We went into this game knowing that victory would lift us into a promotion place as the two teams who began the day above us, Louth and St. Ives 3rds, were only ahead on goal difference and were playing each other. We nearly began the process within ten seconds, as an attack from the opening centre-pass produced a chance for Tom, whose shot rang the far post. Our enterprising start continued, with the Saints ‘keeper forced into a number of early saves, and our opening short foundering when a player seemingly about to tap into an open goal couldn’t get his stick out from under his feet.

The early momentum was in danger of dissipating unrewarded when we took the lead from our third short. The ball was worked around as per the routine, with Rob slapping a shot that the ‘keeper kicked away. Tom prevented the clearance exiting the circle, and flicked into the far corner. Well, I say Tom scored; Rob made a concerted effort to claim this goal, saying he had challenged the ‘keeper and “definitely got a touch on something, probably the ball, as it went past”. The team considered Rob’s already potentially decisive lead in the Goal King standings, raised a collective eyebrow, and noted the goal down as Tom’s.

The rest of the opening half was much more even, as the Saints found their game and began to give as good as us, though in truth neither ‘keeper was over-taxed in this period. We had gone into the match with a slight tweak in formation, playing 4-4-2 instead of our usual 4-3-3, mostly due to the preferred positions of the players who had travelled. 4-4-2 had worked recently at Louth, but this time we found ourselves lacking width. It was especially noticeable at long corners, with takers devoid of options. As a result, at half-time we switched back to 4-3-3 in the hope that we could get around the back of the Saints more often.

With a slender lead the next goal was potentially vital, and we nearly gifted it away. A quick counter-attack down our left had caught our midfield beyond the play, and when the ball was centred Jan came across from right back but somehow contrived to miss the simple pick-up. This left three Saints players clean through. Fortunately for us / Jan, the Saints forward who collected possession had apparently lost his bearings, as he inexplicably took his shot from at least a foot outside the circle, allowing Chris to calmly lift his foot and let the ball in. This was apparently heart-stopping for the rest of the team, watching on from the other half...

Having survived that scare, we went 2-0 up with a move that benefited from the extra width of playing with three up. Neil dribbled down the left line and picked out Ali, now out on the wing. Ali moved it on to Rob, cutting in from the left near the byline. Rob advanced on the Saints ‘keeper and looked like he was going to switch reverse, which had the effect of making the goalie cover his near post. This allowed Rob to round him on the strong side, and then flick past the defenders covering on the goalline. Was the aborted reverse stick shift a dummy or a change of mind? We will never know, but whatever prompted it, it worked.

Two was quickly three, with the best goal of the game. A free-hit in central field and just outside the 25 was taken by Paul. Instead of firing it directly at goal and into the crowd, Paul picked out Tom who had pulled wide right (call it family instinct). Tom received and relayed quickly and hard towards the near post, with Rob making a run across the front his marker to get a deflection that gave the ‘keeper no chance. Ball speed, sharp movement from players hitting space as the ball arrived, and patience and vision to work around the defence rather than going due north resulted in bang, bang, goal; 5 seconds of play that should be the template for the whole team.

At this point the game was obviously won, with the enthusiasm of the home team ebbing away. To be fair the weather was terrible, very cold, windy, and veering between heavy rain to full-on downpour, with enough coming down to leave a sheen of standing water on the pitch from the outset (though not enough to affect the run of the ball). Dispiriting stuff, and then one adds falling behind... For around ten minutes the ball barely crossed halfway, and we took advantage to add gloss to the scoreline. A sideline pass from Ali sneaked over/past/through a defensive stick to put Matt in the clear; he advanced into the circle and slipped it past the ‘keeper and home. Ali then added his name to the scoresheet when he collected the rebound from a save and connected solidly with 50% of the ball for a close-range push that bamboozled the goalie.

The Saints made a stand at this point, giving us no more chances in the remaining time but not particularly threatening themselves; I think everyone involved was glad to finish and get back inside to dry out and warm up. Once in the bar, we heard that the clash of the top two had finished 3-2 to Louth. Which leaves us 2nd. The top of the division is very congested (see below), and goal difference, even goals scored, may well prove important in separating teams. For that reason, this win and last weeks’ 6-1 success against Ely were very pleasing. They represent the heaviest defeat either team has had so far this season, the 11-1 aggregate closing a goal difference gap on the teams above us that had been the equivalent of ½ point off our total.

As this round of matches was the halfway point of the league, with all teams having now played each other once (excepting a postponed game between Boston and Bourne Deeping 4ths), this is a chance to take stock of who is doing what in 5NW.

• Best attack - St. Ives 3rds, 45 scored in 11 games, 4.09 per match
• Best defence - Louth, 15 conceded in 11 games, 1.36 per match
• Best home record - South, 6 games, 16 points, 5-1-0 (only remaining undefeated record)
• Best away record - Depends how one judges. Total points - Louth, 6 games, 13 points, 4-1-1; Average points per game - Boston, 5 games, 12 points, 4-0-1
• Best form (last six games) - Boston, 15 points, 5-0-1
• Consecutive wins - South, 4
• Games since last defeat - South, 4

Top scorers (partial list; there are probable absentees, in particular from Louth, for whom no numbers are available, and Bourne Deeping, whose publically available online records are incomplete);

• Rob Barton (Cambridge South) - 23
• Cameron Salisbury (Boston) - 15
• Rob Brand (St. Ives) - 10
• Simon Rees (St. Ives) - 9
• Ashley Brown (St. Ives) - 9
• Will Hosegood (Newmarket) - 8
• Tim Kisiel (Bourne Deeping) - 8+
• Howard Weir (St. Ives) - 8

+ - Possibly more from games where scorers are unavailable.