Bourne Deeping were better than us. In particular they were better organised, more skilful, faster (as a result of being younger and fitter) and more composed on the ball. So pretty well every way, then. Maybe we had them on goalkeeping, as Lino was his usual excellent self, although that is a bit harsh on the BD ‘keeper who did everything he had to do.

They were also sharp on penalty corners, which felt a little unsporting given their other advantages. Goals 2, 3 and 4 came from this source, and 2 and 4 in particular were well worked double switches, with the ball moved sharply and controlled instantly.

Echoing a familiar refrain from other South Men’s teams this season, they also had a couple of subs whilst all we could muster was a bare 11. Which may have had an impact on the two goals conceded in the last five minutes that turned the score from a heavy defeat into a thrashing. A number of our players were playing through injury by that point. However, 6-0 wasn’t a false scoreline for this game, in fact it felt about par.

About the only positive to draw was at least we fulfilled the fixture, which wasn't always certain in the week prior. To do so we had to rely on a number of players from the 4ths and 5ths squads. Thanks for stepping up, you know who you are – and anyone else can find out by following the links in the team above.

Apparently the skippers are going to have a conflab in the week about the squads, as availability has been an issue up and down the club (particularly up, unfortunately) so far this season. Which is nice in theory, but if you only have 50ish outfield players available and 5 teams to fill as was the case today, it is difficult to see how that can be rejigged to give teams some injury/fitness contingency. All that can surely be achieved is moving the deckchairs around a bit. What we need is for some of the players who played last year and have disappeared or reduced their availability to come back, or more new recruits to fill the gaps.