Samba 4 FC Herne Hill 2

Samba 4 FC Herne Hill 2

(Breebeto Jnr 1, Breebeto Snr 2, Carltona 1)

Team (1-2-3-1): Safe Hands - Richardinho, Head Height - Breebeto Snr, Carltiano (c), Breebeto Jnr - Wildman

The Breebeto brothers celebrating with Captain Carltiano running to join in

Samba Quays made a triumphant return to competitive football, after a two and half year hiatus, with a 4-2 victory over FC Herne Hill on Tuesday night. Player manager Jonny 'Breebeto Snr' Breeze was left sweating on the fitness of star keeper Will 'Safe Hands' Coulter, but the man the fans call 'the cat' came off his sick bed to ensure Samba could field a full team. In came Adam 'Richardinho' Richardson and Tom 'Breebeto Jnr' Breeze for their senior Samba debuts, lining up alongside Samba veteran John 'Head Height' Cross, Breebeto Senior, Greg 'Wildman' Day and new captain Matthew 'Carltiano' Carlton. After a cagey opening period, it was new boy Breebeto Junior who broke the deadlock, firing in from 15 yards midway through the first half.

Herne Hill soon retorted with a quick equaliser, before Breebeto Snr restored Samba's lead and rolled back the years with a trademark left footed finish - he may have put on a few pounds since his last Samba appearance but the left foot seems to be working well. The scores were soon level again after the break, when Herne Hill's impressive striker burst through the Samba backline to fire home. Many in the crowd thought that would signal the end of Samba's plucky showing, but how wrong they were. First Breebeto Snr rifled in a ferocious right foot drive (yes, that's correct...right foot) before Carltiano sealed things with a poacher's goal, following up when Breebeto Snr's hat-trick effort was blocked by the keeper. Samba's legions of fans celebrated wildly at the full time whistle, with many heading to The Vale for post game drinks.

While the fans partied, Breebeto Snr spoke to the media: 'I don't want to get carried away but this could be the start of something special for Samba Quays FC. We're more focused after our long break and I predict we'll move up the table and the divisions swiftly.' Breebeto Snr singled out Head Height for special praise, citing he'd like the rest of his squad to follow the big defender's example and settle down: 'JC's married down now and I think that's evident is his mature displays. He rarely plays a pass over head height anymore. I hope sex pests like Basil El-Titi take a leaf out of his book, especially if they want to prolong their Samba careers.'

Carltiano 08.01.09