Daniel Cummings 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th - Season   Statan Clarke 6th & 7th - Season

27 JAN 2010 - King's Sports Centre, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

The number 5 has a history of significance in many different cultures, areas and religions throughout the ages. Five is the ancient Egyptian symbol of sacrifice. In Aztec mythology, five is the number associated with the god Tezcatlipoca, who is sometimes symbolized by a single hand with five fingers. The current age in Aztec culture is also the Fifth, and in general the number five in Aztec culture represents movement and the four directions plus the center. Muslims pray to Allah five times a day.

More recent associations includes one based in astrology, where the Messier object M5 is a magnitude 7.0 globular cluster in the constellation Serpens. In the United States legal system, the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution can be referred to in court as "pleading the fifth", absolving the defendant from self-incrimination, essentially a silence. And silence is exactly what Cummings did on Wednesday evening, to the defense of Maples & Calder, the result of a stunning 5 goal performance.

The Old Boys approached the game, the 5th of the season, lean in numbers, with Cummings the only sub available, and still recovering from a torn MCL. The game unfortunately started with an increasingly frequent trend of Old Boys games this season, a goal for the opposition given away cheaply. Some sloppy defending allowed Maples to apply and early lead. The Old Boys have missed another important element related to the number 5 - their own #5 Tom Elliot, whose marauding style helped to win many a midfield battle last season. However, the early wake up call sent the Old Boys on a destructive rampage not seen since Hurricane Ivan, the last devastating Cat 5 to tear things apart in Cayman.

After being forced into early action following an ankle injury to Dominic Whitaker, who had to be carried off the field, Cummings began his quintet with a strong run between the opposition defender and goalkeeper, slotting the ball between them to tie the score. Less than 5 minutes later, a second for Cummings followed, a neat turn and trademark strong finish to the far post to put the OB’s ahead 2-1.

Statan “Tall Man” Clake then chipped in to increase the lead, dazzling several defenders with blinding skills before slamming home the 3rd goal. Cummings’ inexplicable ability to find the back of the net from extreme angles provided the vehicle for his hat-trick with just 20 minutes on the clock.

The Discordianism’s Law of Fives states simply that: All things happen in fives, or are divisible by or are multiples of five, or are somehow directly or indirectly appropriate to 5, and Cummings ensured 5 would be the number of the night by rattling a shot off both the keeper and the post, again from a seemingly impossible angle to find the net and provide the OB’s 5th goal of the half.

While Cummings provided the goals for the evening, the team provided the means with Sives, a rock and a hard place between the sticks, stopping almost everything Maples sent his way. Addison and Brown mopped up things in defense, shutting things down like an FBI SWAT team at a crack house. Gaffing and Clarke ran the midfield, supplying both the passages of the play that lead to the goals and support in defense when needed.

Unfortunately another slow start to the half saw Maples find a glimmer of hope, taking the kick off straight through the OBs for a goal just seconds in. Like the five permanent members with veto power on the United Nations Security Council, the outfield players decided this was enough and just like the first half, provided an immediate OB response. And it was a special one.

A free-kick awarded to the OB’s was placed by Addison, who saw Cummings lurking on the far side of the Maples goal area. He provided the deftest of chips, and Cummings placed a header back across the goal and into the far corner – a goal very rarely seen on the indoor scene. This play has some history as it is almost a carbon copy of the winning goal in the quarterfinal of the Kings Indoor World Cup vs. India, not coincidentally, the team’s 5th game of the tournament.

Clarke added the 7th of the evening with some trademark Brazilian footwork and a powerful final to end the game with a score line of 7-2 – a 5 goal margin.

There is no denying the almost symbiotic relationship of the evening’s game to the number 5. In fact the only thing missing was a Punjabi with the last name “Panchlothia”, an Indian surname based on the five mythological headless male warriors. Regardless, 5 was the Old Boys lucky number for the evening and let’s hope this good fortune continues, and help to see them form a relationship with a another number come season’s end….No.1.