Today saw us trudge onto a very marshy, unforgiving heavy bog of a pitch, just waiting for the rain to begin. A changed line-up today, in view of the expected physical game, with Sam coming into goal and James joining Harry and Matt in defence. We started off at a blistering pace with two lovely attacks in the first minute alone and Jack, Lucaas and Thomas showing some very neat linkup play.

    Totally against the run of play, all three defenders went for the same ball and let the Generals in for a simple goal. This made the Generals' confidence rise and the physical nature of their game began to show. Sam had to become an instant hero with high save after high save. His long launches from the goal meant we could put our training ground exercises into play and we launched wave after wave of attacks with Jack battling, Thomas twisting and turning and Lucaas running the wings. Somehow, their luck held and they again caught us on a sucker punch when our defence lost a simple ball and it was swung unerringly into our net. Less than sixty seconds later they scored an identical goal and it was clear that the imposed changes were causing confusion and we reverted back to our old style, with Lewis coming on to add weight and options to midfield. This seemed to work as we kept Kettering at bay for the last ten minutes of the half, although we did not create enough to score.

    The second half saw Lucaas substituted for Josh Chappelow's fresh legs. This meant we could attack faster, which we did until our lack of a definitive midfield meant we could not cope with their harder challenges and they literally dragged the ball down the pitch to take their fourth, even though Matt tried to rise to take the header in a crunching airborne tackle. Matt was limping by this point but before a switch could be considered, Thomas was taken from behind in a controversial incident which led to him limping badly off the pitch. Josh had also been tackled late, which led to a pulled muscle and Lucaas came back on for him, and Jordan came on for Thomas. 

    This new formation started to win possession as clever legs avoided more tackles and suddenly it looked like we had a chance with the Gold spirit in full flow. The ball was worked closely by Jordan, who linked with Jack well, and we began to test their goalmouth again. Matt and Lewis moved slightly up and with the ball by now not bouncing on the mud much, we tried hard to create some chances. The muddy ground ensured that the tired and worn legs were stuck as speculative shot by the Generals sailed high and although Sam had stopped the initial ball, it bounced deceptively and even James' valiant effort to clear the line was an inch too late.

    By now the game was over and we were beaten-perhaps by the scoreline but not by skill. Another spectator came to me and noted that for the first half we had made the Generals look "ordinary". This is perhaps why they felt the need to step up their game. It wasn't nice, but if we weren't playing good, flowing football, it wouldn't have been necessary. Every player proved their worth today. It was hard but we are now playing real football-and surprising a lot of people. Well done!

Man of the Match: Sam. An amazing full-game debut, full of brave saves and dives.

Thanks again to all the parents, friends and guardians for your support.