Probably the most frustrating game of the season so far. Drew 0-0 in a game we should have won 6-0. We had a strong squad available and started well and had much possession early on, and indeed throughout the match. Having lost the toss, we played against the wind in atrocious conditions with rain pelting down. We had excellent chances to score (some by stealth, some by luck) but were unable to break the deadlock.

Dave was strong on the right, and Jon now seems to be getting used to his 'new' teammates. Cass was also steady at the back, showing good committment in the challenge. Eddy was unlucky when he hit the bar in the first half and then the post in the second half. In addition, we could have got 2 penalties if another referee was in the middle. But in truth we provided our own downfall due to a lack of finishing ability from 6 yards out (yours truly guilty as charged) The mud was thick and heavy, and getting your balance at crucial situations was something we couldn't quite do. Perhaps we were never going to score on the day, but if the referee had played the full 45 mins in each half we would at least have had an extra 8 minutes in which to try!

Moral of the story...there is none. Except perhaps to say, train hard and train often. The one thing we really need to keep up is our team spirit. This has been great in recent weeks, and can really lift us in the coming games.

Cheers lads,

LeoTop

Leo doesn't tell the full story of the day. Two words: Simply ridiculous. A ridiculous pitch on a ridiculous day. Who puts a pitch in the middle of a racecourse? Who plays in a league without changerooms. Ahh the collegiate league. Thanks to Pembroke for 'letting' us borrow shelter for the day. I guess it would've been better if it stood up of its own accord without 10 people holding it down, but that was how ridiculous the day was.

I won't say that Dan 'The Face' Aikin's late withdrawal from the team on Friday night was ridiculous... but when your tooth is pulled out why would you need to follow suit? He wears a mouth guard anyway! Not ridiculous, but perhaps not quite as hard as we've come to expect from this breaker of bones... It just meant that in his first match back after appendicitis and a wrist injury, Heath was thrown straight into the A's.

We laughed at the B's and at Graeme running the line as we huddled under the marquee. It was a great turnout for a day full of wind and hail however, so there really wasnt enough room for everyone. It was a debacle trying to get changed, and with 30mins to go before kickoff, no-one except Captain Bushe was willing to move out into the wet to start warming up.

The pitch was an absolute mudbath, and the ensuing game had moments of similar quality. Like the week before against Pembroke, we dominated, and should've had a bag by half time. But as has been the case for a while now, we couldn't put away our chances. Baxter hit the post a couple of times, and Romanian Mike missed an open goal from about 6 yards.

The only way that we were likely to score was from a penalty, and so it unfolded. As I'm writing this report 3 weeks after the fact, I'm not exactly sure, but I believe it was Anthony who was felled in the box. The Mighty Bushe stepped up after failures earlier in the season from Mihai and Bax, and slotted it home.

As the game war on, we looked good for the 3 points. Prince Alfred didn't get a sniff, and quite rightly so, with many of their B's players in their 2nd match for the day. Add to that the fact that Baxter had taken out their keeper in the first half, so they were playing with a stand in...

The big fella for them up front was his usual frustrating self. He conned the ref into giving him a freekick just outside the box, as Rob did everything he could not too touch him. Heath was untroubled this time though.

In fact, on his return, Heath was not troubled at all. Well that is, until about the last 5 mins of the game. We'd made our 3 subs and the game was ours. Sunny slotted in for Chris at the back, Juan on for Ryan and even Tim Levett on in the last 10 mins as he wasn't used in the B's.

Last roll of the dice for PAC, and they were down on the right wing. The ball bounced around and we had a couple of chances to clear. It rolled to them though and they played a through ball which somehow go through the congested box, passed Rob and Sunny and into the path of their striker. Unlike us, he finished well one-on-one.

One all the final score to add insult to injury. What a day.

JoeTop