The Cs came into the match on the back of two straight league defeats in which they had failed to register a single Div 3 goal. As such, it came as no surprise that Norwood were looking uber confident in pre-match and were clearly relishing the opportunity to underline their superior league status. Norwood came into this match having won both of their opening Div 2 league matches and having recorded a pre-season victory over our illustrious UniWhite B compatriots. On paper there was only one winner. However, this was the cup... and the Whites had spent the night dreaming of Mickey Thomas's 35 yard free-kick for Wrexham in 1992 to dump then champions Arsenal out of the FA Cup!

Once Jason had finished becoming BFF with the opposition's coach and we had finished fumbling with the nets (Steve, did we ever get them back from the Blacks??), The Whites eventually took the field in the blazing mid-day sun. The match began with Norwood shooting from the kick-off... this was to prove to be their most potent tactic and one they would get to practice five more times before the end of the half, none of which remotely troubled super-Varun or any of his 12 layers of jumpers. A much changed line-up from the previous week due to a combination of injury and international call-ups was evident in the early exchanges as the Mighty-Whites were caught ball watching when one of Norwood's numerous long balls into the box was gently glided past Varun for the opening goal. Norwood celebrated like they had just won the lottery and were looking forward to a comfortable passage through to the second round.

The Whites had other ideas. Retaining faith in our structure and ability to pass the ball to feet we started to gain a foothold in the match. The Norwood midfield could not keep up with the movement and interchange passing which enabled Corin and Manny to get behind the fullbacks at will and play clever inside passes to Jan and John, who in turn held the ball, allowing Tim and Cam to get involved and gain offensive possession with their power running from deep. In no time the Whites were level, albeit slightly fortuitously, through our very own "Paul Warhurst" Jan with a Pierre Littbarski-esque flick from the keeper's ill-judged clearance. Having finally broken their 2011 goalscoring jinx the Cs were released from their self-imposed shackles and started pouring forward freely in numbers with Manny and Cam running their man-markers ragged all day to cheers of “Ole” as our Barcelona-clad opposition stared on in a state of bewilderment. A quickfire double from Tim including a 25 yard free kick and a left foot volley (honestly I saw it with my own two eyes... no really it happened) from the edge of the box as Norwood's defence failed to clear extended the lead to 3-1. Norwood had to resort to rough-house meathead tactics followed quickly by rolling round clutching their various bodily parts in Serie A style faux-agony. They simply had no response to the UniWhites simple two-touch passing and movement. Minutes later Manny scored a cracker left footer from outside the box before some great passing saw Jan out muscle a defender resulting in a thoroughly deserved 5-1 half-time lead and a well earned drink.

The second half was played at a slower pace with the Whites controlling the space and dictating the ebb and flow of the match. With the tie already won a more conservative second half ensued with the Mighty-Whites happy to sit back and preserve their lead whilst chuckling at the Norwood units as they continually lost their composure and argued with the ref, each other and themselves... anyone who would listen basically. Norwood did pull a goal back through a penalty that never was, when Bobby was blinded by a combination of the sun and his aliceband and accidentally collided with the onrushing striker. Shocker ref... nevermind, who cares when you are 5-1 up in the cup?! TBF the striker tucked the penalty away nicely giving Varun no chance.

The whites were more than content to play out the remaining 30 mins maintaining possession and inviting inevitable free-kick after inevitable free-kick as Norwood took out their frustrations at being outplayed by the Uniwhite minnows on our ankles. The final whistle was met by rapturous applause from our travelling army of supporters for a job well done. Special mentions for Saf who worked tirelessly throughout and for Bobby and Tomas who supported the wide men at every opportunity whilst never giving the Norwood forwards a sniff all match. Also, for Varun who is growing in confidence with every match and dealt with every dodgy back-pass I gave him all day. And finally for Sid and Jason who helped close out the game when legs were becoming heavy (although Jason did injure himself within 35 seconds of his introduction, I think he was missing their coach and wanted him to come on and give him a hug), giving coach Tim much food-for-thought with many players returning after the Easter break. Overall, a fantastic team performance, a wonderful result and the spring-board that the Cs need to go and dominate Div 3. Personally, I am off to wear my UniWhites top up and down The Parade with pride!

That's it!!

Kirsten (& Saf)Top