This was it, the game all had been waiting for. A lovely, crisp sunny morning greeted what was prophesied to be the crackers of all games: the Cambridge South 2s v Cambridge South 1s intraclub death-match.

The two sides showed a striking difference in preparation for the game: where the “away” side (a/k/a 1s) arrived impressively early and had a team talk the size of the Titanic, the 2s leisurely rocked up, dinked a few balls around and were marshalled into formation with a mere 15 minutes to go. Then again, the 2s game plan was beautiful in its simplicity: get in the 1s’ faces and annoy the hell out of ‘em. Whatever could do wrong?

In keeping with recent form, the 2s came out storming. Valiantly ignoring the fact that the 1s have the better players, man for man, and are holding a position at the other end of the league, it was the 2s that pressed hardest in the first few minutes. Tight man-marking in the back and a hard-working four-man midfield snuffed out most of the attacks in yellow before they could trouble ‘keeper Shahbaz. Then a lucky strike off a short corner trickled agonisingly over the line, giving the 1s a rather undeserved lead. Undue optimism by the opposition cap’n notwithstanding, 2s didn’t drop their heads and fought on stubbornly, keeping everything tight and clean for half-time, despite a flurry of short corners at the end of the half.

The second half was always going to be battle of wills. 2s felt that they had the 1s frustrated and struggling, but the 1s have a knack for coming back strong. Duly fired up by the skip’s request to take the fight to them, again it was 2s that started off better, made their way into the 1s’ D and notched up their own short corners. Slick moves in midfield and strong runs upfront belied the lowly league position of the team, showing all sorts of promise. But yet again, when a goal did come, it did against the run of play, falling to the 1s.

As legs tired and lungs burned, play got stretched and more chances appeared on both sides. One might say that the single best chance fell to the 2s, with a rising shot from close range miraculously deflected by the cat-like reflexes of Steve Parker. But on the other side of the pitch, hard graft was needed to keep the score line reasonable until the final whistle.

Lost the game they might have, but the 2s stepped off the pitch holding their heads high. In a game against a side that’s pushing for promotion, where the pre-match banter was always going against them, they didn’t give any quarter, fought like lions for the full 70 minutes and showed that they’re better than their league positions suggests. It’s time to carry this form and spirit into the easier games, start racking up some points and move up towards the nicer regions of the league table.