Surprisingly, after the furore, 2 red cards were dished out to Gatehouse and only Adam Whitefield given his marching orders for Jaguar. Clearly not ready to leave empty handed, Adam proceeded to offer his fighting services to the entire Gatehouse sideline and entered the away dressing room to inquire about a second helping of knuckle sandwich. That's "Adam Whitefield, Number 8. I'll be in the car park if anyone wants it".
The game ended 4-0 and brought down the curtain on what could have been a very successful season for Jaguar. 90 minutes from a cup final and a couple of points away from being promoted were the fine margins that defined the season. Still, there's always time for an end of season p*ss up....that's one thing Myton are good at.
