So D-Day finally arrived with the whole club feeling a mixture of excitement and anxiety ahead of the all important show down between the Ladies 1s and 2s. The 1s were the 'away' team in their unfamiliar yellow change strip, whilst the 2s were in South's royal blue. This shirt change proved all too difficult for Cath during the pre-match banter as she inadvertently started supporting the 1s, something we didn't mind in the slightest!

Once at our mighty fortress, both teams started preparing themselves for what would be a tightly contested encounter. The 1s continued in their usual relaxed approach with one of their players arriving five minutes after the game started - yes, I'm talking about you Caz - whilst the 2s ramped it up a notch by applying blue war paint.

This aggression translated onto the field, as the 2s came out pumped-up and played at a high tempo, which lead to a lot of pressure in midfield where every ball was battled for. We did, however, adopt a really good press throughout and made it very difficult for the 2s to get out of their half, so well done team, Kim will be so proud!

However, despite our formation working and some good shots at goal from the forwards, we were unable to break the deadlock with the 2s keeper, Alice, making some great saves. This lead to some added frustration such that Jess decided to improve our chances by reducing the 2s' numbers, the second knock-out being a particularly ferocious hit to the player's hip! A collective 'ouch' went out!

In any case the goal drought really put some urgency into the 1s play. From a successful short corner, the 1s took the lead and we went into half time feeling slightly better about ourselves. Dr Captain George then did what a captain does best, and provided a rousing team talk, such that we started the second half in better spirits, and with all the forwards seeking to improve their figures in the hunt for Goal Queen.

Despite further valiant defending by the 2s, the pressure finally told and some excellent distribution from Georgie set up our second goal with Caz getting the final touch over the line to score her first South goal! Another short corner goal followed soon after, before the 2s had some counter-attacks that were expertly dealt with by the back four of Julie, Ellie, Emma and Diane.

Laura then had a dubious short corner routine disallowed and a further umpiring call sent Dr Captain George into a spin which meant we give up 30 metres of the pitch and a short corner! However all ended well and another quick counter by the forwards led to a goal by Jess after an almighty scrabble in the D.

The best move was saved for near the end of the match when we were able to switch the ball from the right to Julie on the left, who motored up the sideline and passed to Sophie, who crossed it into the centre of the D, where it was dispatched into the net leading to our 5-0 scoreline.

Special mention has to go to Loopy who was thrilled with her one touch of the game which was a lovely low save to keep our clean sheet. Therefore the fortress remains intact, although still very much with its own cheeky bounce!

Lemon went to Jess for destroying the opposition and taking a less than elegant tumble, whilst Dr Captain George capped a great all round performance with the man of the match award.

Now on to St Ives!