Maverick

Maverick, Maverick they call it Maverick - OK, so a bad rip-off of a Madness song. Maverick is a card game that some members of the Supporters Club like to play when heading on away trips - to try and help raise some cash - but that plan can always backfire. Considering we've added a number of additional rules to the game - we though we'd post them for reference.

Maverick - The Rules

• First we decide the ante - usually €1 a head
• Each player is dealt 2 cards face up - deal round once - then twice
• When it's your turn you can bet anything up-to the Pot that you will get a card in between the 2 cards you have been dealt
• If you win, you take your money out, if you lose, the money goes in - but you do not have to bet if you don't get good cards
• If you pull identical cards, e.g. 4 of spades and 4 of hearts, you get a free shot of the pot, but you have to get another 4 - and that's Maverick my friends
• If your first card is an Ace - you have to call it high or low, 2rd card Aces are always high
• If you pull an Ace and call it low and get a 2nd Ace - you can't be beat
• If you pull an Ace and call it high and get a 2nd Ace - you need to get a 3rd for Maverick

Possible Hands - Winners & Losers
3 of Diamonds & Jack of Spades
You pull - 7 of Clubs - we have a winner
You pull - 3 of Hearts - we have a loser
You pull - Ace of Spades - we have a loser

5 of Hearts & Queen of Diamonds
You pull - 2 of Diamonds - we have a loser
You pull - 7 of Hearts - we have a winner
You pull - Queen of Spades - we have a loser

10 of Diamonds & 10 of Hearts
You have to pull either the 10 of Spades or Clubs to get Maverick

Additional Rules
Sure, it would be interesting if we couldn't make up some additional rules ourselves, these were made up before the Gothenburg home match and after the Gretna away match

All in on The Blind

• before the dealing starts you can call all in on the blind, this means that you are going for the Pot before seeing your cards
• as you are taking this risk - if you lose - you only pay half the pot
• if you get cards were it is impossible to go you get a bye e.g. 7 of Hearts & 6 of Clubs

So, sounds an OK game - sure, you couldn't lose that much. Think again, or ever better ask Joe and Seany who played in Gothenburg Airport when it got mental. At one stage, Big Dady, Ratboy and The Child were the only one's playing and the pot was €320 - it can be either a great game - or a real nasty one.

We even had ItalianPaddy playing the game in Frankfurt Airport on the way over Gothenburg. Although he came in when we were all half tubed on the German beer and made a small killing. How we ever got on that plane in Frankfurt I'll never no - but once we levelled out, the cards were out and Maverick continued.

Killer Football

Killer Football - what's all that about. It's a competition we use for fundraising for our club. We did have it running, with some minor glitches in the Eircom League until Dublin City dropped out of site and it became an administrative nightmare, so we've had to make the call to cross over to the darkside and run one involving the English Premiership.

So How Does It Work:

• You start with 2 Lifes
• It's €10 a head
• Each week you pick a team from the weekend fixtures that you think are going to win
• If they win, your lifes stay intact, if they draw or lose, you lose a life
• Once you select a team, you can not select them until you have selected all the rest of the teams
• If you forget to send in your selection, an Automatic Selection is made going from the previous weeks league table (e.g. Going on the first week, Chelsea would be the auto-pick, as they won the league, after a few weeks, it's whoever is top, if you have already selected tehm, it's whoever is second and so forth)

Previous Killer Football
At the start of the Eircom League we did run Killer Football successfully. We started of with 13 people in. Mick McCourt & Stephen Large ended up sharing the pot after 9 match days, when the rest of us had lost out on our 3 lifes (cut down to 2 for the new one as the Premiership Killer is easier)

Mick McCourt had the longest winning streak selecting 6 winning teams in a row. But this pales into the shadows when looking at the magnificient losing streak of Will "The Child" McCann, when in the first 3 weeks I managed to select 3 losing teams in a row and ended up on the scrap heap - I have to say - not one of my finest moments.

So who'll win this time round is anyone's guess, but our numbers have grown and we now have 25 people competing - so may the best man win - na, screw that, I want to win.

Gretna 1 - Derry 5

Well what can I say about this match that hasn't already been said, reported, written in various forums. It was truly an unbelievable night to be a Derry fan.

The Fans
The fans were over in force, vocal throughout the whole match and about 20 minutes afterwards. After each goal the stand erupted, people hugging and jumping up with those around them, whether they new them or not. I seem to be making more and more friends with every Derry game I go to, and running into lads I haven't seen in years.

The Team
I think the only thing I missed after reading match reports in about 20 different papers was a list of player ratings - for a result like that, you'd have to be giving them all 10 out of 10, even Forde with his heart stopping moments, but if it wasn't for his heroic saves in Gothenburg, would we have been here?

1-0 down after 12 minutes, their heads could have dropped, but they didn't, they kept their shape and kept to the game plan and it paid off, with 5 stunning goals, which I'll talk about in a bit. 1-1 going into half-time, and I've heard or read that the half-time team talk from Stephen Kenny was to advise the team of the comments made about the team from Gretna's management team - my God, did it work.

4 stunning goals in the 2nd half, and but ended Gretna's European adventure - it gave the fans something that they will remember for the rest of their life's, something that we'll be able to say in many years from now - "I was there".

The Goals
1-1 Darren Kelly
Pizza plays a superb ball from the centre circle out to Hargy, who's first touch was sublime, he swivels and floats the ball into the box and Darren Kelly powers it in at the back post. Great leap and accuracy to put it into the back of the net.

1-2 Kevin Deery
Ciaran Martyn fouled 30 yards from goal. Kevin Deery places the ball and places it in the top right hand corner of the goal. The placing was inch perfect, over the wall and into the corner the keeper was placed at - possibly the best goal I've seen in my life.

