The Mens 1sts twice came close to making history this weekend. For the most inauspicious reasons...

Firstly Hop-along Haslop wrapped up what proved to be a unanimous Lemon vote on Friday night by informing everyone via email that the Ely pitch was waterlogged and the match was postponed. Fortunately 008 Haslop's previous membership of Ely Hockey Club rang some alarm bells and our captain intervened in time to reassure everyone that the match was indeed very much ON. Given that the M1s played this fixture in Ely last year in the worst blizzard the Northern Hemisphere has seen in 1500 years, it was always unlikely to be called off for a bit of dampness. But chin up Laurie - just think, if we hadn't turned up, 5 forfeited games on one day (including one for the 11 hardy souls who trekked up to Horncastle to avoid an M3s no-show) would probably have guaranteed you 5 LOM awards each week for the remainder of the season!

Secondly, unconfirmed reports suggest this was the first hockey match in which South scored 4 goals without the ball even touching the backboard. In fact the quality of our goals was so poor that it almost replaced sense of collective self-loathing that we all felt after suffering the agony of Dave Aston scoring the winner last week. 

However, outside of the D, South played some of their most composed, mature hockey this season. Jack R was once again schooling Average in how to play left-back. Paresh unveiled his new secret weapon that he'd been honing during a two-week jolly in the States - the Belly Tackle. Stu was once again demonstrating that Paresh is not the only defender who can beat the same opposition player six times in one dribble. And Chris G... was sliding, skidding, tumbling and rolling like a Brazilian hopeful at the Winter Olympics.

The midfield play between Jack C, Mark, Bhav and Dave A was at times so elegant and poetic in its execution that it felt more like watching ice dancing. Even Jack's 'twirly spin of doom' had developed a certain sparkle of class. 

Up front, Russell 'Wheels' Johnson was causing havoc - mainly for his poor strike partner Graham who was constantly trying - and failing - to keep up with his blistering pace.  

You didn't want to hear about the goals but tough luck. We had to suffer through them so you shall too! In the first half a scuffed shot from Graham at the top of the D was scuffed again by Mark, deflecting it past the keeper with just enough pace to push through the sandy astro and across the goal line. After a fatherly half-time team talk from Mr Williams, South quickly added to their goals, first when Russell pounced on a rebound off the post and bundled the ball over the line from at least an inch out and secondly when a shot from McCulloch cannoned off the keeper, bounced off the defender's (ample) stomach - and trickled across the goal line. The fourth goal was added later by McCulloch, beating his marker and slotting it past the keeper who just got a touch to it, leaving the ball to once again trickle across the line as another defender fell over the keeper trying to reach it and Dave A shepherded the ball over the line. Cue a smattering of embarrassed applause from the watching M4s.

Only then did Ely really wake up and start attacking - and South had to withstand a good 10 minutes of sustained pressure, eventually conceding a goal that, credit to Ely, hit the backboard! Obviously inspired by our opposition's superior shooting skills, Jack C almost produced a goal-of-the-season contender, unleashing a reverse-stick belter from the top of the D that was unbelievably deflected over the cross-bar by a ninja disguised as Ely's centre-back.

Despite the above banter this was a really encouraging and commanding team performance with some excellent possession hockey and sensible decision-making. Now... lets take next weekend off to celebrate!