The first task facing the newly minted Cambridge South M5 team was to guess whether the opposition would turn up in an away kit or a possible colour clash with unusual opposition would ensue. With the captain seeing a throwback to his playing days in London, when a mishmash of different shirts of a vaguely similar alternative colour appeared to settle that first conundrum. After resolving the second, (who was playing where with a team including 4s players seeking a first run out following the cancellation of their fixture), the scene was set for the latest chapter in South's illustrious history to begin. The third would be for the captain to try and pay more attention in order to write match reports.

A potted version of the match is as follows:

• Letchworth started very brightly and made the early running.

• Shahzad pulled off several smart saves to keep South in the game. 

• The defence (David, Ed, Ky and Howard) had an outstanding half, breaking up the play with timely interceptions through paired hassling of the opposition, great awareness to snuff out passes and generally making a nuisance of themselves when the opposition got into the D.

• The midfield (Andy T, Alex, Tom, Wilco, Ian and Andy F) struggled to cope with the movement of Letchworths younger players and the range of passing from the cultured elder statesmen in the opposition team. However, once getting the formation settled, slowly worked their way back into the game.

• The forwards (Simon, John G and Boris) were constantly moving and looking to add numbers to support midfield and tracking back in defence, while finding ways to pull the Letchworth formation apart to create pockets of space for the midfield.

• South took the lead, against the run of play to be fair, when a swift counter saw Ian M make his way into the D and crack a shot towards goal. The Letchworth keeper got a kicker to it, but instead of stopping it, took nearly all the pace off it but still allowed it to trickle over the line.

• South were living on their nerves through the closing stages, but increasingly found opportunities to counter

• One such attack bought up a second goal. The ball was worked out to Boris on the far right who pulled the ball back for Simon to fire a shot into the keepers pads. After several swings and misses as he attempted to find a gap around the defence, the ball eventually fell to Andy T charging in from the right to fire his first goal for the club and restore South's lead

• John G took another hit on that dodgy ankle and executed a perfect diving roll that could have graced any pitch in the Premier League or La Liga

• Letchworth forced several short corners, deservedly pulled a goal back and also hit the post as they tried to find an equaliser.

• South nearly wrapped up the win with a third goal as several more counters came to naught. The worst culprit being Andy F (see Lemon) for failing to convert, or more importantly pass to an unmarked team mate (both Simon and Boris were screaming for the ball in the D).

So, an opening day win for the 5s. Letchworth are a very capable team and based on the evidence seen will have a good season after giving us a very good workout for the first match of the season. For South, plenty of positives for the coming season. If we can put together more displays like that then both the 4s and 5s should have nothing to fear this season.