We were up against it from the off. A hot day and starting the game with 9 men. Alex sets us up 4-3-1 with instructions to let the opposition defenders have the ball and have our midfield push theirs wide. A nice over-the-top through ball from Raj puts Mike  through the middle. He feigns to shoot to the keeper’s left and firmly side-foot it to the keeper’s right. 0-1.

The new keeper Gulled kept out a couple shots and decisively came out to claim through balls, keeping us comfortable. We had 9 men but were more threatening. Anthony picks up the ball on the right wing, beats his man and drives forward. As another defender comes in to close him down and with the goal keeper tightening the angle, Anthony beats the second defender for pace and slots past the keeper who had no time to react. 0-2

We keep up the pressure at the start of the first half, where Dean has a shot inside the area. The goalkeeper parries the shot but Dean is on his toes and sharp. He follows up the shot with intent and aggression to bully the ball into the net past the fumbling goalkeeper. 0-3

The opposition got two goals back. We get players joining us to make parity. Mike picks the ball up around 25 yards from goal on the left wing. There is time and space so he pushes the ball slightly to his right and takes a shot. It flies into the top-right corner, past the keeper who reacted too late. 2-4

The opposition got another goal back and renewed hope. The piled the pressure on for the final 10 minutes but we stayed strong and hung on for the win.

Match report by Michael Murphy