ROUND 3
MATCH 8
9/6/06


England win the CHERISH Cup 2006!!!

TEAM CAPTAIN GEORGE SETS UP A GOAL FOR GEORGE (10)	GEORGE 10 ENGLAND
MASCOTTE (8) SEND THE BALLS FLYING OVER GEORGE'S HEAD	IT'S MASCOTTE (2) WHO SCORES THE ONLY GOAL FOR THE FRENCH SIDE

It was like a dream come true for England as they finally held high the CHERISH Cup trophy!
The nation is asking itself whether England can repeat this victory in the World Cup, which began today!
After some consistently good match play in the first round, the French side seemed to lose their bottle today
and conceded the cup to England with a final score of 1 goal to France and a sweeping 6 to England!
Mascotte (2) of France did, however, fully deserve the Man of the Match title after his amazing goal scored from halfway down the pitch!
George (10) of England gained the title for the English side for his hat trick of goals, including one set up by George (8), Team Captain.
When asked how he felt about losing to the English, Mascotte said mournfully:
'Pah! I suppose they will be filling the cup with tea to celebrate!'
In fact the English side celebrated their win by first running around the pitch with their shirts over their heads,
then recreating the famous picture of the late great Bobby Moore holding the World Cup aloft in 1966.

The England team looks forward to receiving their specially engraved plaques in due course,
while the lucky Captain (George, number 8) will be keeping the CHERISH Cup.
All of the team will be able to relax on their new world football themed bean bag seats while watching the World Cup 2006!
The French team will be able to watch their grass seeds grow while waiting to see their home team score in the World Cup!

ROUND 2

MATCH 7
8/6/06

BASILICO 6 ITALIA	JURGEN 4 DEUTSCHLAND

The Italians were in top form today for their second match against Germany.
Having beaten them before, in the First Round, the Italians were determined to do so again.
In the end it was a conclusive final score, although the Germans made several good attempts at goal.
The Italian goalkeeper was equally good at stopping them!
Jurgen (4) managed to break through the defence and hammer home a great goal
but in the end the Italian stallions outran the Germans and scored four goals against them.
Basilico (6) was on particularly fine form and scored 2 of the winning goals.
In his unique way he celebrated with an operatic rendition of 'O Sole Mio' and kisses all round on both cheeks for the team,
referee and linesmen before continuing play.
The German fans retaliated with a rousing chrous or two of 'Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit' complete with actions,
which lifted their spirits (mainly Schnapps and Apfelkorn) but not their score.

Now everybody awaits the final match on Friday to determine the overall winning team of the CHERISH Cup 2006.
Will it be France or England?!

MATCH 5 & 6
7/6/06

MASCOTTE 11 FRANCE	GEORGE 12 ENGLAND

The French team stormed through the third and final game of the First Round, giving Italy the boot.
Although Basilico managed to slip one goal past the French goalkeeper, the goals from the boys in bleu were relentless.
Mascotte (11) was the star player, scoring 2 of the 5 goals in the first half and establishing a strong lead.
All the Italian side could do was watch as the French ran ognion rings around them.
They had more holes in their defence than a piece of Gorganzola!
After a 4th goal from Mascotte the Italians stepped up their game but a tackle from Basilico
in the penalty area gave Mascotte (11) the chance to add a 5th goal to the French total.
When asked how his team felt about finishing in the bottom two, Basilico could only say:
"Mamma mia, it's a game we play; Bye bye doesn't mean forever".

The English side faced their rivals Germany with determination that this time they would get through to the next round.
For a time this appeared unlikely as the German team went 3:1 up at half time.
However, after some stern talk from their Captain, George, the team entered the stadium breathing fire in the second half and scored within 5 minutes.
After 20 minutes George (12) had equalised with a fantastic header. It looked as though the Germans had given up...
However, they came back with a fourth goal scored by a passing shot from Jurgen and once again, they thought it was all over.
George (12) rallied with a goal deflected off the bar. The Germans protested but the referee allowed the goal.
Surely it was off to the bierkeller for the German team?
In the closing minutes of the match George (12) made his team's win totally conclusive by hammering in his 3rd goal and the 6th English goal overall.

Just 2 matches left in the CHERISH Cup: Thursday's to decide 3rd and 4th places and Friday's Final will take place between England and France.

MATCH 3 & 4
6/6/06

BASILICO 7 ITALIA	MASCOTTE 1 FRANCE

Today's matches were both very close and fiercely contested.
The result could easily have gone either way
with just one goal difference between the winning and the losing teams in each match.

The first match, between Italy and Germany, was slow to get going,
possibly because of the effects of the sauerkraut and spaghetti from the evening before.
The Germans had their positions well mapped out (they had put down beach towels the night before).
The German side did not score in the first half but made up for this poor start with three goals in the second half.
The crowd enjoyed their goal celebrations which included some thigh slapping
although the Italians protested that this took up too much match time.
The Latin side wanted a pizza the action but after scoring one goal early in the game it seemed that they had peaked too early.
There was a lot of aimless roamin' around the pitch.
However, after half time Basilico (7) scored an excellent second goal from halfway down the pitch.
This made him Man of the Match; alas, it was too little too late to win the match.

The second match, between England and France was a 1:1 draw right up until extra time,
when Mascotte flicked the ball in past the keeper with a great header.
The English side was sluggish today, while the French were no snails on the pitch.
In fact, the only decent dribbling from the English team was when they smelt the oranges at half time!
Thanks to the quick reactions of the French goalkeeper, the English side was only able to chip in one goal.
Mascotte (1) in goal saved several balls and was named as Man of the Match.

MATCH 1 & 2
5/6/06

BASILICO 5 ITALIA	JURGEN 10 DEUTSCHLAND