The pre-match talk was all about how we would cope with Jason’s promotion to the 1^st XI and who would end up in goal. In the end, Ras nominated himself kicking back and his bib complemented his stripy undershirt. Alford were also without a goalie and joined us in deploying a kicking back.

Playing a kicking back, the formation was going to be 1-3-4-3 and there were no substitutes. It took around fifteen minutes for the first goal to come about, with James tapping in on the line after Rob’s shot was saved. This seemed to open the floodgates, with Rob netting a first half hat trick (all on the reverse?), Douglas scoring his first goal for the club and Tom getting a goal as a reward for doubling up from the 2s.

After half time carrots (the first in a few games), South added four more, with Tim, Dave and Paul getting goals and Rob adding a fourth. Dave’s and Douglas’s were the pick of the goals, with some good team work leading to well worked goals.

Credit to Alford for turning up and giving it a go (after heavy defeats at home to both the 3s and 4s already this season) and their kicking back for some decent saves, while Ras didn’t even need his helmet once.

Teas were good too, where Douglas got MOM for great play in central midfield and defence, while Neil won Lemon after putting his hand up for a foul despite his previous rants on the topic, pipping the captain’s new headband.