The 2-second version: They were really good and it showed.

The day started off rather well, the squad looked good and we had some new and old faces so spirits were high. The opponents were young and a development team. Confidence grew even more when we were informed that the other team had no goalkeeper, this must’ve been a good thing... right? And so the team prepared to start joking about who would score first.

However, rather quickly it became clear that 1) having no keeper was not necessarily a bad thing and that 2) the team may have been new, but the players were certainly not. They had 11 players outfield so the extra man in midfield was quickly causing the defence havoc, everyone would be marking a man and suddenly that extra player would pop-up forcing an attacker to drop back. This essentially left us with 9 players on defensive duty and 1 upfront to receive any counter attacks. In the first 10 minutes this really showed as we were pushed right into our own half, frantically defending our D from a near-constant onslaught. These players were extremely good with the ball and would happily dribble it around our defence and into the D until a desperate tackle brought a foul.

To begin with the defence held out, although they conceded numerous short corners it seemed like City couldn't quite put them away. One of the City players managed to receive the ball in the D and then juggled it around a defender, literally bouncing it on his stick before being stopped by a stick tackle. Unfortunately this was one short corner too many and City scored their first goal. This was quickly followed by three more goals in open play, neatly passed between players and dribbled into the D before openings were found and taken. South’s defence struggled to pick up players, it was an intensely fast paced game (mostly because we had to keep running back for short corners) but fatigue kicked in rather quickly. So gradually the midfielders were slower to come back and when people were beaten they stopped instead of pursuing. Fortunately the half time whistle was blown and some respite was earned. 4-0 City.

The second half was much the same, however South were no longer defeatist, players put the effort in to show City that we weren't going to simply roll over and concede defeat. And so the second half became a lot more aggressive, as the defence did everything they could to deter the City attackers.The two CMs practically became CDMs supporting the defence with each attack and rarely having the opportunity to join the brief counter attacks that were soon coming straight back for them. Ian and James S were strong at CB, and they tried to organise the players in front of them although this sometimes went unheard. Tackles were strong from everyone; Tom, Shahbaz and David B slowed a couple attack with solid tackles, and players were quick to recover when they were beaten.

The half was looking a lot more positive, South even managed to get the ball out of their own half, although it was quickly broken down by the City defence. City clearly wanted more goals though and soon had only 3 in their own back line and added another midfielder into the mix, which saw the majority of attacks with everyone defending in and around the D. The physicality of the game picked up and soon saw players from both sides being barged off the ball with fair competitive tackles. However no miracle comeback was destined for South and they conceded 3 more goals by the end of the game, leaving City 7-0 winners.

John B was excellent in goal, saving lots of shots. Owen, Shahzad and David B held back many of the attacks down the flanks. Ian and James S valiantly defended when the odds were nearly always against them. Andy and James M made use of the opportunities that were given to them on the wings and tracked back throughout the game. Rob had a tough first game for the 5s but held his own against a tough side. Howard and Tom attempted to hold the midfield and defended well throughout the game. And Simon and Nathan came back to defend during nearly every attack in the second half.

This City team was clearly a very good team, their players were young, experienced and skilled, but South shouldn't be despondent because they managed to hold their own. This could have been a lot worse and although we didn't have many opportunities to attack we were still resilient at the back and showed courage that we can take into the new season and use against teams that will be better than us and perhaps surprise a few of them, and maybe even City 5s the next time we play them.

Next week South face Bourne Deeping 5s, hopefully a more balanced opponent.