I felt like the kid in this photo earlier today when I checked my phone, and three of the five teams in my weekend soccer accumulator had come in, including a punty 8/1 shout on Huddersfield beating Wolves a way, a task they ably managed with a workmanlike 2-0 win.
A little background
Every weekend, myself and two friends place a five team accumulator on the soccer matches across Europe, but most typically the English and Scottish leagues. Any win is evenly distributed between the three of us. We've had a few wins along the way and it's a lot of fun, especially when one of them is going well.
Yesterday got away from me, as I was very busy, so I never had time to put on a bet, so I did a five team accumulator for today instead.
My options were a little limited, as most games were played yesterday, so in the end, I plumped for 2 Premier league games, a championship and one game each in the Spanish and Italian top divisions. You can see my choices in the screenshot below.
I had another busy day today and I didn't see the Bournemouth vs Arsenal or Aston Villa vs Birmingham games, but when I checked on www.bbc.co.uk, I could see that both games went the way I predicted, so two down, three to go. Not a bad start at all.
Wolves vs Huddersfield
This was the long shot, with Huddersfield getting odds of 8/1 for an away win, which I thought was very generous, as they have played well at times this year, without getting the reward of points on the board, and also Wolves were on the back of 3 defeats in 4 games, so I thought 8/1 offered value.
I was proved right, as goals from Aaron Mooy, one in each half helped Huddersfield Town record only their second win of the season, catapulting them from bottom of the table to thirteenth. That jump of seven places with one win tells you how tight it is at the bottom, where 2 points divide 7 teams.
Now, I was really starting to believe that the bet might land, and myself and my two mates could share a split of the €1501.50 windfall. It would come in very handy for that last minute Christmas shopping in a few weeks time!
Villareal vs Real Betis
This was the last game to be played, but I'll cover it before the Lazio vs AC Milan game, and you can probably guess why!
Villareal were favorites to come out on top here, and they justified their favouritism with a a 2-1 home win. Goals from Moreno and Chukwueze in a rampant 3 minute period early in the second half gave them a two goal cushion. And it proved to be a cushion they needed, as a late Betis goal from Giovani Lo Celso had the Villereal boys sweating late on. They held on though.
Four down, five to go, the €1501.50 pot was starting to look possible.
Lazio vs AC Milan
Just a single point separated these sides before today's match, so when I saw AC MIlan at odds of 10/3, I thought, ok, there is value there, and it became one of my 5 picks for the day.
I didn't get to watch the match, and just kept an eye on things on an App on my phone. It was starting to look like a 0-0 stalemate until an OG by Wallace in the 78th minute gave AC Milan the lead.
You little beauty!!
Only 12 minutes for an Italian defense to shut up shop, and claim the spoils. They did just that, as Lazio poured forward with attack after attack, throwing everything bar the kitchen sink at Milan. The Milan defense stood firm, and I watched from my App, as the game entered stoppage time, still poised at 0-1,
91 minutes - still 0-1
92 minutes - still 0-1
93 minutes - still 0-1
94 minutes - Disaster struck!!
A pox-bottle by the name Joaquin Correa popped up for a 94th minute equaliser, crushing Milan hearts and crushing my accumulator as well!
So close, so damn close!! It was good fun, but to be so close and just fall short is a sickener, and I will be a moaning Michael tomorrow in work, as I tell my pals about it - a Moanful Monday Moaning Michael, to be precise!
I even had the choice to cash out late on in the match and before a ball was kicked in the Villareal match. However, we have had some terrible luck with cash outs in our trio, so it is seldom we even consider a cash out these days. In hindsight, it would have been nice to get something!
Always look.....
But, hey, I'm alive, I'm breathing, and I'm happy, so remember to:
"Always look on the bright side of life"
This is a famous quote from a great song from one of my favorite movies "The Life of Brian", a Monty Python classic from 1979. The movie was made before I was even born! :o)
If you've never seen the movie, go and watch it and let me know what you think, and while your at it watch Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail, which is even funnier again.
Here is the clip from the end of the movie, when they sing that classic song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJUhlRoBL8M
That's all Folks
That's it for me. That was my entry into this weeks Moanful Monday contest. Good luck to everyone who entered and if you haven't entered yet, get right on over to the link below and give it your best shot. If you don't have time to get it in for tomorrow, fear not, @pete does a new one every Monday, so just follow him and keep an eye out for the latest edition.
https://scorum.com/en-us/wrestling/@pete/happy-moan-day-november-19th-2018
Thanks for reading my post. I hope you enjoyed it, or cried like I almost did!
Peace Out.
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