It’s obvious that the Austro-British Society is obliged to meet when the schedule of the UEFA European Football Cup tells us that England vs. Scotland is the game of the evening. And so it was. A football dedicated group of members gathered in the Café Ministerium on Friday, June 18 to watch this “Battle of Britain” as it has been called.
And we wouldn’t be British, if we hadn’t placed our bets. While our President was the only one who hoped for a win of the Scots, only one member betted for an equal result whilst all others made their bets for a win of England with different results. 90 minutes later, it was clear that the man betted for a 1-1 was closest to the final result and won the bet. We are diplomatic enough not to mention at this point, that former Ambassador Colin Munro won the bet – a Scotsman… The moral of the story: Sometimes a realistic mistrust in the own people pays back…
Although we missed the goals, the match itself was far away from being boring. Good chances on both sides made us a good evening. Nevertheless, the English seemed to have quite some respect and we missed their quick combinations and saw them playing quite reluctant and cautious, while the Scots countered bravely which made the fans in Wembley celebrating the 0-0 as a victory. In the group of members there were rumors, that the English didn’t want to give the Scots another reason for an Independence Referendum and hence let them have their chances – we will never find out the truth.
A very important part of the match was the halftime break, in which wonderful smelling and tasting food, but not British, was served by the Café Ministerium: one of the best Gulasch soups ever and delicious Apricot pie avoided starvation. Compliments to the team of kitchen and service!
All in all, it was an enjoyable summer evening and we are thrilled what we will see in the next matches from those two British teams.
Jochen Ressel