1-3 Kevin Deery
The goal above only rates as possibly, due to this goal, great work down the right, ball swung into the box and headed clear by Gretna. Up steps Deery to crack it with his right foot from 30 yards out into the top left, giving the keeper no chance. I'd rate this the best live goal I've seen in my life.

1-4 Ciaran Martyn
I actually missed this one, I was under the stand on the phone to my brother who was watching in Belfast. Now he's not a Derry City fan but he decided to watch the match and he says it was one of the best performances he's seen from any team in his life. All I heard was the stands above erupt, then he erupted down the phone about 2 seconds later. Martyn made a 20 yard dash with the ball at his feet, with some great control to take it round the keeper and cooly slot it home, past two defenders.

1-5 Ciaran Martyn
Gary Beckett plays a looping ball to the feet of Martyn who lets it run for about 5 yards before unleashing an unstoppable strike from 20 yards - again giving the Gretna keeper no chance.

The Verdict
What more can I say - unbelievable. If you haven't seen the goals, doirecity from www.derrycitychat.com has uploaded a montage of highlights from TV and video capturing the goals and the fans - check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WelpDm_Scd8 - breathtaking.

On Friday I picked up the Star and the Sun in Glasgow and then had great write ups about the match, with some classic gems listed below:

"And the only saving grace was the Irish champions ran out of time to rub even more salt into the most gasping wounds the biggest little club in football have ever suffered." - Bill Leckie - The Sun

"But fair play to the Croatian ref Marijo Strahonya, he kept the book in his pocket and tried to let it all flow. The only disappointment was when he blew for half-time. The pity for Gretna is he made them go back out again." - Bill Leckie - The Sun

"Gretna thought things couldn't get any worse but Deery followed up to show his shooting exploits weren't a one off." - Scott Burns - The Star

"The final insult came from the Derry fans who chanted, 'Let's all laugh at Gretna', as the final whistle went." - Scott Burns - The Star

Gretna Roll Call

Well, it's only taken me 3 days after the match to put up an update about the Gretna game over in Motherwell.

Well, first of all, let's get the Roll Call done for the people I travelled over with. We seem to be molding quite nicely in to one big happy family, as you'll seen from the nicknames below. I hope to add photos to go along with the names in this post in the next few weeks.

Drum roll please for the family

Big Daddy - Gary White - the last in our entourage to be named, well he did bring it upon himself in Di Maggio's in Glasgow - and long may it last

The Twins - Darren McConway & Neil Karran - if you know these two guys, you'll know why we labelled them this, I've met them on a good few occasions now and I'm still getting them mixed up

Ratboy - Ryan Smyth - this name was given to Ryan by his older brother Morph years ago, but it's what we now all know him by

The Kid - Aimee Bronby - Big Daddy's daughter - making it to her 2nd Derry away game, her first being at Glentoran when she was only 6 months old

The Child - Will McCann - Now I'm just taking it that the lads call me this because of my boyish good looks, but if you ask them they'll probably make up some excuse about me always being the first one to hit the sack on away trips

Photo's of the above family to follow shortly.

Bray Wanderers 2 - Derry City 3

Derry made it hard on themselves in the second half of the game last night. 3 nil up at half time, with 2 goals from Kevin McHugh, the 1st well taken and the 2nd pounced on after a goal mouth scramble, and then Ciaran Martyn firing in a rocket on the 45 minute mark.

As for the defence - they were solid in the first half, they limited Bray to shots from 20 yards with Oman and Holmes showing some great touches on the ball.

THen in the 2nd half, things didn't fall our way at all. Bray brought the score up to 3-1 3 minutes into the 2nd half, with a soplid strike from about 16 yards out. Deery limped off for Derry close just after the hour mark with McGylnn coming on for him.

Then Derry had a bright spell in front of goal, we just couldn't convert the chances, Brenna, hitting over when it looked easy to get it on target and O'Flynn glancing a header off the post.

Close to the 80 minute mark McHugh made a great break down the right wing and crossed from the bye line, with O'Flynn unlucky not to make the perfect contact for the ball.

Then on 83 minutes a lapse in defence let Bray score their 2nd, Forde again left with no chance from the strike. From corners and crosses on the night Forde's hands were as safe as houses - but some of his distruibution from those same hands was not as good.

It was a nervy last 5 minutes (well 9 really as there was 4 minutes injury time) with a lot of high balls and stray passes. Derry did great a couple of good chances, some great work from a throw in on the right on the 86 minute mark, gave us a chnace but it was misse at the back post.

Farren was unlucky in the 93rd minute with a great run. With Maribor Kev giving a running commentary to all the fans through the microphone - I tell you, he puts Motty to shame.

GARY WHITE'S WORDS OF WISDOM
Each week we'll bring different insights from the members of the Supporters club - this week the honour goes to Gary White

With about 15 mniutes gone in the 1st half, I think I spot Shaun Holmes on the field playing with 22 on his back. So I turn round to Mr White and say "Is Holmes 22" to which he replies "He's not that young"

Close to the end of the 1st half, the said Mr White lambasts Martyn for having a quite game - I don't know, Martyn must have heard him as he relfed in a bullet on the 45 minute mark.

Supporters Club Side Bets
Paddy Ward is looking good for the side bet against Gary and Morph, after him claiming McHugh will get more goals than Farren this season. 2 more added to McHugh's tally on the night and Farren having a goal ruled out.

As always the fans were in great voice throughout the game, the drums were going non-stop and Maribor Kev was vocal on the Microphone